Conditions of Engagement

Conditions of Engagement
  • General Conditions of Engagement

  • “A1A” – A1 Architecture Ltd, whose Managing Director Stephen Sparkes MCIAT, ICIOB is a Chartered Architectural Technologist and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists.

  • “the Client” is the home/land owner/occupier who commissions services from A1A.

  • “the Agreement” means the agreement between A1A and the Client including these Conditions of Engagement.

  • “contract administrator” may be “A1A” as defined in 1.1 above, who is engaged to undertake the duties as outlined in Clause 4 and administer the contract.

  • Conditions of Engagement – Services
  • Prior to commencement of the services undertaken by A1A, the following two conditions must be satisfied to determine that no speculative work is carried out.
    • the Client confirms they legally own the project site.
    • the Client confirms they have sufficient funds to carry out this work and pay A1A’s fees.
  • If both conditions are satisfied, then this Agreement is applicable and A1A’s standard deposit of 10% will apply.
  • If either of these conditions are not fulfilled, then the Client must agree to A1A’s Letter of Engagement for Developers and agree to pay a pre-payment of 5% before any work commences.
  • A1A will issue the Client with a Scope of Works in writing to be provided by A1A, and A1A and the Client will agree the services and any specific quality standards to be provided by A1A.
  • Conditions of Engagement – Clients Responsibilities

  • The Client will provide a clear explanation of the project requirements and any relevant information requested by A1A needed to carry out the agreed services.

  • The Client will provide A1A with clear information about the Client’s budget and required timescales for completion of A1A’s services and the project. 

  • When required, the Client shall appoint any other professional specialist services on the understanding that those fees shall be separate from, and additional to, those charged by A1A. A1A shall not be responsible or liable for the work of those other professional specialist services.

  • The Client will be available at all reasonable times throughout the project in order to give due consideration to A1A’s advice and A1A’s queries and agrees to provide any required responses within a reasonable time period.

  • Where A1A is acting as contract administrator under the building contract, the Client will not impede or interfere in A1A’s communication with the Building Contractor or the provision of any certificates issued by A1A. It is further agreed that the Client will not give any instructions to the Building Contractor or agree any variation in the services directly with the Building Contractor without having consulted A1A first.

  • A1A will not be responsible for any losses due to work based on dimensions, drawings or other materials supplied by the Client – nor for losses due to work carried out from drawings produced by third parties. 

  • Conditions of Engagement – Our Responsibilities

  • A1A may, when appropriate, provide the Client with a realistic timetable for the implementation of the project based on the information provided by the Client and the requirements of the project and shall provide details of all reasonable methods to ascertain the estimated costs of the building work.

  • Where necessary, A1A shall advise the Client of any requirement to appoint other consultants, specialist contractors or sub-contractors to undertake part of the design, inspection or certification of the project.

  • A1A shall use all reasonable endeavours to integrate into the design for which they are responsible the designs or calculations of the other consultants, specialist contractors or subcontractors, provided always that A1A shall not be responsible for the accuracy or errors within such designs or calculations.

  • A1A, if specifically instructed to do so in writing by the Client, shall make such periodic inspections of the building works as they consider reasonably necessary to check the progress of the works and to see that the Building Contractor is generally complying with the requirements of the building contract documents. Unless this work is included within A1A’s agreed Scope of Works it will be time charged at A1A’s current hourly rate.

  • If Certification of Work is required (for example for the Client’s lender), prior to commencement of work on site, A1A must receive written instructions to carry out periodic inspections as per clause 4.4 above. Unless this work is included within A1A’s agreed Scope of Works it will be time charged at A1A’s current hourly rate. A1A has no obligation to issue any Certification of Work if instructed after the project has been completed.

  • A1A shall not be responsible for the work of, or design by, the Building Contractor nor for any failure of the Building Contractor to complete the building work in accordance with the terms of the building contract.

  • If appointed as contract administrator, A1A shall act in a fair and impartial manner as between the Client and the Building Contractor, when administering the building contract.

  • A1A shall act as the Client’s agent to apply for any necessary statutory approvals (such as Planning Permission and Building Regulations approval) and will use all reasonable endeavours to obtain them, but cannot guarantee that such approvals will be obtained.

  • A1A shall, within ten days of receipt of Planning Permission automatically proceed to the next stage – unless instructed otherwise in writing.
  • A1A shall exercise reasonable skill, care and diligence to be expected of a Member of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists in their duties and obligations in the performance of the agreed Services.
  • A1A shall hold Professional Indemnity cover sufficient for their architectural service.
  • Conditions of Engagement – Fees

  • The amount of A1A’s fee and dates for invoicing A1A’s fee shall be agreed between A1A and the Client.

