Guide to Using the RIBA Professional Services Contracts 2018 - Other - Page 68
Contract terms
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provided to the Client must be delivered to the Client if requested, subject to
the terms of the licence under clause 6.3. In addition, the Client must pay any
outstanding fees and other amounts due plus any reasonable expenses due to the
Architect/Consultant.
What if the suspension or termination arises from a default?
If the reason for a notice of suspension or termination arises from one of the parties
being in breach of the Contract such as non-payment of fees and the matter has
been resolved, the Architect/Consultant must restart their work within a reasonable
period. What that reasonable period is will be a matter for agreement between
the parties. Alternatively, if the matter is not remedied by the defaulting party, the
Contract can be ended by the non-defaulting party by giving at least 7 days’ further
written notice.
Payments on a suspended or terminated project
Within the Contract, there is provision for the Architect/Consultant to be paid any
part of the total fee due on the expiry date of any notice suspending or terminating
performance of any or all of the services, unless the Architect/Consultant has not
complied with the terms of the Contract. This payment must be a fair and reasonable
amount up to the date of termination or suspension to reflect any work carried
out, but not completed at the time of termination or suspension together with
the payment of any licence fee due under clause 6. To this should be added the
reimbursement of any loss and/or damages caused to the Architect/Consultant as a
result of the suspension or the termination, except where the Architect/Consultant is
in material or persistent breach of the obligations under the Contract.
Restarting a suspended or terminated project
When a Client decides to restart a suspended or terminated project they will usually
contact the Architect/Consultant who originally worked on the project to ask them
to continue where they left off. Although restarting a project is usually seen as good
news, design firms should be extremely careful before agreeing to accept such an
assignment.
They will need to thoroughly reacquaint themselves with the project and determine
what changes need to be made to get the project up and running towards a
successful conclusion. The first thing to do is to review where the project was at
the time of suspension or termination. It is a good idea to meet with the Client, the
Contractor if appointed and other Consultants to ensure that they are in agreement
on the plan going forward and to read the Contract and the project files thoroughly.
Has anything changed? If the project has been in limbo for any extended period of
time the Architect/Consultant should check their scope of services, design criteria,
the project schedule and the construction budget, as these may all have to be
readjusted. The Schedule of Services may need to be adjusted or redrafted. In fact,
a worst-case scenario is that the Architect/Consultant may have to renegotiate a
completely new or revised Contract with the Client.
The Architect/Consultant may also need to determine whether any laws, codes and
regulations have changed since the project was stopped. Approvals may need to
be renewed, and studies and reports redone. New products may be on the market
that call for changes in specifications. New software, computer models or other
technology may be available that could benefit the project.
The Architect/Consultant should also examine the overall fee structure to ensure they
are adequately compensated for any changes in scope and to take into account
inflation or any changes in their standard rates. Will there be any impact on their
insurances?
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