I prefer ConsensusDocs to other industry form contracts. Off the shelf, they are clear and comprehensive and allocate risk reasonably to all project members. They strive to serve the project rather than any single participant. They are also easy to edit to reflect the particular needs of an owner on any given project. Owners can maintain edited templates that reflect their way of doing business on issues like payment, insurance, submittals and disputes. There’s not a better form contract in the industry.
Jim Teahan, Construction program and project manager, Construction Owners Association of America, Inc. (COAA), Great Ledge, MI
What is ConsensusDocs?
ConsensusDocs publishes a comprehensive catalog of 100+ documents that cover all your contract document needs. ConsensusDocs are the only standard contracts developed by a diverse coalition of 40+ leading associations with members from all stakeholders in the design and construction industry. ConsensusDocs contracts incorporate best practices and fairly allocate risk to help reduce costly contingencies and adversarial negotiations.
How Does ConsensusDocs Help COAA Members?
The general conditions include the responsibilities allocated to each party and address critical construction law contract issues. The contract issues include: the parties relationship and responsibilities to each other, definitions of key terms, scope of work and execution obligations, design delegation, worksite conditions, differing site conditions, contract price, contract documents, contracts review, submittals, subcontracts, permits and taxes, time, changes, schedule changes, payment, payment schedule, final completion and final payment, indemnification (defend and hold harmless against all losses), insurance and bond, termination for convenience, termination for cause, claims and notice, waiver of consequential damages, dispute resolution and mitigation, construction defects, choice of law, venue, and much more. The included construction law contract issues are fair for Owners of the project as well as Constructors. Parties can modify the terms of the agreement for their individual project needs and state law requirements.
This document presumes that the Owner will be hiring a Design Professional to provide design services. The ConsensusDocs 240 (long) or 245 (short) agreement covers that Designer-Owner relationship. The Owner is included in project communications and maintains decision making unless the Owner delegates responsibilities to the Design Professional.
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