Minor defects and practical completion

Abstract

It is almost a certainty there will not be a single construction project can be completed perfectly without any defective works. Therefore, practical completion in construction industry can be awarded notwithstanding there may minor defects in the works. However, the use of the adjective „minor? introduces another foreseeable area of disputes. The contracting parties may be disputed on whether the defects are merely minor or not. This research seeks to identify the circumstances when minor defects can lead to delayed the awarded of practical completion or make the awarding of practical completion become invalid. The scope of this research is limited to minor defects at practical completion stage. The methodology used involves several stages starting from initial study and concluded with a write up. The data is collected mostly through Lexis Nexis website and it is able to find 10 cases related to the objective of this research. The cases that have been collected are carefully reviewed, with take special attention on the facts of the case, issues and judgments. From the analysis, it appears that minor defects do not delay the awarded of practically completed. However, it has to be ensured before the practical completion stage that the defects are really on minor nature. Next, it is important to measure how far the minor defects affecting the purpose of the works. If the minor defects are so extensive until they make the building not reasonably fit for purpose, then practical completion could not be awarded.