Guide to Using the RIBA Professional Services Contracts 2018 - Other - Page 42
Contract terms
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These ‘Third Party Rights Schedules’, as they are known, allow a person who is not
party to the Contract, such as an employer, funder, buyer (purchaser) or tenant, to
enforce the benefit of a term of that Contract using the Contracts (Rights of Third
Parties) Act 1999.
Once an appropriate provision has been included in the underlying contract, the
provision of those rights to the interested third parties can be triggered by using
simple notice that is served unilaterally by the Client, thus reducing the amount
of paperwork and doing away with the need for any negotiation. The result is a
significant time and cost saving, with the further advantage that the interested
party is provided with its contractual protection much quicker than would be the
case with traditional Collateral Warranties. Despite the greater complexity, Collateral
Warranties are still more commonplace, despite the fact that the Contracts (Rights
of Third Parties) Act came into force in 2000. However, the choice between granting
third party rights or using a Collateral Warranty will still be heavily influenced by the
standard procedures of the parties involved in a project.
Key watchpoints
• If the client is proposing a novation or consultant switch, ensure that you fully
understand the implications of each.
• Check that the terms of the novation are acceptable.
• Use a standard form wherever possible.
• Check with insurers and lawyers.
• Check who the beneficiaries are of any warranties or rights.
• Limit the number of assignments to the first or allow one subsequent transfer.
4.4 Site address and brief
This section covers the location of the Project and information that the Architect/
Consultant will need to obtain from the Client, firstly to enable a scope of work and a
fee proposal to be prepared and, secondly, to develop the design.
Site address
When completing the documents, the site address is the location of the site where
the Project is to be carried out and should be sufficient to position the site exactly
either using the postal address or, where there is none, a term which will adequately
locate it such as ‘land to the rear of…’.
Client briefing
The Clients Brief gives a description of the Project and the Client’s statement of
requirements for the Project for which the Services are being provided. The Brief
provides the basis for turning the Client’s aspirations into an actual project and give
the Architect/Consultant adequate information to guide the way forward. Time spent
in establishing and developing the Brief is key to a successful outcome.
The Brief will be agreed in the PSC but will normally evolve over three stages:
1 Stage 0 Brief (Strategic Brief): This is the Client’s first attempt to write a brief
for the project and should establish the project objectives in as much detail as
possible, focusing on what the project needs to achieve rather than suggesting
potential solutions. Strategic considerations might include considering different
sites, whether to extend, refurbish or build new and the key outcomes, as well as
initial considerations for the project programme and assembling the project team.
This may begin as a development of the information in a statement of need and
preliminary business case. In the first instance, the Strategic Brief may be used to
help define the scope of services as the basis for the appointment of consultants
or client advisers.
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