


History of JCT’s Suite of Formsįounded in 1931, the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) is a national body comprising seven organisations that represent different sectors of the UK building and construction industry. Because each party’s roles and responsibility are outlined in detail, disputes and misunderstandings can be avoided, thus, preventing delays, shoddy workmanship, financial losses, and potential lawsuits. It defines all the essential terms and conditions these parties must adhere to, including the:Ī JCT contract is crucial to any building project because it provides all concerned individuals with a clear picture of what they must do, when they must do it, who must do the work, and how much the project will cost. The second will be between the contractor or builder and the sub-contractors that are actually carrying out the works.

The first is usually made between an employer (such as the owner of the building, or the council) and the contractor or builder overseeing the project. In a construction project, there can often be several JCTs in place at the same time. However, the standard form is nowadays almost never seen – instead, main contractors will use the JCT as a starting point and add several hundred pages of amendments to it, rendering it unrecognisable. JCT contracts were created as a standard form of contract, to simplify the contracts process within the construction industry.
