Valuation Disagreements: When They Say Your Work Isn't Worth That

‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‍Under section 110 of the Construction Act, every construction contract must have an "adequate mechanism" for deciding what payments become due and when. That doesn't mean the main contractor's valuation is gospel – it just means there has to be a clear way to work out the numbers. You're entitled to challenge both the mechanism and the figures if they've gone wrong.

This is general guidance only and is not legal advice. Always get proper advice before you go into adjudication or court over valuation.

1. WHAT VALUATION DISAGREEMENTS USUALLY LOOK LIKE

Typical ways they trim your money:

• Say you've done less work than you have – under-measuring.
• Rate differences – using lower rates or re-pricing variations in their favour.
• Pretending some variations are "included in the original price".
• Piling on contra-charges for alleged defects, delays, prelims, or "management time".
• "Forgetting" to value certain areas or leaving out whole packages.

Section 110 doesn't decide who's right on the numbers; it just says the contract must give a proper mechanism. But once you've got that, you can use the Act and the contract to fight the content of their valuation, and (if needed) run a true value adjudication.

2. WHAT THE ACT ACTUALLY GIVES YOU ON VALUATION

Section 110(1) says your contract must:

• Provide an adequate mechanism to determine what payments become due; and
• Say when those payments become due.

If it doesn't, the Scheme for Construction Contracts fills in gaps – so there's always some structure.

In practice that means:

• You know what each application should cover (e.g. monthly work to a valuation date, milestones, or stages).
• There's a known due date and final date for payment for each cycle.
• There's a payment notice and pay less notice regime on top (sections 110A–111).

Once those are in place:

• You can use smash-and-grab adjudication if they miss notices, even if there's a valuation dispute.
• You can use true value adjudication to have an adjudicator work out the correct valuation when notices are compliant but the figures are skewed.

3. WHAT YOU'RE ENTITLED TO CHALLENGE IN A VALUATION

You're not stuck with whatever number lands on their certificate.

You can challenge:

Measurements and quantities If they've under-measured, you can put forward your own measures (take-offs, site measurements, photos, as-built drawings) and argue the contract rates apply to those quantities.

Rates and valuation rules Where the contract has clear rules (e.g. "variations at contract rates where applicable, otherwise fair rates"), you can argue they've ignored those rules in favour of "gang" rates or one-off reductions. If they've re-priced work that should clearly be at contract rates, you can challenge that as a breach of the agreed valuation mechanism.

Variations You're entitled to value all instructed variations, not only the ones they feel like accepting. If they say something is "within the original scope", you can point to the drawings/spec and show it's extra – then value it under the variation rules.

Loss and expense / prolongation If the contract allows for time-related costs (prelims, labour downtime) when they delay you, you can challenge an under-valuation or complete rejection of these claims, provided you've got the records.

Contra-charges and set-off You can challenge whether alleged defects, damage or delay are actually your fault, and whether the amounts claimed are reasonable. Even if they have set-off rights under the contract, they still have to follow the pay less notice regime if they want to reduce a notified sum.

Retention and timing If they're holding too much retention, or for too long, you can argue they're not following the contract or industry norms and that the retained amount should be reduced or released.

All of this can be wrapped into either:

• A true value adjudication (asking "what's actually due?"); or
• Your defence to their low valuation if they try to enforce or run their own adjudication.

4. SMASH-AND-GRAB vs TRUE VALUE IN VALUATION FIGHTS

Two routes, different aims:

Smash-and-grab

You say:

• My application/default notice was valid.
• You didn't serve a timely, compliant payment or pay less notice.
• So under the Act, my applied sum is the notified sum and must be paid now.

The adjudicator cares about notices and compliance, not "who's right on value".

You get cashflow fast if you win – but they can come back later with a true value adjudication once they've paid.

True value adjudication

You ask an adjudicator to decide what's actually due for that valuation period or final account, line by line.

They look at:

• Evidence of work done, variations, delays, deductions.
• The contract's valuation rules and section 110's adequate mechanism requirement.

It's more work and usually more expensive than a clean smash-and-grab, but it fixes the underlying valuation.

Recent TCC decisions say:

• Payers can't generally run a true value adjudication until they've paid sums due under a smash-and-grab decision.
• In some circumstances, parties can put smash-and-grab and true value arguments as alternatives in one adjudication if done correctly, but that's specialist territory.

5. HOW TO PUT YOURSELF IN A STRONG POSITION

On every job, but especially when valuations are contentious:

Make your applications clear and detailed One valuation period per app, clear dates, breakdown by trade/area, clear variation log. This helps both smash-and-grab (they become valid notices) and true value fights (adjudicator can see your logic).

Keep your own measures and records Don't rely on their QS's sheet. Take photos as areas are completed, keep daily records, store revised drawings and instructions, and keep your own marked-up measures.

Challenge low valuations in writing, not just on the phone When a valuation comes back chopped, send a short note:

• Listing key items you dispute,
• Setting out your figures and why, and
• Making clear you don't accept this as accurate value.

That helps show there's a "dispute" if you go to adjudication later.

Watch the notice timetable like a hawk Even when it's "just a valuation row", missed payment/pay less notices may give you a smash-and-grab angle.

Get help early on big gaps If their valuation is tens of thousands below yours, it's worth getting a QS/claims consultant to re-measure and a lawyer to map the notice regime before you start adjudication.

This page is guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. Using it does not make us your legal adviser. Always get advice from a qualified construction lawyer or claims specialist before you start formal action over valuation.

What to do next

• Put the original spec and drawings next to what you actually did · highlight every item where their valuation is wrong.
• Keep your own measures and records: photos, daily records, marked-up drawings, site measurements.
• When a valuation comes back chopped, challenge it in writing · list the items you dispute, your figures, and why.
• Watch the payment and pay less notice timetable · missed or sloppy notices may give you a smash-and-grab angle even in a valuation row.
• If the gap is tens of thousands, get a QS or claims consultant to re-measure and a lawyer to map the notice regime before you start adjudication.

Sources

• Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 · section 110 (adequate mechanism for valuation), sections 110A–111 (payment and pay less notices)
• Scheme for Construction Contracts (England and Wales) Regulations 1998 · fills in gaps where the contract's valuation mechanism is inadequate
• Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 · amendments to the payment and notice regime

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