Retention

Retention Retention under NEC: it only exists if Option X16 is in the contract NEC has no retention unless secondary Option X16 is included. Where it is, there is a retention free amount, a percentage, and a two-stage release at Completion and the Defects Certificate. 6 min read Gulf FIDIC Retention under FIDIC contracts in the UAE Retention on a FIDIC job in the UAE is deducted from each certificate up to a limit, then released in two halves. The percentage, the cap, and the Taking-Over and defects milestones. 5 min read Ireland Retention on Irish construction contracts: holding it and getting it back How retention is deducted from each payment claim and released on RIAI and Public Works Contracts, and why the release dates belong in the diary from day one. 5 min read Australia Retention on an Australian construction contract Retention held under AS 4000 comes off the certified value of each progress claim, is capped, and is released in two halves around practical completion. 5 min read New Zealand Retention on a payment claim under NZS 3910 in New Zealand Retention is deducted from each payment claim and released at defined points under NZS 3910:2023. Track what is held, what is due back, and when, cycle by cycle. 6 min read Singapore Retention on a Singapore contract: holding it and releasing it Retention is deducted from the certified value on each payment claim under the PSSCOC or SIA form. Track what is held, what is due at completion, and what is released at the end of the defects period. 5 min read Hong Kong Retention on Hong Kong contracts and the payment claim Retention is deducted on the payment claim and released against milestones under HKIA and government GCC contracts. How to show it so the net claimed figure is right. 6 min read Qatar FIDIC Retention on a FIDIC job in Qatar: held in two halves, released in two How retention is deducted under Sub-Clause 14.3 and released in two halves under 14.9, at Taking-Over and at the end of the Defects Notification Period. 6 min read Malaysia Retention on a PAM contract in Malaysia Retention is money you have earned but not been paid. Track what is held, when half releases and when the balance falls due, or it quietly stays with the payer. 5 min read Retention The case for abolishing retention, and why it has not happened Everybody downstream dislikes it and the arguments against are strong. It survives because every alternative shifts the risk rather than removing it. 5 min read South Africa Retention on a JBCC contract in South Africa Retention is money the employer holds back on each certificate as security. On JBCC it comes off the gross, and it releases in stages tied to completion. 5 min read Saudi FIDIC Retention under FIDIC in Saudi Arabia: deduction and release in two halves On a Saudi FIDIC job retention is deducted under Sub-Clause 14.3 and released in two halves, at Taking-Over and at the end of the Defects Notification Period under 14.9. 6 min read Retention When retention is not released The remedies are the ordinary payment ones: an application, an adjudication, or interest. What does not work is waiting and asking again. 4 min read Retention Chasing the second release The end of the rectification period is silent. No invoice, no application, no meeting, and that is exactly why the money sits there. 4 min read Retention Reconciling the retention account Held should equal cumulative value at the applicable rates, less releases. When it does not, one of three specific things has gone wrong. 4 min read Retention Retention on variations and loss and expense Variations attract retention because they are work. Loss and expense normally does not, because there is no work in it that can be defective. 4 min read Retention Subcontract retention: the money nobody releases Retention held from subcontractors outlives the packages, the surveyors and sometimes the relationship. Why release is missed downstream more often than upstream. 5 min read Retention What happens to retention when someone goes bust The direction matters entirely. Money you hold and money somebody holds for you behave in opposite ways when a company fails. 4 min read UK Retention tracking in QScope for UK contracts QScope tracks retention cumulatively across valuations, releases the first moiety at practical completion and the balance at the end of the rectification period. 6 min read Retention Is your retention held in trust The clause is in the contract. The separate bank account usually is not, because nobody asked for it while the money still felt safe. 4 min read Retention The retention limit, and when deductions should stop Many contracts cap the total. Once the cap is reached, deductions stop, and continuing past it is over-deduction rather than security. 4 min read Retention Setting the retention rate Three per cent, five, or nil. The contract particulars decide, and the choice is a judgement about risk rather than a convention to be followed. 4 min read Retention What retention is for, and what it is not Security that the contractor will return and put things right. Not a discount, not a performance incentive, and not a reserve against the account. 4 min read Retention What happens to retention at practical completion The rate halves at practical completion and the balance falls away at the end of the rectification period. Why the second release is the most commonly forgotten money in the industry. 5 min read