According to a Which? survey, 2.5 million householders have had a dispute with their builder in the last three years. The number and level of disputes could be drastically reduced if homeowners had a proper contract with their builder from the outset, according to the Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT), the body that drafts standard forms of contracts used in four out of five of all building projects in the UK.

“Most disputes arise as a result of misunderstandings,” said Professor Peter Hibberd, JCT chairman, “and many escalate out of all proportion because parties can’t remember exactly what was agreed. There is also no effective mechanism to resolve the dispute quickly and frequently so the outcome is shouting at each other, and then resorting to the courts.

“Having a proper contract in place not only enables the parties to set out what has been agreed to be done and at what price, it also includes mechanisms for handling variations and resolving disputes, including the option to go to independent arbitration, generally a far cheaper option than the courts.”

JCT  Contracts for a home owner/occupier are published by Sweet & Maxwell (www.jctcontracts.com) and can be bought for between £14.95 and £19.95 through most specialist bookshops or from the Royal Institute of British Architects (www.ribabookshops.com) or the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (www.ricsbooks.com).  In addition to this contract, JCT also produces the Home Repair and Maintenance Contract for very small repair work. This can be downloaded free from www.jctcontracts.com  (select: Free JCT publications)