After several meetings with different Building contractors / Civil contractors to build your dream House and going through several building construction Quotations, you Select the building contractor you feel is the right person for building your house in Bangalore.
After hiring your Architects, the NEXT step is critical and important to ensure that the project proceeds smoothly without completes without any delays or conflicts with the Civil Contractors.
Many people miss the importance of having a well-documented agreement between the Owner and Contractor, which is beneficial for both the parties, including the Owner and Civil Contractors. Below we have made points to consider while making the mutual agreement.
PONTS CONSIDERED WHILE DRAFTING THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN BUILDING CONTRACTOR AND OWNER
NOTE: This is just a Draft agreement copy, where we have considered a sample project to analyse costs and payment terms.
DRAFT AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT IS MADE on _______________(Fill in the date) Between:
Mr. _______ _______ (OWNERS NAME)
#_________________(address of the Owner)
hereinafter called the OWNER, which term shall include his assigns and successors.
AND
Mr. ______ ________ (BUILDING CONTRACTORS NAME)
#_________________(address of the Contractor)
hereinafter called the BUILDING CONTRACTOR, which term shall include his assigns and successors.
Whereas the owners possess a plot of land bearing #________ ______________ (address of the Site where construction will be carried out) and are desirous of constructing a house in the said plot of land as per the approved architects plan and the specifications, rates and quantities, enclosed and forming part of this agreement.
NOW, THIS AGREEMENT IS AS FOLLOWS:
1. The Building Contractor shall act in consideration of the money to be paid in the manner set forth below to execute and complete the works as per the plan and specifications enclosed to the satisfaction of the Owner and his Architect _______ _______ (Architects Name and Company details) having office address at #____ _____ ____ ___ (Address of the Architectural Firm).
2. This contract is on a square feet based contract. The cost per square feet of built area is Rs. 1750 (One thousand seven hundred and fifty only) (Fill with the Cost) . The square feet shall include all built-up area, including balconies and utilities. Sit outs and passages shall be charged at Rs. 200 per sft.
The total area of the building is 4004 Sft (Fill Total Area ). Therefore, 4004X1750= Rs. 70,07,000 (Rupees Seventy lakhs seven thousand only)
The total area of an entrance passage leading to the ground floor entrance and the sit out on the north side is 300 Sft. 300X200 = Rs. 60,000 (Rupees sixty thousand only).
The total cost of the building = Rs. 70,67,000 (Rupees seventy lakhs sixty thousand only) (Fill the total cost of the Building) to carry out the work in respect of the entire construction of the said building as per the architectural and structural drawings and as per items mentioned in the schedule and signed on ________ (Fill in the date of signing) . (Any additional work is chargeable as per the mentioned rates).
3. The term Architect shall mean Architect _______ _______ (Architects Name and Company details) having office address at #____ _____ ____ ___ (Address of the Architectural Firm) and or their representatives, appointed by the owner and in the event of his ceasing to be the Architect anyone else nominated by the Owner and intimated to the Contractor in writing.
4. The rates quoted in the schedule shall be for complete work in all respects. They shall include all direct, indirect and contingent costs, expenses including charges for scaffolding, centering material and shuttering, hire for tools and machinery, transportation charges and temporary sheds for storage of materials, labour removal of debris, etc.
5. COST ESCALATION CHARGES:
The schedule rates are based on the basic steel and cement rates taken as any escalation in these basic rates corresponding downward. Or upward adjustments shall be made to the contracted amount/values. No escalation in respect of any other item or material, or account shall be permitted.
6. The contractor hereby agrees to complete the work in all respects to make the house fully habitable on or before ____ ___ ___ (Mention project deadline date) . It is an express stipulation that time is the essence of the contract. The contractor shall submit the work schedule within 10 days from this date, and weekly site meetings will be held to monitor the progress.
7. All works contract tax, if applicable, is included in the rates mentioned in Part 2 (Bill of Quantities) of this agreement. Any non-tendered items will be charged as per actual +15% profit
8. The Building contractor shall be responsible solely for the compliance, expense, liability, damages, etc., on account of the following matters, under the relevant laws, enactment’s and the owner shall not be liable for any such compliance, expense, liability, and damages under any circumstances.
9. The Building contractor shall work in coordination with other agencies involved in working on the building. He shall render all co-operation and assistance to them. The time of completion shall not be extended to this account. The contractor shall set right damages caused to the building due to electrical, sanitary and water supply contractors, for which he shall be paid accordingly.
10. PAYMENT SCHEDULE
Security retention amount will be 3% of the work’s value executed and certified by the Client/Client Representative. And released after 3month of the virtual completion of the project.
