JCT 2024 isn’t a total reboot of the JCT world. It’s more like a big firmware update: lots of small changes which, together, quietly change how you manage risk, time and money.
The Design and Build 2024 contracts have already landed, with the rest of the suite rolling out in phases through 2024–2025, plus a brand new Target Cost Contract family joining the party.
This article is the “what actually matters for my numbers?” summary. No attempt to catalogue every tweak – just the bits that affect:
- Payment mechanisms
- Design responsibility and PI
- Fluctuations and liquidated damages
- Digital working, BIM and data
If you need the big-picture refresher on how JCT works before diving into the 2024 edition, start with JCT Contracts Explained: Types, Payment Terms, and How to Manage Them in Practice.
1. The big themes behind JCT 2024
JCT has been pretty clear about its headline aims for the 2024 edition:
- Modernise and streamline: gender-neutral language, more flexible electronic notices, shorter timescales for extension of time decisions.
- Reflect recent legislation: Building Safety Act, Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, Construction Act payment rules.
- “Future-proof”: bring previously optional clauses on collaboration, sustainability and dispute negotiation into the core contract.
- Add a new Target Cost Contract family (TCC).
So the structure is familiar, but the edges have been sanded down and some pressure points moved. For contractors and QSs, that means your old playbook still works… as long as you tweak it in the right places.
If you’re still deciding which JCT form to use for a project, the selection logic hasn’t changed dramatically, so JCT Contract Types Explained: How to Choose the Right Form for Your Project is still a good starting map.
| Area | JCT 2016 position (summary) | JCT 2024 change (summary) | Why it matters for cost control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions of time | Longer response periods; older list of Relevant Events | Shorter EoT decision times; clearer events (epidemics, UXO, contamination…) | Faster clarity on delay, more obvious grounds for time/money |
| Design & PI | Less explicit on fitness for purpose and PI exclusions | Clear “reasonable skill and care”, PI sub-limits/exclusions in Particulars | Design risk and insurance aligned; fewer uninsured obligations |
| Fluctuations | Fluctuation options embedded in main forms | Fluctuations moved out to separate optional documents | Forces a conscious choice about price vs fluctuation risk |
| LDs & termination | Some grey areas post–Triple Point | Clearer LD wording and termination payment mechanics | More predictable downside modelling for delay and termination |
| Digital & BIM | Email/BIM used in practice, less centre-stage in forms | Email notices, e-signatures and BIM guidance more clearly integrated | Easier to plug JCT into SaaS tools and structured information |
2. Payment, time and termination: where the cashflow lives
Let’s start where most of the stress lives: getting paid, and what happens when things go sideways.
2.1 Extensions of time: faster decisions, more events
JCT 2024 tightens up the extension of time machinery. Across the suite, the drafting of notification provisions is improved and, crucially, the employer’s time to grant an interim extension of time is reduced from 12 weeks to 8 weeks.
On paper, that means less limbo: you should get clarity earlier on whether delay is recognised or not. That’s good for programme planning and cashflow forecasting – provided both sides actually run the process.
JCT has also expanded the list of Relevant Events and related loss and expense grounds to deal explicitly with:
- Epidemics and associated disruption to labour, materials or services
- Changes in law and certain types of official guidance issued after the base date
- Asbestos, contaminated material and unexploded ordnance (UXO) discovered on site
| Event type | How it was treated before | How JCT 2024 treats it | Cost/time impact to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epidemics / pandemics | Argued under general “force majeure” style wording | Explicitly referenced as potential Relevant Event | Clearer route to EoT and loss/expense claims |
| Changes in law / official guidance | Often squeezed into generic change provisions | More specific drafting for post–base date changes | Easier to justify cost/time impacts of new rules |
| Asbestos / contaminated material | Handled via general unforeseen conditions | Express references (incl. UXO) | Stronger case for additional time and prelims |
In practice, that means less arguing about whether COVID-style scenarios or nasty surprises in the ground fit existing “catch-all” wording. From a cost control perspective, it’s clearer when you can legitimately claim time and money, and you can build those risks into your tender assumptions more honestly.
For a refresher on how the JCT payment and time machine works in general, JCT Payment Terms and Timeline: A Simple Guide (with Examples) is worth a look – the 2024 tweaks sit on top of that same core logic.
2.2 Termination and payment: cleaner link to the Construction Act
JCT 2024 also tidies up its termination accounting and payment provisions so they more clearly reflect the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (the “Construction Act”) – particularly around payment notices and the final date for payment of termination sums.
In Design and Build 2024, for example, there’s now an explicit clause addressing:
- The final date for payment of the “termination payment”
- The payment-related notices that still apply on termination
- How those amounts are to be calculated
That might feel like a niche detail, until you’re on a job that goes off the rails. For contractors and QSs, clearer termination payment mechanics mean:
- You can model downside risk more realistically when pricing.
