As the UK suffers its worst materials shortages for decades, the construction sector is facing a rise in delay disputes, which can only damage the industry. To avoid such costly disputes, parties need to find a more collaborative and open approach to the allocation of risk in construction contracts.

Materials are arriving weeks late – with some still unpurchasable at all, as companies have closed their books to even out shortages – and the prices of many materials have rocketed to an extent that some projects have become unprofitable.

The cost of all this often falls on the contractor, thanks to contractual clauses that clients have inserted to allocate such risk away from them. Such clauses are commonplace and now also include provisions to add the risks associated with Brexit and covid to the list of outcomes for which the client or developer is not responsible.

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