11. If the OWNER chooses to supply any construction materials required, they shall be given credit for such materials’ cost, and the value shall be deducted out of the immediately succeeding running bill.
12. AUTHORIZED VARIATIONS:
a) The Building contractor may when authorized in writing or which directed verbally and later confirmed in writing by the architect with the previous consent of the owner and to or omitted from or vary the work shown and described in the schedules, and the contractor shall make no additions omissions or variations without such authority or direction.
b) The Architect may omit from or add or vary any item of work shown and described in the schedule with the owner’s consent.
c) All authorized variations for which a rate or price may not have been previously agreed upon shall be measured and valued by the Architect. Items for which no such rate exists shall be worked at actual cost to the contractor at site of work plus 15% VAT of the actual cost provided the architect duly certifies such cost.
13. MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP:
a) All materials and workmanship shall be the best of the respective kind and described in the schedules. The architect’s decision regarding the rates, quantity, and sufficiency of materials and workmanship will be final and binding on the contractor—specific brands mentioned as per the attached schedule.
b) The Architects shall have the power to order the removal from any defective materials or work to order substitutions of work materials under this agreement and the schedules.
c) Notwithstanding 12 (b) above the architect, may allow, in writing with the owner’s prior written approval, such defective materials and/or work to remain with the owner’s consent and shall fix such lower rates or prices as they deem fit. These shall be binding on the contractor.
14. WATER AND POWER SUPPLY:
The owner shall arrange for a temporary electrical connection, all electricity and water charges during the course of the construction will be borne by the client.
15. DEFECTS LIABILITY PERIOD:
Any defects, leakages, shrinkage or any other faults which may appear within three calendar months from the date of completion of the work, shall upon the direction in writing of the architect or owner and within such reasonable time as shall be specified therein be rectified and made good by the contractor at his own cost.
In case of default on the contractor’s part to rectify and make good the defects within the time specified by the Architect/Owner.
The owner may employ and pay other persons to set right such defects. Faults and the entire cost and expenses incurred thereon shall be borne by / made good by and/or be recoverable from the contractor, from any money including retention money due or which may become due to the civil contractor or otherwise.
16. If, in the opinion of the architect, the work carried out by the contractor is unsatisfactory, or the progress is slow, or, likely, the contractor would not be able to complete the work within the schedule , the owner shall have the right to terminate this agreement, at the contractor’s risk by giving 15 days when having the right to award the contract to such of the agencies as they may deem fit and any cash loss or expenses incurred on this account, as certified by the architect will be deducted from money due to or recovered from the contractor.
The Building contractor shall be responsible for the safe preservation and custody of all materials at the site. He shall compensate and reimburse the owner for any loss, damages that may arise therefrom.
18. The Owner, while retaining possession of the site, has only permitted the contractor to enter upon the property to construct a residential house. The owner shall be subsequently entitled at any time to freely enter upon and exercise all acts of possession and ownership over the aforesaid residential site.
19. Mobilization advance of Rs 7,00,000.00 (Rupees Seven Lakhs only) (Fill the Advance amount given) is agreed upon by owner to be paid to contractor, vide cheque # __________, dated ______ (Fill Cheque no and Date) drawn on _______________ (Date of clearance) , before the commencement of work.
20. In case of any dispute or difference between the owner and the contractor, the architect’s decision shall be binding on both parties.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have set their hands on the date mentioned above at Bangalore.
Mr. _________ (OWNERS NAME) Mr. _______________(CONTRACTORS NAME )
.
.
. __________ _____________
ARCHITECT OWNER
Before signing a construction agreement between the Owner and Civil Contractor, One should ensure that all the items are covered properly to have sufficient legal protection.
The risk factors should be included in the contract to protect the House owner’s interests. If you fail to read the written agreement, you will not be in a defensive position. The delivery of products and services will be mentioned in the contract between the owner and the contractor.
If the Agreement is signed, it cannot be changed later unless both parties agree upon it. One should be satisfied with the contract terms that mutually benefit both parties (Owner and Civil contractors). If you are not satisfied with the contract terms, you should negotiate with the contractor.
DELIVERY TIME FRAME
A Civil contractor should deliver services within the stipulated time frame. The owner who is receiving goods and services should ensure that the service delivery complies with the requirements. You can include various milestones and delivery points. If the delivery is not in tune with the milestone, you will be alerted.
MENTION VARIOUS PRICES LIKE BASIC COSTS OF MATERIALS USED IN CONSTRUCTION
The agreement should mention the cost factor of various construction materials used for building the House. If one fails to discuss additional charges, they should be discussed with the residential building contractor. If you go for a lump sum cost for that specific extra work done other than mentioned in the agreement. One should get an estimate if you are required to pay additional expenses.
