NOTE Nº 0627 · REV B

Adjudication for Home Building Disputes Explained

How construction adjudication works for homeowners: the 28-day process, when it applies to domestic projects, costs, and adjudication vs mediation vs court.

By The Renovation Notes Team · 6 min read · Published 27 August 2026 · updated within the last month · Sources checked 30 September 2026

Professional reviewing a construction contract at a home renovation site.

In short

Adjudication delivers a binding decision on a building dispute in 28 days from a construction specialist, the industry's standard dispute process, available to homeowners when their contract provides for it (JCT homeowner and minor works forms do). It's faster than court and more decisive than mediation. Under the JCT Home Owner contract the adjudicator's fees are capped at £150 an hour plus VAT for up to 15 hours; an uncapped procedure, or professional help, can cost several thousand pounds.

The construction industry long ago decided court was too slow for building rows, and built its own process: adjudication. A specialist reads both sides’ cases and rules within 28 days, the decision binds immediately, and the job (or the final account) moves on. Homeowners can use it too, with one important catch about where the right comes from.

The catch first: where your right comes from

For commercial construction, adjudication is a statutory right under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, usually called the Construction Act.¹ Contracts with a residential occupier, a homeowner commissioning work on the home they live in or will live in, are excluded from the statutory scheme.² That exclusion sounds bad, but many homeowners have the right anyway, contractually: the JCT Home Owner and Minor Works forms, and most architect-drafted contracts, include an adjudication clause.³ Signed one of those? You can adjudicate. Signed a bare quote with no adjudication clause? You can’t force it, mediation and court are your routes, and it’s one more argument for using a proper contract form.

How the 28 days run

Notice of adjudication, you serve a short notice defining the dispute.
Appointment, within days, an adjudicator (usually a construction surveyor, engineer, architect or lawyer) is appointed, nominated by the body named in the contract, such as RICS or RIBA.
Referral, within 7 days of the notice you submit your full case: contract, chronology, evidence, quotes, the decision you want.
Response, the builder answers within the timetable the adjudicator sets, often 7–14 days; the adjudicator may ask questions or, rarely, visit site.
Decision, within 28 days of the referral (extendable by up to 14 days with the referring party’s consent, or longer if both parties agree). It binds both parties immediately.

The Construction Act sets those limits: the dispute should reach the adjudicator within 7 days of the notice, and the adjudicator can extend the 28 days by up to 14 days with the referring party’s consent.¹

“Binding” here means temporarily binding: the decision must be complied with now, but either party can reopen the underlying dispute in court later. The Act makes the decision binding until the dispute is finally settled by legal proceedings, arbitration or agreement.¹ In practice most decisions are accepted rather than reopened, and courts enforce them robustly in the meantime.

The JCT Home Owner contract runs its own, shorter procedure. Either party applies to an appointing body named in the contract, the adjudicator is normally appointed within 7 days and decides within 21 days of appointment, and the whole process aims to finish within 28 days of the application.⁴

What it costs

Under the JCT Home Owner contract the costs are capped. RICS charges £120 plus VAT to nominate the adjudicator.⁵ The adjudicator’s fees cannot exceed £150 an hour plus VAT for a maximum of 15 hours, so no more than £2,250 plus VAT, and the adjudicator decides whether the loser pays them or they are split.⁴ Under a Minor Works or other contract that uses the Construction Act procedure there is no cap: adjudicators charge by the hour, and a contested dispute can run to several thousand pounds of their time. Add your own preparation: representing yourself is permitted and workable for straightforward money/defects disputes; a construction solicitor or claims consultant for a day or two of drafting helps on complex ones. Realistic all-in cost for a homeowner: up to about £2,850 in fees under the Home Owner contract if you represent yourself (£144 application plus at most £2,700 adjudicator’s fees, both including VAT), and several thousand pounds under an uncapped procedure or with professional help, which is why adjudication suits disputes worth thousands, not hundreds.

Adjudication vs the alternatives

	Mediation	Adjudication	Court (small claims)
Speed	Weeks	~5–6 weeks	Often many months
Cost per side	Free court mediation for claims up to £10k; private mediators charge	Up to about £2,850 in fees (Home Owner contract); more if uncapped	£35–£455 issue fee + time
Outcome	Agreed deal (or nothing)	Imposed decision	Imposed judgment
Best for	Both sides have a point	Technical disputes, larger sums	Sums under £10k
Needs builder’s consent?	Yes	No (if contract provides)	No

Court issue fees for a money claim run from £35 for a claim up to £300 to £455 for one between £5,000.01 and £10,000, with further fees if there is a hearing.⁶ If a claim of £10,000 or less is defended, the parties are told they must attend a free mediation appointment organised by the court.⁷

The decision rule of thumb: under £10,000, small claims is hard to beat on cost; £10,000–£100,000 with a technical core and an adjudication clause, adjudication is the industry’s answer for a reason; and at any size, a genuine mediation offer first is cheap and looks good later.

