Contracts, Payments and Building Regs

Staged payments, retentions and the paperwork that protects you

Refurbishments usually go wrong at the same points: the contract, the payments and the approvals. This book sets out that legal and administrative spine in plain English. It explains the bodies of law that apply to building work, and the two separate approval systems, planning and building control, that investors commonly confuse. The central chapter covers the contract with your builder and what must be inside it to keep power in your hands, including staged payments and retentions. You will see the insurance and safety duties that sit partly on your own shoulders once a building becomes a site, and how tax, VAT and your choice of structure decide a refurbishment's real return. A compliance checklist confirms that every agreement, approval and duty is accounted for before and during the work, and the final chapter explains what getting each of these wrong actually costs. Next in this series: “Running Multiple Projects”.

What’s inside

• The legal framework of a refurbishment, in plain English
• Permissions, building control and planning
• The contract with your builder, and what must be inside it
• Insurance, safety and your legal duties
• Tax, VAT and choosing the right structure
• Your refurbishment compliance checklist
• Getting this wrong: what it actually costs

Educational material only, not financial, legal or tax advice. Results are not typical and are not a guarantee of income. Freedom Property Academy LTD, registered in England and Wales.