- If the worst happens, you have a better-defined checklist of what should be paid and when.
2.3 Liquidated damages: confirmation after Triple Point
If you followed the UK Supreme Court’s decision in Triple Point v PTT, you’ll recognise the logic behind JCT 2024’s LD tweaks.
The new drafting confirms that:
- Liquidated damages for delay run up to completion of the works, or
- If earlier, up to termination, after which general damages for delay apply.
That removes some of the historic ambiguity about whether LDs simply “fell away” when a contract was terminated.
For cost control and risk:
- Employers get comfort that LDs aren’t accidentally switched off midway through a messy job.
- Contractors get clarity on the worst-case LD exposure in time terms, and on where general damages might start.
If you use Planyard or similar tools for forecasting, this makes it easier to model LD risk as a capped exposure (up to termination) rather than an open question. It’s a small drafting change that makes the numbers behave a bit more predictably.
3. Design responsibility and professional indemnity: less fantasy, more realism
The design and insurance market has been a headache for years. PI capacity has shrunk, exclusions have grown (cladding, fire safety, certain structural risks), and fitness-for-purpose warranties have become basically uninsurable in most cases. JCT 2024 acknowledges that reality.
3.1 Skill and care, not silent fitness for purpose
JCT 2024 clarifies that where the contractor has design responsibility, their duty is to exercise “reasonable skill and care” – and that they do not owe a higher “fitness for purpose” obligation.
That sounds technical, but it matters a lot for:
- What your PI insurance actually covers
- How you price design risk in Design and Build tenders
- How your lawyers sleep at night
The contract is now more clearly aligned with how most PI policies are written. You still need to read your policy, but there’s less chance of signing up to uncapped, uninsured design obligations by accident.
If Design and Build is your bread and butter, it’s worth pairing this article with JCT Design and Build: How to Manage Design Risk and Variations, because the 2024 tweaks don’t remove design risk – they just make it slightly more sane.
| Topic | Old, fuzzy version | JCT 2024 approach | What you should do differently |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design duty | Could be read as edging towards fitness purpose | Express “reasonable skill and care” for contractor’s design | Price and manage design as an insured, professional duty |
| Fitness-for-purpose risk | Sometimes implied by bespoke amendments | Explicitly not required unless clearly agreed (and insurable) | Resist FFP wording; check it against PI every time |
| PI cover and sub-limits | Only some sub-limits obvious in the contract | Sub-limits and exclusions (e.g. cladding, fire safety) recorded in Particulars | Align tender, PI policy and Contract Particulars |
| Overall contractor liability | Often hidden in bespoke schedules | Contract Guide suggests clearer liability-cap options | Decide and document caps instead of drifting into “uncapped” |
3.2 PI sub-limits and exclusions in black and white
The Contract Particulars under JCT 2024 now include space to record:
- Professional indemnity sub-limits
- Specific PI exclusions (e.g. cladding, fire safety)
Previously, the standard wording really only flagged sub-limits for pollution/contamination, and anything more subtle had to be dealt with in bespoke amendments.
By letting you list sub-limits and exclusions in the Particulars, JCT 2024:
- Forces a more honest conversation up front about what is and isn’t insured.
- Reduces the gap between the PI your broker actually found and the liability the contract pretends you have.
- Gives both sides a shared reference when claims or design issues arise.
The Design and Build 2024 Contract Guide even floats example wording for capping overall contractor liability, leaving it to the parties to decide whether to adopt it.
That doesn’t magically solve PI pain, but it does nudge everyone towards more transparent risk allocation – helpful when you’re trying to run project- and portfolio-level risk registers sensibly.
4. Fluctuations, insolvency and other cost levers
4.1 Fluctuation options go “outboard”
In previous editions, fluctuation options lived inside the printed contract. In JCT 2024, those options have been removed from the main text and are instead available as separate documents to download from JCT’s website.
You can still use fluctuations to deal with things like inflation or changes in labour/material costs – but you have to decide to bolt them on.
From a cost-control perspective, that forces a conscious decision:
- Do we keep a fixed price model and load risk into the tender?
- Or do we use the fluctuation options and share some of that risk more transparently?
Either way, it’s harder to accidentally ignore fluctuations in the background.
4.2 Insolvency and building safety updates
JCT 2024 also bakes in recent legislative changes, including:
- Updated insolvency definitions reflecting the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020
- Major building safety updates to reflect the Building Safety Act regime and new Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010
In plain English: the contracts now speak the same language as current insolvency law and the new building safety world, instead of relying on pre-existing generic wording.
Financially, that matters because:
- Termination triggers and rights are clearer (and usually stricter).
- Building safety compliance isn’t just a technical issue; it can drive substantial unplanned cost and programme impact if not managed early.
