Addendum
In a contract, the rights and obligations are created by the acts of agreement between the parties to the contract. English law does not require a particular form to contracts, and so the terms and ultimately the risk allocation are the choice of the parties involved.
Standard Form Contracts (SFC) aim to minimise the time and cost of creating contracts, but modifications may still be required. These provisions generally come in the form of amendments, but they can also come as an addendum. These two vehicles are similar, but they are structured differently and are used in different situations.
In its simplest form, an amendment is a change to an existing contract. In some cases, it may become necessary to amend a contract due to unforeseen circumstances. For instance, if certain clauses become obsolete or the industry changes and requires the inclusion of new terms, amendments may be required.
An addendum (or the plural, addenda) is written information that has been added to the original agreement. The information in an addendum is usually incorporated into the contract when the contract is executed.
Examples of addenda in construction contracts include:
- Acceleration agreements. It is common for acceleration agreements or costs to be treated as an addendum to the building contract. Sometimes acceleration agreements can be negotiated as an addendum to the contract in lieu of extensions of time caused by elements constituting client’s risk.
- BIM addendum. This addendum may provide for an information management structure, an information manager, a BIM execution plan and BIM protocols. There may also be a risk allocation and insurance provisions in relation to infringement of copyright and data loss.
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