Certificates and the Right to Payment

This chapter looks at the payment provisions introduced by the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (HGCRA) that apply to most substantial onshore construction operations in the UK. It analyses construction contracts defined under sections 104–105 of the HGCRA, which must contain a minimum, mandatory payment, and payment notice regime. It also explains how the HGCRA regulates and prohibits payment provisions, such as ‘pay when paid’ clauses. This chapter probes section 109 of the HGCRA, stipulating that any party to a construction contract in the UK is entitled to payment by instalments, stage payments, or other periodic payments for any work under the contract. It reviews the relevant statutory provisions in the HGCRA and the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998, which provide a payment code that must be followed in every UK construction contract from October 2011.