If you’re modelling downside scenarios on a job – “what if the employer goes pop?” or “what if we get a building safety curveball?” – it’s worth checking how the JCT 2024 wording shifts those triggers compared to your old 2016 templates.
5. Digital working, BIM and data: less paper, more plumbing
This is the bit that quietly makes modern SaaS tools much happier.
5.1 Electronic notices and e-signatures
JCT 2024 formally embraces:
- Electronic communications for notices, particularly via email
- E-signatures and digital execution
- Digital access through JCT’s own Construct and On Demand platforms
It’s not that people weren’t already doing this; it’s that the contract now:
- Gives clearer rules about when an emailed notice counts.
- Reduces the risk of arguments like “we don’t accept email as valid service”.
- Makes it easier to embed JCT contracts into digital workflows end-to-end.
If you’re using something like Planyard for JCT payment applications and contract management, this is a simple win: your notices, records and approvals can live in a digital system that aligns with the contract, instead of constantly trying to mirror a paper-first document.
That’s exactly the gap filled by:
- JCT Contract Management Software for Contractors and QSs
- Automate JCT Payment Applications and Notices
5.2 BIM and information management
JCT has also updated its BIM guidance. A new “BIM and JCT Contracts 2024” practice note sits alongside the contracts, focusing (sensibly) on the Design and Build 2024 form as the typical BIM workhorse.
Key ideas there include:
- Commentary on which DB 2024 clauses are most affected by BIM use.
- Guidance on preparing and incorporating a BIM Protocol.
- Checklists for Exchange Information Requirements (EIRs) and typical BIM protocol contents.
So JCT 2024 doesn’t jam a full BIM regime into the main contract text. Instead, it:
- Assumes BIM is handled via a separate protocol and information requirements.
- Gives you structured guidance so you don’t forget the contract hooks when you do that.
If you’re running BIM projects and want your commercial records to talk to your digital models and data, that’s encouraging: the contract is no longer totally “analog” while your project information is fully digital.
6. Collaboration, sustainability and disputes: softer edges, real consequences
Three previously optional “supplemental provisions” are now baked into the main JCT 2024 terms:
- A collaborative working / good faith article
- A sustainable development and environmental considerations clause
- Dispute notification and negotiation provisions requiring senior people to meet before leaping into formal disputes
None of these magically stop arguments or fix scope creep. But they are a nudge in a particular direction:
- Expectation that parties actually talk to each other before lawyering up.
- Encouragement (and, in some cases, gentle pressure) to consider environmental performance and better information-sharing.
- A closer alignment with public-sector procurement guidance like the Construction Playbook.
From a cost angle, better collaboration and earlier dispute negotiation usually equals fewer spectacularly expensive punch-ups at the back end of the job. And if you’re already using shared digital tools for cost, change and programme, those conversations have better data behind them.
7. What JCT 2024 means for your cost-control workflow
JCT 2024 is evolutionary, not revolutionary. That’s good news: you don’t need to unlearn everything you know about JCT.
But if you want to stay out in front rather than scrambling to patch templates, here’s the short version of what to do:
- Update your internal checklists and templates for the new Relevant Events (epidemics, hazardous materials, updated laws) and shorter EoT response times.
- Make sure your PI discussions and Contract Particulars line up – especially sub-limits, exclusions and any liability caps.
- Decide consciously how you’ll handle fluctuations and record that choice in your process, not just in the signed contract.
- Treat email and digital notices as first-class citizens; wire them into your cost and contract system so they’re automatically logged.
- For BIM projects, use the new 2024 BIM practice note as a trigger to tighten the link between information requirements, BIM protocols and commercial workflows.
On the content side, if you’re building or refreshing your JCT playbook, the rest of this cluster slots around JCT 2024 neatly:
- Big picture and types:
JCT Contracts Explained
JCT Contract Types Explained - Money and change:
JCT Payment Terms and Timeline - Form-specific deep dives:
JCT Standard Building Contract: Key Clauses That Affect Cost Control
JCT Design and Build: How to Manage Design Risk and Variations
JCT Minor Works: Keeping Small Projects Under Control Without Overkill
JCT Intermediate Contract: When It Fits and How to Administer It - Comparison with NEC:
JCT vs NEC: Which Contract Works Better for Cost Control and Payment Certainty?
And when you’re ready for JCT 2024 contracts to live in something more robust than a maze of spreadsheets and inbox searches:
- JCT Contract Management Software for Contractors and QSs
- Automate JCT Payment Applications and Notices
The contracts have finally caught up a bit with the way projects are actually run: more digital, more explicit about risk, a little more grown-up about design and PI. The more your systems and habits match that, the less time you’ll spend arguing about the paperwork, and the more time you can spend controlling the numbers.