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It has been expected for some time, but finally, the JCT has announced that it will be updating its suite of contracts, and it will be the JCT 2024 Edition which is likely to be published in the spring.
The likely publication date is expected to depend on the finalisation of all of the secondary legislation being issued for the Building Safety Act.
The Government has previously promised that all secondary legislation will be in place in October 2023, but some major elements are still awaited.
Major updates in JCT 2024
There will be major updates in JCT 2024 to account for:
(a) the Building Safety Act;
(b) new relevant events for epidemics and updates to statutory powers with an option to include these as relevant matters;
(c) the period for assessing extensions of time will be reduced;
(d) the antiquities provisions to include unexploded ordnance, contamination and asbestos;
(e) the position on levying of LADs on the termination of the employment of the contractor will be dealt with;
(f) changes to the termination accounting and payment provisions reflecting the Construction Act;
(g) new insolvency grounds reflecting the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020;
(h) the option to select a different adjudicator nominating body in addition to the list currently included; and
(i) changes to reflect the objectives of the Construction Playbook and the incorporation of previously optional provisions relating to collaborative working, sustainable and environmental considerations.
Modernised JCT Contracts
The JCT contracts are to be modernised and streamlined with the adoption of gender-neutral language and increased flexibility around the use of electronic notices.
The new suite of contracts will include a Target Cost Contract along with a subcontract form and guides.
Publication of JCT 2024
JCT 2024 will be published exclusively via JCT's Construct subscription service and On Demand digital, but still with the traditional hardcopy being available.
The current edition of the JCT contracts, JCT 2016, is the most widely used standard form contract suite in the UK construction industry.
JCT contracts are often quite heavily amended in practice, and as a result, there is often a lag between publication and the adoption of the new forms, whilst schedules of amendments are updated to account for the changes.
We anticipate the same will apply when the updates are published.