Mitigation of Construction Defect Litigation – Top 10 Construction Contract Issues
When negotiating a construction contract with a general contractor, the owner/developer should be aware of, and address, a number of issues to attempt to mitigate or limit the risk of construction defect litigation for a residential project, including multi-family and for-rent residential apartment and senior housing projects, advises Rebecca W. Dow in Holland & Hart’s Construction Law Blog.
She explains that tandard forms of construction contract — such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) or ConsensusDocs — are more beneficial to the contractor than the owner in many respects.
A construction contract will need to be reviewed thoroughly and revised to better protect the owner, and in the case of residential construction, should in particular, address 10 key issues.
She discusses those issues, which include: scope of work, change orders, indemnification, warranties, subcontracts, insurance, dispute resolution, compliance with laws/environmental matters, construction lender, damages/attorneys’ fees.