Using it well

Adjudication is a documents contest under brutal time pressure, the referring party arrives with months of preparation, the responder gets a fortnight. That asymmetry favours you if you prepare before serving notice: tight chronology, the contract paperwork in order, photographs, an independent expert view on the defects, and remedial quotes anchoring the number. Serve when your file is ready, not when your patience runs out.

This guide is general information for homeowners in England and Wales, not legal advice.

References (7)

Figures in this note were checked against the sources below on 30 September 2026. Superscript numbers in the text point to them. Every source the site cites, by topic.

1technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-LOJL3VThe statutory adjudication timetable, which is fast by design and is why builders and subcontractors use it against each other, though section 106 excludes contracts with a residential occupier so a homeowner cannot rely on it unless their contract adopts it voluntarily. A party may give notice at any time of an intention to refer a dispute, dispute including any difference. The contract must provide a timetable aimed at appointing the adjudicator and referring the dispute within 7 days of that notice, require the adjudicator to reach a decision within 28 days of referral or a longer agreed period, and allow the adjudicator to extend the 28 days by up to 14 days with the consent of the referring party. The adjudicator must act impartially and may take the initiative in ascertaining the facts and the law, and may correct a clerical or typographical error in the decision. The decision is binding until the dispute is finally determined by legal proceedings, arbitration or agreement, and the parties may agree to treat it as final. The adjudicator and their employees and agents are not liable except for acts or omissions in bad faith. Where a contract fails to comply with subsections (1) to (4), the adjudication provisions of the Scheme for Construction Contracts apply instead.
2technicalvery strongThe National Archives (legislation.gov.uk), legislation.RN-5Q1UW1Section 106(1)(a) disapplies Part II of the Act, which contains the statutory adjudication and payment provisions, to a construction contract with a residential occupier. Section 106(2) defines that as a construction contract principally relating to operations on a dwelling which one of the parties occupies or intends to occupy as his residence, with 'dwelling' meaning a dwelling-house or a flat; a dwelling-house does not include a building containing a flat, and a flat means separate self-contained residential premises divided horizontally from another part of the building. Section 106(3) and 106(4) let the Secretary of State amend the definition only by order approved by a resolution of each House. This is the provision that explains why a homeowner has no automatic statutory right to adjudicate against a builder, and why adjudication is only available if the contract itself provides for it.
3technicalstrongThe Joint Contracts Tribunal, guidance.RN-267X3CJCT's product page for its homeowner building contract. It says the contract is for a homeowner dealing directly with the contractor and suits small domestic work such as extensions.
4technicalstrongRICS and The Joint Contracts Tribunal, guidance.RN-ABQWGXRICS and JCT's notes for homeowners on the Home Owner contract's adjudication. They give appointment normally within 7 days, a decision within 21 days of appointment, and a 28-day overall aim.
5coststrongRICS.RN-LT7AQ3A price, true at 2026-09. RICS's page for its adjudication service under the JCT Home Owner contract. It states the application fee of £120 plus VAT, which covers nominating the adjudicator.
6costvery strongHM Courts and Tribunals Service (GOV.UK), guidance.RN-A531DSA price, true at 2026-09. The issue fee table for a money claim in the county court, based on the amount claimed plus any interest: 35 pounds up to 300 pounds, 50 pounds for 300.01 to 500 pounds, 70 pounds for 500.01 to 1,000 pounds, 80 pounds for 1,000.01 to 1,500 pounds, 115 pounds for 1,500.01 to 3,000 pounds, 205 pounds for 3,000.01 to 5,000 pounds, 455 pounds for 5,000.01 to 10,000 pounds, 5% of the claim for 10,000.01 to 200,000 pounds, and 10,000 pounds above 200,000 pounds. If the amount claimed is left blank on a paper claim the fee is 10,000 pounds, so an unquantified claim must be estimated. Help with fees is available on low income or certain benefits using form EX160, alongside form N1 for the claim, returned to the Civil National Business Centre in Northampton. Further fees follow later, for example a hearing fee.
7technicalvery strongGOV.UK (HM Courts and Tribunals Service), guidance.RN-83FUDVThe government's guidance on defended money claims. It says claims of £10,000 or less go to a compulsory, free, court-organised mediation appointment of up to an hour.