Architects provide a variety of services including drawing plans for an extension, applying for planning permission, supervising a project and designing a new build. When mistakes are made, they are often expensive and time consuming to put right.
Whether it's your home or your business premises, you will likely have invested a lot of time and money into your property project. Naturally, you rely on your architect to deliver a proper service – there are professional codes of conduct which a qualified architect must not breach.
You may be entitled to compensation if your architect has failed to deliver work to a legally acceptable standard and/or has broken an important term of your contract with them. A qualified architect will almost certainly have insurance cover to meet your claim. We can help if your claim has arisen in the last six years, except in limited cases where there has been latent (hidden) damage.
What Should I Consider?
Building works usually follow the instruction of an architect. Issues may come to light during or after those works, and it is necessary to prove what the likely cause of them has been. With this in mind, the scope of your agreement with the architect is important.
It may be that the architect’s input is limited to the preparation of drawings. Whether those drawings were to a reasonably competent standard and whether the builder has adhered to the drawing requires consideration.
On other projects, an architect may be contracted to supervise the works and/or certify payment stages. In order to determine whether you have a claim, we will ask you questions about what it was that you hired the architect to do.
Adjudication, which is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), may be the most suitable method of resolving the dispute in some cases. This is largely due to the fact that adjudication is often faster and more cost-effective in comparison to pursuing a potentially lengthy court case. Our experts will advise you on the most suitable approach to suit your circumstances.
