Getting an AI-drafted contractor agreement checked

A contractor agreement produced with an AI drafting tool covers the work, the price and the timetable in general terms that could apply to any trade. Contracts for building, electrical, mechanical, groundworks and fit-out work are governed by rules the general form does not know: statutory payment and adjudication provisions, the Construction Industry Scheme, site safety duties and the compulsory insurances. The draft may also leave the contractor's liability unlimited or the customer's remedies undefined. I review the agreement against English law and the trade, and return it marked up with tracked changes, a clean copy and a written explanation of the changes, for a fixed fee of £495 in three working days.

Who this is for

Contractors, subcontractors and trades businesses in England and Wales that have drafted their own contract or subcontract using an AI tool, and businesses that have drafted terms to engage a contractor the same way, for construction, installation, engineering, maintenance or technical services. The review is of the client's own document; the contractor is a self-employed business, with status checked case by case.

What the review checks in an AI-drafted contractor agreement

Whether the Construction Act applies and what it requires

A contract for construction operations between businesses is a construction contract under Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996, which implies a right to adjudication under section 108, stage payments for work lasting 45 days or more under section 109, and the payment notice regime in sections 110A and 111, and bans pay-when-paid under section 113; where the contract does not comply, the Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 apply. The Act does not apply to a contract with a residential occupier under section 106. An AI draft may know none of that, and the review adds compliant payment terms, notice periods and an adjudication clause, or confirms the Act does not apply.

Status, the CIS and the terms that point the wrong way

A contractor engaged as a self-employed business should be described that way, and an AI draft may include hours, supervision and exclusivity terms that point towards worker status under section 230 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Payments to a subcontractor for construction operations fall within the Construction Industry Scheme, under which the contractor verifies the subcontractor with HMRC and deducts tax at the applicable rate unless the subcontractor has gross payment status, and the agreement should say so. The review drafts for a self-employed contractor, with status checked case by case using HMRC's Check Employment Status for Tax tool, and adds the CIS provisions.

Insurance, site safety and the duties the law imposes

A contractor with employees must hold employer's liability insurance under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, and public liability cover is a practical necessity the customer will require. On site, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 impose duties on the client, the designer and the contractor, including the contractor's duties under regulation 15, and the contractor owes duties to those affected by its work under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The review adds the insurance obligations at stated levels, allocates the CDM roles, and states who provides welfare, scaffolding and access.

Payment, retention, variations and the price

The review checks the price basis (fixed price, schedule of rates or day rate), the stage payments and their timing, any retention and its release, the variation procedure and how variations are valued, and the treatment of unforeseen conditions. Between businesses the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies to late payment, and where the Act applies the payment and pay less notices must be built into the mechanism. An AI draft may set a single payment on completion, which leaves the contractor funding the work, or a retention with no release date.

Defects, standard of work and the consumer customer

A contractor must carry out services with reasonable care and skill under section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 for business customers and section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for consumers, and where the work is to a dwelling section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 imposes a duty to see that the work is done in a workmanlike manner so that the dwelling is fit for habitation. A consumer customer also has the cancellation rights in the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 for contracts made at home, with an exception in regulation 28 for urgent repairs the customer requested. The review drafts a defects period, a rectification procedure and a consumer version of the terms where the contractor works for homeowners.

Liability, delay and the terms the draft leaves out

An AI draft may leave the contractor's liability unlimited, exclude it entirely, or impose liquidated damages for delay with no extension of time mechanism, which loses the customer the right to them when the customer causes delay. The review drafts a cap by reference to the contract sum, the carve-outs required by section 2 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, a delay provision with extensions of time for events outside the contractor's control, and the terms the draft omits: materials and title, waste, access, the customer's dependencies, and termination with payment for work done.

What it costs

Review of an AI-drafted contract, £495. One contract, returned as a marked-up Word document with my amendments as tracked changes, a clean version with the changes accepted, and a written explanation of the changes. Three working days from payment.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the review of an ai-drafted contract page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• Your own Word document returned with every amendment I consider necessary shown as a tracked change, so you can see exactly what I changed and accept or reject each one
• A clean version with every change accepted, ready to send
• Corrections to anything that is wrong as a matter of English law, unenforceable as drafted, or internally inconsistent
• Missing provisions added where the document has left a gap that matters: usually liability, termination, payment, intellectual property or data
• Comments in the margin where a clause is a commercial choice rather than a legal one, so the decision stays yours
• A written explanation of what I have changed and why, by email or as an attachment if it is lengthy, with anything you should think about before sending it out
• Follow-up questions on the mark-up answered by email, included

What is not included

• A full rewrite. This is a review and amendment of your document, not a replacement for it. If the draft is structurally unsuitable for the deal, I will say so and quote separately for drafting it properly
• A second round of amendments after you have changed the document again, which I can quote for
• Negotiating with the other side
• Advice on the law of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales
• Tax, accounting or regulatory advice
• Reviewing a document the other side drafted, which is the contract review service, at the same price

Questions I am often asked

Our AI-drafted subcontract says we get paid when the main contractor is paid. Is that allowed?

Not for construction operations: section 113 of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 makes a pay-when-paid clause ineffective except where the employer is insolvent. The review replaces it with compliant due dates, final dates and payment notices.

Does the agreement need to mention the CIS?

Where the payments are for construction operations, the contractor must verify the subcontractor with HMRC and deduct tax unless the subcontractor has gross payment status, and the agreement should say how that is done. The review adds the provision and checks the contractor's status terms alongside it.

We work mainly for homeowners. Does the Construction Act apply to our contracts?

Not to a contract with a residential occupier, but consumer law does: reasonable care and skill, fair terms, and cancellation rights for contracts made at the customer's home. The review drafts a consumer version of the terms and a business version for commercial work.

Related guidance and services

• Review of an AI-drafted contract, £495, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Terms and conditions drafting, £995
• Reviewing a construction subcontract from a main contractor
• Getting an AI-drafted consultancy agreement checked

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.