Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020: New reliefs for stakeholders in the built environment sector come into force - Statutory extensions of time and cost-sharing for construction contracts under Parts 8A and 8B

15 December 2020

On 6 November 2020, we issued our KnowledgeShare Alert titled Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020: Statutory extensions of time and cost sharing to provide further support for stakeholders in the built environment sector, updating on the relief measures that were introduced to the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 (“COTMA”) by the third amendment to the COTMA passed in Parliament on 3 November 2020, relevant to the construction industry. These relief measures were enacted with the aim of supporting stakeholders in the built environment sector affected by disruptions to construction timelines resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, and are directed towards ensuring that no single stakeholder bears an undue share of the burden imposed by Covid-19. They are also intended to preserve industry capacity, and help stakeholders adjust to the new operating environment and recover from the impact of the pandemic.

On 30 November 2020, Parts 8A and 8B of the COTMA came into force. In brief, Part 8A creates a statutorily mandated universal extension of time of 122 days, providing relief for contractors in construction contracts who have suffered delays arising in the period between 7 April 2020 and 6 August 2020 (both dates inclusive). Part 8B further provides relief for such contractors by requiring the co-sharing of certain costs between contracting parties, where such costs are due to delays caused by Covid-19 during the period between 7 April 2020 and 31 March 2021 (both dates inclusive).

This present KnowledgeShare Alert explores Parts 8A and 8B in greater detail, including with reference to further resources that have been published since the coming into force of Parts 8A and 8B. These further resources comprise the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) (Part 8B Relief) Regulations 2020, as well as a suite of resources from the Building and Construction Authority in the form of (i) a Circular on Commencement of Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 - Part 8A and Part 8B; (ii) a Guide for Part 8A and Part 8B; and (iii) a Template for Part 8A and 8B.

To read the article, please click here.

Further information

Allen & Gledhill has a Covid-19 Resource Centre on our website www.allenandgledhill.com that contains knowhow and materials on legal and regulatory aspects of the Covid-19 crisis.

In addition, we have a cross-disciplinary Covid-19 Legal Task Force consisting of Partners across various practice areas to provide rapid assistance. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at covid19taskforce@allenandgledhill.com.