Tips for Drafting Amendments
Recently, I was presented with a contract amendment for one of the standard building contracts that was being disputed. The portion of the contract that was modified did not address the main concern of the parties, or rather the original intention of the contractor. Unfortunately, when it comes to amending a contract, humans can simply miss the mark. The built environment tends to use standard contracts provided over the internet or in book format. When these don’t suit the parties, they often look to amend the terms or attempt to specify bespoke terms in the Contract Data. Often, no problems arise since these agreements cater for various changes. However, when the standard contract format is not entirely clear in terms of a specific amendment, problems can arise. So, here are the steps that I follow when making an amendment. 1. Understand the current set up of the contract and how the item in question unfolds . A colleague once handed me ...