MODE OF PAYMENT
There should not be any conflict in the mode of payment. The payment mode can be through cash, cheque, or electronic fund transfer as per the mutual agreement. The law of the land should be honored so that there will not be any issues. You can clear the payment at the end of the month. If you are unable to pay large bills at once, you can negotiate with the contractor so that the bill payment will take place in instalments. Hence, there should be clarity on the frequency of payments and the volume of payments.
If you fail to pay as per the stipulated date mentioned in the agreement, you might want to pay the penalty. Similarly, the contractor must pay the penalty for failing to complete the project within the stipulated time period. Even though there is an increase in the cost of various kinds of raw materials, the contractor should honour the contract, and it should be delivered as per the schedule.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The terms and conditions that are agreed upon by both parties should be reflected in written form. The particulars should be included in the agreement.
INABILITY TO AGREE on CLAUSE
If you would like to start the work immediately, you can go for an interim agreement. You should mention in the agreement that the interim agreement will be in force until a permanent agreement is signed between the owner and the contractor.
RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES between Contractor and Owner
Even though you include various kinds of issues and solutions, you are prone to go through disputes. There will be an arbitration clause that is binding by both parties.
If the arbitration clause is mentioned in the agreement, the dispute should be settled amicably. You should understand that arbitration is the least expensive, and the settlement will be done quickly. If you sign the agreement with the arbitration clause, you will not have any right to take the matter to court.
COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION
The standard agreement between the owner and the contractor will include complete details about the construction. The construction should take place as per the local building guidelines. The contract should contain drawings and specifications as approved by the competent authority. The details about the permission granted by the local government should also be mentioned in the agreement.
The building plans should be as per the local regulations, and complete information should be provided to the owner. Various items such as the building’s structure, electrical wiring, plumbing, drainage, septic tank, water cistern & guttering, access to road, landscaping, and complete description should be provided in the agreement; there will not be any ambiguity.
The information about the type of materials used for the construction should be included in the agreement.
DRAFTING STANDARDS
Experts should prepare the agreement, and drafting standards should be maintained so that both parties’ interests will be protected. The date of signing the contract should be prominently displayed on the top of the page. The date of occupation of the site by the contractor should be furnished in the agreement.
VARIATION AND ALTERATION
If there are any alterations, they should be done as per the mutual agreement between the owner and the contractor. In most cases, there will not be any alterations. The alterations will be minor in nature. For example, the arrangement of cupboards, wiring, and inclusion of additional power socket and other aspects can be discussed by the owner so that the contractor will serve his or her interests. As long as the construction cost is within the price limit, there will not be any difficulty making changes.
EXTENSION OF TIME IN CASE HOUSE CONSTRUCTION / COMPLETION IS DELAYED
If the contractor fails to complete the work within the stipulated period of time, the information should be provided to the owner immediately. The reason for the extension of the time should be informed to the owner.
If the request made by the contractor is reasonable, the request will be processed by the owner. If the owner is not satisfied with the extension beyond a reasonable period, the contractor is liable to pay damages.
MAINTENANCE PERIOD
Before handing over the building to the owner, the maintenance period should be mentioned in the contract. In most cases, the maintenance period will be from six months to one year.
The owner should go through the builder’s work and demand changes as per his or her needs. The contractor is obliged to deliver the goods and products as per the contract. There should be communication between the owner and the contractor to execute the project without any issues.
One needs to do a Labour contractor agreement for construction of the house in India between the Owner and Labour contractor to mention all the civil works included and excluded in the contract agreement.
The house construction agreement between owner and contractor pdf India can be drafted between both the parties with the help of legal advice where both the parties agreed to the terms mentioned.
One needs to do a house construction agreement before proceeding with actual construction work, As it mentions the scope of work that needs to be done by the contractor and payment stages that need to be released by the Owner.
The Contract agreement for construction work is an agreement that is executed by two parties it can either between Owner & Building Contractor or Labour Contractor or Owner.
The terms of the agreement between Owner and Contractor include Works to be carried out, Construction timeframes, Payment schedules, Cost escalation, Delays, Penalties, Construction materials used, etc.
YES, It’s very important to get a House construction agreement done even before building a house as it clearly mentions the agreed terms and conditions of both the parties like Owner/Building Contractor/Labor contractor.
A construction contract can be drafted as per the agreed terms which mention Construction cost, Construction materials used, Basic Cost of materials, Project completion time frames, etc.
The agreement between Labour contractor and Owner agreement for construction of a House should mention the Civil works carried out like Masonry, Framework, Plumbing, Electrical, Concreting, etc.
A construction agreement is a legal document that binds both parties to the agreed terms and conditions. It will mention the Project duration, Cost per sq ft or item, Building materials used, etc.
