Construction Law Solicitor UK: How to Choose One

At a glance

• A construction law solicitor advises on contract drafting and procurement (JCT, NEC, FIDIC and bespoke forms), payment disputes, defects, delay claims, statutory adjudication, and litigation or arbitration in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC).
• Statutory right to adjudication: under section 108 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (HGCRA 1996), most construction contracts carry a right to adjudicate a dispute, decided within 28 days (extendable by up to 14 days with the referring party's consent).
• Homeowners are often excluded: section 106 HGCRA 1996 disapplies the statutory adjudication and payment regime for contracts that principally relate to a dwelling one of the parties occupies or intends to occupy as their residence — the "residential occupier" exception. Adjudication rights for homeowners depend on what the contract itself says.
• Payment protections: sections 109–111 HGCRA 1996 give a right to stage payments (for contracts running 45 days or more) and require a valid pay less notice before a payer can withhold a "notified sum" that is otherwise due.
• The 2009 amendment: the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 amended HGCRA 1996 Part II, tightening the "in writing" requirements for adjudication clauses and adding the right to correct a clerical error in an adjudicator's decision.
• Extended limitation for defects: section 135 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) gives claims under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 a 15-year limitation period going forward from 28 June 2022, and — retrospectively — 30 years for causes of action that had already accrued before that date.
• Standard forms are facts, not law: JCT, NEC and FIDIC are industry-published contract families, not statutory schemes. A solicitor needs to know the specific form and its amendments, not just the statutory backdrop.

What does a construction law solicitor do?

A construction law solicitor focuses specifically on the legal issues that arise before, during and after building and engineering projects. That covers contract drafting and negotiation using standard forms like JCT, NEC or FIDIC, advising on procurement routes, dealing with payment notices and pay less notices under HGCRA 1996, running adjudications, and handling disputes in the TCC or through arbitration.

The work ranges from front-end support — helping you sign a contract that protects your position — to contentious work when things go wrong, such as claims for delay, disruption, defects or non-payment. Some solicitors are generalists who dabble in construction; others practise in the field exclusively. That distinction matters because construction law has its own statutory regime, its own case law, and its own industry conventions that take years to understand properly. A solicitor who genuinely works in the sector day-to-day tends to produce faster, sharper and more commercial results than a general commercial lawyer learning on the job at your expense.

The legal framework a genuine specialist needs to know

Statutory adjudication: the 28-day process

Section 108 HGCRA 1996 gives a party to a construction contract the right to refer a dispute to adjudication "at any time" — including mid-project, which is what makes adjudication the dominant dispute mechanism in UK construction. The contract must provide, in writing, a timetable aimed at appointing the adjudicator and referring the dispute within 7 days of notice, a decision within 28 days of referral (extendable by up to 14 days with the referring party's consent), a duty on the adjudicator to act impartially, and the power for the adjudicator to correct a clerical or typographical error in the decision. If a contract's adjudication clause doesn't meet these requirements, the adjudication provisions of the Scheme for Construction Contracts apply automatically in its place. The adjudicator's decision is binding on an interim basis — it stands unless and until the dispute is finally resolved by litigation, arbitration, or agreement.

Several of these specific requirements — including the written-provision wording and the power to correct clerical errors — were inserted by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, which also repealed the older, stricter requirement that the whole construction contract itself be in writing. A solicitor who still talks about needing a contract "wholly in writing" for adjudication to apply is working from the pre-2011 position.

The residential occupier exception: why some homeowners aren't automatically covered

This is one of the most commonly misunderstood parts of the regime. Section 106 HGCRA 1996 disapplies Part II of the Act — including the statutory rights to adjudicate and to stage payments — where the construction contract principally relates to operations on a dwelling that one of the parties occupies, or intends to occupy, as their residence. In practice, this means a homeowner having an extension or renovation done on their own home usually does not have an automatic statutory right to adjudicate a dispute with their builder, unless the building contract expressly gives them one. This is precisely the kind of point a specialist construction solicitor should flag before a homeowner signs a contract, not after a dispute has already started.

Payment provisions and pay less notices

Sections 109 to 111 HGCRA 1996 set out the payment mechanics for construction contracts. Section 109 gives a right to payment by instalments or stage payments for work lasting 45 days or more, unless the contract says otherwise. Section 111 requires the paying party to pay the "notified sum" — the amount stated in a payment notice or (in default) a payment application — by the final date for payment, unless they have served a valid pay less notice specifying the sum they consider due and how it was calculated. Getting a pay less notice wrong, or missing the deadline for serving one, is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes in construction payment disputes — a specialist solicitor will know the notice timetable in the specific contract cold.

Extended limitation periods under the Building Safety Act 2022

Section 135 BSA 2022 inserted a new section 4B into the Limitation Act 1980. Going forward, a claim under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 (the duty to build a dwelling properly, with proper materials, so that it is fit for habitation when completed) or section 2A DPA 1972 must be brought within 15 years of the date the right of action accrued. Where the right of action had already accrued before 28 June 2022 — when section 135 came into force — the limitation period is extended retrospectively to 30 years, applied as if the extended period had always been in force. There is a one-year grace period where a revived 30-year period would otherwise have expired within a year of commencement. The extension does not apply where a claim was already settled by agreement or finally determined by a court or arbitration before 28 June 2022. For anyone dealing with a defects claim, a cladding or fire-safety issue, or advising a developer on historic liability, this is a fundamentally different limitation landscape from the pre-2022 position, and a solicitor advising on it needs to be current.

