Summary
NBS Domestic Specification contains preliminaries for the RIBA Domestic Building Contract.
NBS Building, NBS Create and NBS Scheduler contains preliminaries for the RIBA Concise Building Contract but not the RIBA Domestic Contract.
More information
NBS Building, NBS Create and NBS Scheduler are generally used for “commercial” work, where the client is operating as a business. The clauses and guidance are written to support this activity, and include references to legislation and technical documents which are designed for this purpose. The RIBA Concise Building Contract is a ‘commercial’ contract, so preliminaries are included in these products.
The RIBA Domestic Building Contract is described by the publisher as ‘suitable for all types of non-commercial work, such as work done to the customer’s own home including renovations, extensions, maintenance and new buildings’. It can be used by the homeowner, or by a consultant employed by the homeowner to undertake non-commercial work to their building. In this case the customer will be a ‘consumer’ for the purposes of legislation designed to protect individuals who are not carrying out work as part of a business.
If the work is being done in order for commercial gain, such as that which a small scale property developer might undertake, then this would require the RIBA Concise Building Contract. In terms of scope of works covered, the RIBA Domestic Building Contract is at a similar level to the JCT Homeowners Contract – which we include in NBS Domestic Specification but not NBS Building, NBS Create or NBS Scheduler.
Related article
Which NBS products support the RIBA Domestic Building and RIBA Concise Building contracts
