Every dispute practice teaches the same lesson from the other end: nearly all of it was preventable on paper. The abandoned extension traced back to a 50% deposit; the payment war to terms nobody aligned with the 2013 Act; the new-build heartbreak to a building agreement signed unread. Contract review is where an hour of law is worth a year of litigation — for homeowners and contractors alike.
The Documents We Review
- Extension and renovation contracts — and the quotes standing in for them: price basis, stage payments, variations, retention, insurance, timeline — the full checklist: extension contract checklist;
- Law Society Building Agreements for new homes — completion mechanics, long-stops, snagging and defects provisions: the building agreement explained;
- RIAI standard forms — understood and operated correctly from day one: RIAI contracts and their disputes;
- Subcontracts and trade terms — aligned to the Construction Contracts Act 2013 so the payment toolkit works when needed;
- Self-build appointments — the contractor, professional and certifier documents around a one-off build, read together rather than signed separately.
What a Review Actually Changes
Not boilerplate — behaviour. A reviewed contract puts payments behind work instead of ahead of it, variations in writing instead of on handshakes, a retention where your leverage should be, and a dispute clause you would actually want to use. It also tells you the things no drafting can fix — the price too good, the contractor who refuses any paper — while walking away is still free. And when a project is already wobbling, the same review answers the first litigation question: what exactly did we agree? — feeding straight into the disputes practice if it comes to that.
About to Sign - or Already Sorry You Did?
Send the contract or the quote. A fixed-scope review now costs a fraction of the dispute it prevents.
Call 01 5827148