Opinion

Spring 2023 will be a significant time for developers as the UK and Scottish governments progress their separate cladding remediation programmes. Each government’s programme is at a different stage. Caroline Maciver (partner) and Lynda Ross (director) from the construction team at law firm Bu

With Scot­land and the rest of the UK con­tin­u­ally miss­ing house­build­ing tar­gets, Fraser Mitchell, part­ner in Shep­herd and Wed­der­burn's Prop­erty and In­fra­struc­ture team, asks: what are the road­blocks to build­ing?

The case of Muir Construction Limited v Kapital Residential Limited [2017] CSOH 132 served as a timely reminder of the importance for parties to a construction contract to understand the role of pay less notices. As economic uncertainty continues, maintaining cashflows and ensuring the correct amoun

Sandra Cassels discusses the recent changes to the law of prescription and their impact on latent defects in construction projects. The expiry of claims for damages in Scotland is regulated by the Prescription & Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. Section 6 of the 1973 Act provides that claims

Jessica Tresham, James Ignotus and Michelle Essen from the construction team at Womble Bond Dickinson share why arbitration is such a popular way of resolving cross-border disputes. Most people in the construction and engineering industry are familiar with the term "international arbitration". They

Legal director Gregor Duthie highlights upcoming deadlines for commercial property owners in Scotland and across the UK. Transparency over the ownership and control of property has long been a point of contention – at times, it has even become a political football. In a bid to clear up some of

Politically and economically, 2022 was a tumultuous year. Despite an encouraging start, by the third quarter it was clear that Scotland’s property sector was being impacted by spiralling inflation, soaring energy costs and increasing interest rates, writes Barry McKeown. Yet, let me recall som

Employment lawyer Pauline Hughes outlines the implications of changes to flexible working laws. The Scottish Government has recently announced that they will soon be passing new legislation around flexible working, updating the current rules to, ironically, make the scheme more flexible for emp

Anderson Strathern’s employment law specialist Musab Hemsi has long argued that engaging someone through the Construction Industry Scheme doesn’t necessarily always mean they will be defined as self-employed – and this recent ruling (Richards v Waterfield Homes Limited) confirms hi

Construction lawyer Andrew Boccoli believes that a question mark hangs over the continuation of fixed-price arrangements. For the past 20 years, convention in the construction trade has been that contractors take on much of the financial risk when they tender successfully for projects. But, as the w

Litigation lawyer Richard McMeeken discusses a recent decision involving a building contractor which has clarified certain aspects of the law of bribery in Scotland. In Oil States Industries (UK) Limited v "S" Limited; Lagan Building Contractors Limited (in administration); John Hansen and Stuart Ir

Andrew Diamond, partner and head of residential property at Lindsays, reveals how ‘subject to purchase’ bids hold potential for unlocking opportunities to bring more homes on to market as well as greater buying power. Contract clauses which make home sales subject to the seller buying th

Keith Kilburn and David Arnott outline how international arbitration can be used in the construction industry. International arbitration is a well-recognised dispute resolution process for construction projects throughout the world. It offers numerous benefits to parties, including the ability

To protect customers, the UK government has introduced a new code of practice and ombudsman scheme applying to all private buyers of new homes for owner-occupation anywhere in the UK. Finlay Campbell explains the details. The New Homes Quality Board (NHQB), an independent body established by Westmin

Charles Livingstone and Jamie Dunne from Brodies respond to last week's announcement from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which provisionally found more competition law breaches in the construction sector. The UK's competition law enforcement body, the Competition and Markets Authority (