Paragraph The lawyers have extensive experience in construction law and have conducted cases in the area at both the City Court, the High Court and the Arbitration Court.
We handle cases and advise on construction law for both construction companies, tradesmen and private clients. This gives us great insight into all types of contracts, regardless of what type of help you may need.
If you don't have experience in contracting, it can be overwhelming to get involved, as there are many different parties that need to be taken into account and dealt with.
There are different rules in play, depending on which partner is involved, and therefore it can be a great help and a good investment to ally yourself with a lawyer specializing in construction law.
Søren V. Andreasen has previously written a book about construction law and when a contractor can demand an extension of the delivery deadline for your contract.
A construction contract generally refers to an agreement for the construction or renovation of buildings. The overall aim of the contract is to produce a specific work result in relation to the agreed construction work.
The rules of contract law are dominated by a number of standard terms rather than actual legislation. These terms are available in various versions, such as AB18, ABT18, ABR18, AB-Forbruger, or one of the earlier versions such as AB92 and ABT93.
The terms are adapted to the different actors and situations that occur in practice and are also available in versions that are applicable to smaller construction projects and renovations. The standard terms are agreed in advance between the construction industry's interest organizations, and thus regulate the vast majority of situations that arise in practice. At the same time, they are drawn up in a way that takes into account both the interests of both parties and the consideration of the construction industry as a whole.
Lawyer Søren Vasegaard Andreasen (L) published the book in 2010 Deadline extension in construction, which meticulously reviews the rules for when the contractor can request an extension of the delivery deadline for his contract.
The various standard terms and conditions can be used, whether in agreements between professional parties and advisors, or between professionals and private individuals.
The standard terms are used both to fill in and to interpret in cases where an agreement is silent on a given point. Even in cases where one has not specifically agreed on one of the concrete sets of standard terms, or has not agreed anything in writing at all, one may find that the standard terms are nevertheless applicable when a dispute is to be resolved through the courts or the arbitration institute. Not only who is to perform the task, but also the scope of the task, will to some extent dictate which set of standard terms should be used but also which form of contract is most appropriate.
The type of contract you use is very important, as it dictates the placement of responsibility for different elements of the construction process. The most common contract types are Main Contract, Turnkey Contract and Specialist Contract. Read more about the different contract types here.
When choosing main contract As the client (builder), you are responsible for ensuring that sufficient project material has been prepared and that all permits that may be required to complete the task have been obtained.
The contractor with whom the contract has been entered into is then the main contractor, who is responsible for the solution of the task, the agreed finances and the agreed schedule. Since the main contractor has the construction management, he has the right to delegate the solution of the various tasks to one or more subcontractors. However, overall, it is still the client who has the supervisory task for the entire construction, so for larger tasks, supervision may be a task that should be delegated separately to a professional.
IN turnkey contract As a builder, you leave virtually all elements of the process to someone else in the form of a general contractor, with the exception of the overall supervision of the construction. The general contractor has all the different specialists at his disposal, or delegates individual tasks to other subcontractors when necessary to complete the task. As a builder, you have far fewer duties and less responsibility for the process, which will inevitably be reflected in the price you pay for the construction.
In a professional contract you control all elements of the process yourself, from design, obtaining permits, managing the project, scheduling and to delegation and entering into contracts with all the different professional contractors who will carry out the individual tasks in the overall project. You are fully responsible for ensuring that each of the associated professional contractors carries out their tasks correctly, according to the schedule and after coordination with all the other associated contractors. Choosing this type of contract provides the most cost-effective solution on paper, but at the same time places very high demands on your abilities and experience in managing all the different actors and processes. Even the smallest deviations or simply ambiguities in relation to one of the associated contractors can trigger a chain of expenses for which you are ultimately responsible. It is therefore not a given that the savings you expected when choosing a professional contractor will also be realized and the risk that it will be more expensive than expected is imminent.
As can be seen from the above, there are several facets to consider when undertaking a project. No matter how good you have been at doing your preliminary work, there is an almost infinite number of problems and conflicts that can arise along the way.
Legal advice may therefore be necessary both before, during and after the start of a construction project. Advice may therefore prove necessary when creating an overview of one's legal position in the event of specific problems one may encounter on one's way through the process to the completed construction.
Even after a seemingly successful project, there may be errors and shortcomings in the construction over time. Here too, legal assistance may be necessary to ensure that these errors and shortcomings are handled correctly.
Especially when it comes to tenders for public bodies, there are legal considerations and requirements that are worth making, in addition to all the construction law, things like the Danish Purchase Act also come into play.
The multitude of laws and regulations that must be kept in mind in connection with construction projects, especially larger ones, means that we recommend having a lawyer involved in the project. This way, you ensure that laws and regulations are complied with.
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