Guide to Using the RIBA Professional Services Contracts 2018 - Other - Page 51
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Guide to RIBA Professional Services Contracts 2018
the house price index, index of private housing rental prices, and construction output
price indices.
The Architect/Consultant will also be entitled to adjust their fee if any additional
work is instructed or as a result of the Client entering into any Supplementary
Agreements that are made after the date of the original Contract and where the
Architect/Consultant has further work to do, albeit only coordination. Additional fees
can be charged for the reasonable cost of assuming any additional liability, which
may include the need for legal advice and the cost of any additional professional
indemnity insurance premium.
Whether carrying out Services on a percentage or time basis, the prudent Architect/
Consultant should at all times maintain records of time spent on those Services. The
Contract states that those services performed on a time basis must be recorded as
well as for any expenses and disbursements to be reimbursed. These must be made
available to the Client if requested.
Throughout the project the Architect/Consultant must inform the Client on becoming
aware that there is the likelihood of additional fees and clause 5.5 applying. However,
the Contract states that this clause 5.5 will not apply if any changes or extra work
or expense is the result of the Architect/Consultant being in breach of the Contract,
whereupon any such costs must be absorbed into the original fee.
Meetings and visits
On any project there will inevitably be a need for meetings and visits during the course
of the project. These all take time and could impact on the profitability if not allowed
for, and qualified, at the outset. Some Clients, especially domestic clients, may require
more meetings than experienced Clients and there is a danger that the Architect/
Consultant can be drawn into expending time for which they have not allowed.
Unless the fee for the Services is time-based, it is advisable to state the number of
meetings or visits to the site included in the quoted fee as a basis for negotiations
if a greater number of visits proves to be necessary. It is therefore prudent, when
calculating the fee, to make an allowance for meetings and visits following the
initial discussions with the Client on the need for them be they pre-construction or
site visits. By making this allowance, and agreeing it with the Client, the Architect/
Consultant then has the opportunity to charge additional fees should there be a
need for further meetings.
For both pre-construction and site visits the Architect/Consultant can agree to attend
meetings/visits either at a set frequency (weekly, fortnightly or monthly) or, for more
flexibility, to state the number of meetings/visits that have been allowed for at each
Work Stage. Once the allocated number is reached, the Architect/Consultant can
charge for any subsequent meeting on a time-charged basis at rates stated in item
G. The agreed number or frequency of meeting should be stated in item F.
Time charges
Where the Basic Fee includes time-based services or as the basis for charging
additional fees the Architect/Consultant should state in item G the rates which will
apply for different people, services and grades and whether on an hourly or day rate.
Expenses
Unless the fee proposal absorbs expenses into the Basic Fee, the Architect/
Consultant should carefully list the expenses to be reimbursed in item H, thus by
implication defining those not covered. If not simply charging the actual cost of
the expense, the Architect/Consultant has the option to add an allowance to cover
their administration costs. This can be by adding a handling charge to the net fee
calculated as a percentage of the net cost, or simply making an initial evaluation
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