Seven criteria for choosing the right construction law solicitor

1. Check they actually specialise in construction. Many firms claim "construction expertise" on their website but in reality it's a sideline. Look for solicitors who spend the majority of their time on construction matters, hold memberships of bodies such as the Society of Construction Law or TeCSA, and have a visible track record of adjudications, TCC cases, or published commentary on construction issues.
2. Match their experience to your type of project and your side of the table. A solicitor who mostly acts for large main contractors on infrastructure work may not be the right fit for a homeowner in dispute with a builder, and vice versa. Ask which side they usually act for — employers, contractors, sub-contractors, consultants, or end users — and whether they routinely advise homeowners on the residential occupier exception.
3. Probe their familiarity with the relevant standard form contract. If your project uses a JCT Design and Build contract, NEC4 Option C, or a bespoke FIDIC-based agreement, your solicitor needs to know it cold, including how amendments, schedules of amendments and collateral warranties are typically handled on that form.
4. Get clarity on fees before you instruct. Construction disputes can escalate quickly once adjudication or litigation starts. Ask for a written fee estimate, whether they offer fixed fees for discrete tasks such as a contract review, how they bill for partner versus associate time, and their approach to disbursements like counsel's fees and expert reports.
5. Assess their adjudication and dispute resolution track record. Ask how often they run adjudications under section 108 HGCRA 1996, how they approach the tactical side (timing of notices, choice of adjudicator, enforcement), and their experience of TCC enforcement proceedings if an adjudicator's decision is contested. If your matter might not qualify for statutory adjudication (see the residential occupier point above), ask what alternative routes they'd recommend — see our guide on choosing the right dispute resolution route and on ADR options for construction disputes.
6. Weigh up firm size against attention. Large firms have depth of resource for heavy disputes, but your matter may be handled largely by junior staff. Boutique construction practices often give direct partner attention and strong specialist focus, sometimes at lower rates. The right answer depends on your matter's size and complexity, not on brand name alone.
7. Verify their regulatory status. Check any solicitor or firm on the SRA's public register before instructing — it confirms current practising status and any disciplinary history. Genuine specialism is a bonus signal on top of, never a substitute for, basic regulatory verification.

Worked examples: matching the solicitor to your situation

A homeowner's extension dispute. A homeowner has a dispute with their builder over defective work on a home extension. Because the contract "principally relates to" a dwelling the homeowner occupies as their residence, section 106 HGCRA 1996 means the statutory right to adjudicate does not automatically apply — unless the building contract itself included an adjudication clause. The right solicitor here checks the contract terms first, before assuming adjudication is available, and may instead advise on court proceedings, a negotiated settlement, or (if the contract permits it) a contractual adjudication process. This is also exactly the kind of risk a solicitor should have flagged at the contract-review stage, before signature.

A subcontractor payment dispute. A subcontractor has submitted a payment application under a JCT subcontract and has received no payment notice and no pay less notice by the deadline. Under section 111 HGCRA 1996, in the absence of a valid pay less notice, the sum stated in the subcontractor's application becomes the "notified sum" and is payable in full — commonly called a "smash and grab" claim. A solicitor experienced in HGCRA payment mechanics can move quickly to statutory adjudication to recover the sum, because this contract is not a residential-occupier contract and the full statutory regime applies.

A developer facing a historic defects claim. A developer completed a residential block in 2010. In 2027, a leaseholder brings a claim under section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 alleging the building was not fit for habitation on completion. Before the Building Safety Act 2022, this claim would very likely have been time-barred (the ordinary limitation period under the DPA 1972 ran from the date of completion). Because section 135 BSA 2022 retrospectively extended the limitation period to 30 years from accrual for causes of action that existed before 28 June 2022, and the claim accrued in 2010 — 17 years before the claim is brought — it remains within time. A developer facing this kind of claim needs a solicitor who is current on the BSA 2022 limitation regime, not one working from pre-2022 assumptions. See also our guide on complying with UK building regulations and on collateral warranties and third party rights, which often interact with defects claims of this kind.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming statutory adjudication always applies. It doesn't for many homeowner contracts (section 106) — check the contract, not just the Act.
• Instructing on reputation alone, without checking the SRA register. A polished website is not evidence of current practising status.
• Treating an old defect as automatically time-barred. The Building Safety Act 2022 changed the limitation landscape significantly and retrospectively — don't assume a 2010 completion date rules out a claim today without checking.
• Skipping the fee conversation. Construction disputes escalate quickly; get a written estimate and a ceiling figure before work starts, not after the first invoice.
• Ignoring the specific standard form's amendments. JCT and NEC base forms are heavily amended in practice — a solicitor who only knows the unamended standard form can miss the clause that actually governs your dispute.

What to do next

1. Identify which side of the contract you're on (employer, contractor, subcontractor, consultant, or homeowner) and what standard form (if any) governs the work.
2. Check whether your contract is likely to be a "residential occupier" contract under section 106 HGCRA 1996 — this changes what dispute routes are realistically available to you.
3. Shortlist solicitors with genuine, demonstrable construction specialism and ask the questions in the FAQs below at an initial consultation.
4. Get a written fee estimate before instructing, and clarify whether a fixed fee is available for a discrete task such as a contract review.
5. Verify the solicitor's current status on the SRA's public register before you commit.

This guide provides general information about how construction law solicitors are chosen and how the key statutory frameworks — adjudication, payment, and limitation — work in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and reading it does not create a solicitor-client relationship. LegalDocuments.co.uk is not a law firm and does not itself provide regulated legal services. For advice on your specific project or dispute, speak to a suitably qualified construction solicitor, or call our legal helpline for practical guidance on your situation. The law described was accurate as at August 2026 and is subject to change — always verify current provisions at legislation.gov.uk and gov.uk.

Last reviewed: August 2026 by Brad Askew, Solicitor (non-practising) · Next review due: August 2027 or sooner if the law changes.