Is an adjudication decision final and binding?
Binding yes, final no: it must be complied with and the courts enforce it, but the dispute can be reopened in court or arbitration later.
Updated: . By Jack Butler-Kettle, Construction Claims Consultant.
The answer
Under section 108 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, the decision binds both sides as soon as it is made. It must be complied with, usually within the days the decision sets. If the losing side does not pay, the courts enforce it quickly and rarely look behind it. It is not final: the same dispute can be brought again in court or arbitration, where it is decided afresh. The parties can also agree to accept the decision as final. In practice most decisions are never reopened, because the losing side pays and moves on. Where the dispute was about a notified sum, the later argument is about the true value, not a rerun of the notice point. So adjudication settles the cash now. The routes to reopen it, and their chances, are questions for your solicitor.
Example
Illustrative example. The scenario and figures are invented.
The facts
On 3 October an adjudicator decides your main contractor must pay you £74,000 within 7 days. Your main contractor thinks the work was worth £60,000 and disagrees with the reasoning.
What happens
- It must pay the £74,000 by 10 October, whatever it thinks of the reasoning.
- If it believes the work was worth £60,000, it can later start a true value adjudication or go to court.
- It argues that case with the £74,000 already paid to you, not held back.
The outcome
You are paid the £74,000 on time. Any argument about the £60,000 is run afterwards, as a true value dispute or in court, not by withholding payment.
Underpayment Claim prepares the figures for the decision and for any true value dispute that follows.