RICS contract administrators for JCT building contracts — tendering, interim certificates, variations, practical completion and final accounts, administered impartially.
A building contract only protects you if someone administers it. The panel's RICS contract administrators run JCT and other standard-form contracts from signature to final certificate — valuing the works, certifying payments, managing variations and holding both parties to what was agreed.
What a contract administrator does
- Pre-contract — preparing the specification and schedule of works, inviting tenders, analysing returns and reporting with a recommendation.
- Contract set-up — completing the JCT contract (Minor Works or Intermediate for most domestic and small commercial projects) so payment terms, programme and liquidated damages are defined before work starts.
- During the works — site inspections, valuing work done, issuing interim certificates, instructing and pricing variations, and dealing with extensions of time properly rather than informally.
- Completion — certifying practical completion, managing the rectification period and defects list, checking the final account and issuing the final certificate.
Why the role is impartial — and why that helps you
When certifying, the contract administrator acts fairly between employer and contractor rather than as the employer's advocate. That independence is precisely what makes the certificates robust: contractors accept them, disputes are rarer, and when a project does turn contentious the paper trail stands up. Where matters escalate, the same panel provides construction expert witness evidence. For works to shared walls, party wall compliance is co-ordinated alongside the contract.
Fees and instruction
Fixed or percentage fees agreed before appointment, scaled to project value and inspection frequency. Contract administration pairs naturally with full construction project management — or can be instructed alone where the design is already complete.
Frequently asked questions
What does a contract administrator do?
They administer the building contract between you and your contractor: preparing the specification, running the tender, completing the JCT contract, inspecting the works, valuing what has been done, issuing interim and final certificates, pricing variations, and certifying practical completion and the final account. In short — they make the contract's protections actually operate.
Do I need a JCT contract for domestic building work?
For anything beyond minor works, yes — a standard-form contract such as JCT Minor Works defines the price, programme, payment terms, insurance and what happens when things change or go wrong. Most residential disputes we see as expert witnesses trace back to works run on a quote and a handshake. The contract costs little to put in place relative to what it prevents.
Is the contract administrator on my side?
They are appointed and paid by you, and they advise you — but when certifying payments, extensions of time and completion they must act fairly between the parties. That impartiality is a feature, not a flaw: it is why contractors accept the certificates, why disputes are rarer, and why the paper trail holds up if a disagreement ever escalates.