  • The Client shall pay the invoiced fees within 28 days of the date of A1A’s invoice, unless otherwise agreed.

  • A1A’s fee shall not include VAT which shall be charged to the Client in addition to A1A’s fee, if A1A is registered for VAT.

  • A1A’s fees shall not include Local Authority fees or charges associated with statutory approvals and other professional or specialist services.

  • The amount of any expenses (including but not limited to printing, photography, hotels, travel and subsistence) to be charged at cost, plus an admin charge of 10%, to the Client in addition to A1A’s fee and shall be agreed between A1A and the Client.

  • A1A shall be entitled to charge interest on any fees that are unpaid after the agreed date for payment. Interest shall be charged at 8% above the Bank of England base rate from time to time.

  • A1A reserves the right to recover any costs, commissions or fees incurred for the collection of unpaid fees including those which may be incurred by using a debt collection agency, with compensation for debt recovery costs under late payment legislation.

  • Conditions of Engagement – Changes
  • If the Client changes the services to be provided by A1A:
    • any addition or variation to the services will entitle A1A to charge the Client an additional fee. Details of such additional services and variations and any additional fee due shall be provided in writing by A1A and agreed between A1A and the Client as soon as possible.
    • any reduction to the services will entitle the Client to a reduction in A1A’s fee. Such reduction shall be provided in writing by A1A and agreed between A1A and the Client as soon as possible.
  • If the Client changes the design produced by A1A:
    • A1A will ask the Client to sign off the design, after the Client has had the opportunity to review the first draft and make up to two sets of amendments/revisions. The Client’s selected design is then fixed and will be ready for Planning Submission.
    • any significant design changes/revisions made after the Planning Submission by the Client will incur additional fees, time charged at the current hourly rate as specified by A1A. Such changes may invalidate previous Planning Permission or Building Regulations Consents.
  • If the Local Authority requires any changes to the Documents produced by A1A:
    • the Local Authority may request a comprehensive scheme re-design which would result in extensive revisions, or a new house design being required. This usually can be dealt with under the same application, but it may require extensively revised, additional, or new plans to be produced. In this instance, A1A would invoice this extra work, time charged at the current hourly rate.
    • any Planning Permission or Building Regulation Approvals granted may have conditions imposed by the Local Authority. These conditions may require discharging fully before commencement on site. A1A’s quotation does not include for any extra work required by these conditions. In this instance A1A would invoice this extra work, time charged at the current hourly rate.
  • If additional services become necessary as the project progresses, these will be charged at an hourly rate to the Client but may be adjusted to a lump sum. Before commencing the additional work, A1A will require written confirmation of the Client’s agreement to the fee proposal.
  • A1A shall require abortive fees should the Client change their mind after receipt of Planning Permission and cancels the following stage of work at 50% of that cancelled fee.
  • Conditions of Engagement – Copyright

  • The copyright in all designs, drawings, reports, models, specifications, bills of quantities, calculations and any other documents prepared by A1A (“the Documents”) shall remain vested in A1A. As long as A1A has received the payment of any fees properly due and owing, A1A grants a licence to the Client to copy and use the Documents for the purposes of the project only (excluding any extension of the project). A1A shall not be liable for any use of the Documents for any purpose other than that for which they were prepared and provided by A1A.

  • Conditions of Engagement – Liability Period
  • A1A shall have no liability to the Client under this Agreement after the expiry of six years from the completion of the services.
  • Conditions of Engagement – Termination

  • Either the Client or A1A may terminate the Agreement by giving thirty days written notice to the other party. The Termination Notice shall not take effect for a further seven days to provide the opportunity for the other party to respond to such Termination Notice. If after these additional seven days, the reasons for the Termination cannot be set aside through written agreement, the Agreement will be terminated and take effect without any further notification.

  • The Agreement shall terminate immediately if:

    • the Client (or any one of them if there is more than one) frustrates this Agreement.

    • the Client (or any one of them if there is more than one) is adjudged to bankrupt or enters into a voluntary arrangement with creditors.

    • Stephen Sparkes dies or becomes incapacitated unless there are business arrangements in place to address this by A1A.

  • Upon termination of the Agreement, the Client will pay A1A’s fee for those services provided up to the date of termination of the Agreement.

  • Conditions of Engagement – Disputes

  • If the Client and A1A are themselves unable to resolve any disputes between them arising out of the Agreement:

    • the Client or A1A can start Court proceedings; or

    • the Client or A1A can refer the dispute to the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists’ Dispute Resolution Scheme, which is run independently by the Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme (IDRS), a subsidiary of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

  • Conditions of Engagement – Law

  • The laws of England and Wales apply to the Agreement.

Conditions of Engagement