The use of prefabrication in the construction industry continues to expand. However, well-established industry contracting practices for this growing construction process are yet to be firmly established. Today, the ConsensusDocs Coalition announced the publication of the ConsensusDocs 253 Prime Agreement and General Conditions for an owner to procure prefabricated construction materials and components. This is the industry’s first standard prime-level contract document to address the unique features and legal implications created by the prefabrication process.
While prefabrication and modular building have been around for decades, most construction contracting relating to such processes has failed to address critical legal issues created by these hybrid construction/manufacturing processes. The ConsensusDocs Coalition has taken a leadership role in addressing the unique features of prefabrication and modular building. In 2020, the Coalition published the first industry-standard contract document in this area – the ConsensusDocs 753 – Standard Subcontract for Prefabricated Construction. The new ConsensusDocs 253 provides best practices and fair risk allocation when the owner purchases the prefabricated components directly from the prefabricator.
“This new ConsensusDocs prime-level standard agreement is a first-in-the-nation resource that will make it much easier to contract appropriately given the unique legal aspects that apply to prefabrication and modular building,” comments Ron Ciotti, a partner at Hinkley Allen and chair of the ConsensusDocs Prefab Working group. He adds, “Before this new standard, the General Contractors, Prefabricators, and Owners that I commonly represent were forced to create a custom agreement from scratch to address the unique nature of prefabricated construction.”
Brian Perlberg, ConsensusDocs Coalition Executive Director and Senior Counsel comments, “We are very pleased to continue to flesh out best practices for prefabrication throughout the contractual chain.”
The ConsensusDocs 253 – Standard Agreement and General Conditions Between Owner and Prefabricator (Lump Sum) is available in the following packages:
For a free sample of the ConsensusDocs 253 please complete our Request a Sample form.