Construction Adjudication Support – Referring & Responding Parties

What Is Construction Adjudication?

Construction adjudication is a statutory dispute resolution process introduced by the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. It produces a temporarily binding decision within 28 days (extendable to 42 by agreement). Adjudication is the fastest way to resolve a construction payment dispute and is widely used by subcontractors and contractors across the UK to recover unpaid sums, resolve disputed compensation events and settle final account disagreements.

When Should You Use Adjudication?

Adjudication is particularly effective when payment applications have not been met with valid pay less notices ("smash and grab" adjudication), when NEC compensation event assessments are disputed, when interim or final account valuations are contested, or when negotiation has reached an impasse. RKA Associates advise subcontractors and contractors across the Midlands, London, Manchester, Leeds and the wider UK on when adjudication is the right approach and when alternative strategies may be more effective.

• Adjudication referral preparation for the referring party
• Response preparation within tight 7-day response timescales
• Payment and "smash and grab" adjudication for unpaid applications
• NEC compensation event and valuation dispute adjudication
• Final account and variation dispute adjudication
• Adjudicator nomination and appointment management
• Enforcement advice and support post-decision

Urgent Adjudication Response

If you have received a Notice of Adjudication, time is critical. The responding party typically has only 7 days to submit a response after the referral is served. RKA Associates can mobilise within 24 hours from our Birmingham office to begin preparing your response. We work on adjudications involving subcontractors and contractors on NEC, JCT and FIDIC projects across the West Midlands, London, the South East, Manchester, the North West, Leeds, Yorkshire and all UK regions.