The Final Hurrah

It’s not over until the fat lady, or in construction projects, the principal agent sings. An issue that is commonly faced by contractors in JBCC contracts is the closing out of a project by reaching the last stage in the project before finally handing the project over – final completion. 

Final completion is defined to be the stage of completion where the works are free of all defects as certified by the principal-agent. 

One would expect that towards the end of a project, all the parties would be eager to close out the project and that once all defects have been attended to by the contractor, the principal-agent would proceed to expeditiously certify final completion. 

However, more often than not, principal agents string contractors along and instead of assisting contractors in bringing projects to a close, they continuously issue further and further defects lists for contractors to attend to.

Top Tip: The best approach to adopt in relation to bringing the project to a close and obtaining the final completion certificate is to:

1. Request the principal-agent to provide the contractor with confirmation that all defects have been corrected; and
2. Call upon the principal-agent to issue the final certificate within 5 days. 

If the principal agent does not provide confirmation that all the defects have been corrected or if he does not issue a list for final completion within the 5 days afforded to him to do so, the contractor must again call on the principal-agent to do so.

Top Tip: If the principal agent keeps treating you like his ball boy and fails to issue the list of final completion, final completion will be deemed to be accepted. 

If the contractor’s efforts continue to fall on deaf ears, and the principal agent continuously issues the contractor with further defects lists, the contractor should immediately notify a disagreement in this regard as it has fixed everything on the previous defects list that it could fix and disputes any additional items to be fixed. Should the principal agent still not comply within ten days of having notified a disagreement, the disagreement will be deemed to be a dispute and must be referred to adjudication. 

Top Tip: Contractors should be putting the ball in the principal agent’s court and drive the final completion process harder than Tiger Woods drives a Bridgestone Tour B XS golf ball by assisting the principal agent as far as possible in finalising and issuing the final payment certificate. 

Final completion is a significant stage in the project because not only does it signify the end of a project, but it also signifies the following important events:

• The contractor is no longer liable for its subcontractors’ defects;
• Any guarantees, warranties, and indemnities which have been provided by the contractor or its subcontractors are ceded to the employer on the date that the final completion certificate is issued; and
• Except for latent defects, the contractor is seen to have fulfilled all its obligations on the contract.