Urgent adjudication response

Received a Notice of Adjudication? Treat the first 24 hours as procedural time.

Do not wait for the full Referral before organising the response. Record when the Notice was received, identify the contract and parties, preserve any jurisdiction position and start assembling the core project record.

Call Chris Hough directly: 07843 580 112

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Immediate response

Four things to do now.

Record service

Keep the Notice and note the date, time and method by which it was received.

Find the contract

Locate the executed contract, amendments and adjudication provisions.

Check the dispute

Identify the dispute said to have crystallised and avoid taking procedural positions casually.

Build the evidence set

Start with the payment, valuation, programme, technical and correspondence records that actually bear on the issues.

Urgent fixed-fee option

Urgent Adjudication Response Review — £1,250 + VAT.

For a party that has received a Notice or Referral and needs a focused first response. The review is intended to identify immediate procedural and jurisdiction issues, the timetable, the evidence required and the next decisions to take.

Review of the Notice / Referral and agreed core contract documents
Preliminary jurisdiction and timetable assessment
60-minute consultation
Immediate action list and proposed next scope

Urgent turnaround is subject to conflicts, capacity and receipt of the agreed documents. Full adjudication representation is separately priced; applicable adjudicator nomination fees and adjudicator's fees are not included in HQ Law's solicitor fee.

Why the timetable matters.

For qualifying construction contracts, section 108 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 requires a procedure designed to secure appointment of the adjudicator and referral of the dispute within seven days of the Notice. The adjudicator ordinarily has 28 days from referral to reach a decision, subject to permitted extensions.

That does not mean every document should be sent immediately. It means the response team should identify the issues, jurisdiction, evidence and responsibilities early enough to use the short timetable intelligently.

Should I reply to the Notice immediately?

Not necessarily. First understand what has been referred, the contract route and any jurisdiction issue. A rushed response can create avoidable arguments later.

What should I send HQ Law first?

Party names, the Notice, the executed contract and amendments, a one-page chronology if available, and the immediate deadline. Avoid sending a large confidential data dump before conflicts are checked.

Free PDF guide

Received a Notice of Adjudication? The First 24 Hours

Download HQ Law’s practical response guide covering the immediate timetable, contract and jurisdiction checks, evidence preservation and the documents to organise first.

Download the guide

Adjudication running now

Call before the timetable gets away from you.

Chris Hough: 07843 580 112 · chris@hqlaw.co.uk

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