The main changes
- Building safety: new provisions identify the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor for the Building Regulations dutyholder regime introduced under the Building Safety Act 2022, alongside the CDM roles. In the Design and Build Contract, failing to comply with those dutyholder obligations is a contractor default. Work on higher-risk buildings will still usually need project-specific amendments.
- New relevant events: discovery of asbestos, contaminated material and unexploded ordnance, with new employer powers to instruct; epidemics that affect labour or supplies; and a wider statutory-powers event that includes changes in the law.
- Notices by email: the parties can agree to give notices and other communications electronically.
- Design liability: in design and build, the contractor’s design liability is expressed as reasonable skill and care, rather than a fitness-for-purpose standard, unless otherwise required.
- Collaborative working and sustainability: provisions previously available as supplemental terms are more fully integrated.
What to check before signing a 2024 form
- Which edition you’re signing, and that subcontracts and warranties match.
- How the email notice provisions are completed, including the addresses for notices.
- Whether the new relevant events have been deleted or amended in the schedule of amendments.
- How the building safety dutyholder roles are allocated, and whether higher-risk building amendments are needed.
- Fluctuations, insurance and payment options in the Contract Particulars.
General information, not legal advice. What applies to you depends on your contract, the facts and where the work is, and the law changes. Check the sources below and take advice from a qualified professional before acting on anything that matters.
Last updated: 12 October 2026
