The prevalence of claims under the JBCC Principal Building Agreement in South Africa

Abstract

The JBCC Principal Building Agreement is the foremost building contract in South Africa, with claims being a regular custom in construction projects where the agreement is used. This study therefore focused on South African construction industry role-players and sought to discover the regularity of claim events under the JBCC Principal Building Agreement. The study adopted a quantitative research approach with an online structured questionnaire being completed by 380 respondents consisting of principal agent practitioners and contractors in South Africa. Descriptive statistics were then used to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the most recurrent claim events are the execution of additional work, contract instructions, and adverse weather. The claim events that occur the least are insolvency of a nominated subcontractor, suspension or termination by a subcontractor due to a default by the employer, and force majeure. The study has therefore recognized and closed the knowledge gap regarding the regularity of claims under the JBCC Principal Building Agreement in South Africa. Principal agents should now be aware of the extent of claims under the agreement, which would help them to prevent and manage these claims to avoid damages to contractual parties. Also, although the study was limited to South Africa, the findings should still be relevant for users of the agreement in neighbouring countries.