What counts as a contract instruction under JBCC 6.2, when it entitles you to time and cost, and the 20 working day notice you must send to claim.
Under JBCC 6.2, a contract instruction that adds to or changes the work can entitle you to more time and to expense and loss. However, that right depends on giving the Principal Agent a notice of intention to claim in time. If the notice is late or missing, the claim can be lost however strong it is.
Clause 17 of the JBCC Principal Building Agreement 6.2 (2018) deals with contract instructions. These are instructions the Principal Agent issues under the agreement, and you must carry them out. Common examples are:
Instructions should be in writing. If you receive one verbally on site, confirm it in writing to the Principal Agent straight away, using the procedure your signed agreement sets out. An unconfirmed site conversation is a weak foundation for a claim.
Not every instruction leads to a claim. The question is whether it delays practical completion or causes you expense and loss you would not otherwise have had. Extra scope, resequenced work, standing time while you wait for revised drawings and added preliminaries are typical examples.
Where the instruction does have that effect, clause 23 allows a claim to revise the date for practical completion. Expense and loss is dealt with under clause 26. Both depend on the notice described below.
Clause 23.4.2, read with 23.5, requires you to give the Principal Agent notice of your intention to claim within 20 working days of becoming aware of the delay the instruction causes. Count from the earliest date you knew, or arguably should have known, that the instruction would cost time or money. Do not count from the date you finish pricing it.
JBCC counts working days. These are Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays and the builders' year-end break. Check the definition in your signed agreement and whether Saturdays are working days on your project.
Keep it short and factual. Include:
You do not need final figures at this stage. Address the notice to the Principal Agent and keep proof of delivery.
The Principal Agent issues an instruction on Tuesday 17 March 2026 adding a retaining wall. Your site agent sees the same day that it will push back the roof slab. Assume Saturdays are not working days, the day of awareness is not counted, and the South African public holidays apply as gazetted.
Counting 20 working days from Wednesday 18 March, you skip three public holidays. These are Monday 23 March (Human Rights Day observed, as 21 March falls on a Saturday), Good Friday on 3 April and Family Day on Monday 6 April. The notice must reach the Principal Agent by Friday 17 April 2026.
Sending it in the first week is better practice. You can then refine the estimate later.
After the notice, you must submit the detailed claim within 40 working days under clauses 23.5 and 26. It should include the revised completion date you seek, the programme analysis showing the delay and the expense and loss calculation with supporting records.
If the notice went on Friday 17 April 2026, you count 40 working days, skipping Freedom Day (Monday 27 April), Workers' Day (Friday 1 May) and Youth Day (Tuesday 16 June). The claim is due by Wednesday 17 June 2026. Treat this as a firm deadline.
Under clause 23.6, the Principal Agent has 20 working days to grant, reduce or refuse the claim. Under clause 23.7, if the Principal Agent does not respond in that time, the claim is treated as refused. That does not end the matter; it is the point at which the dispute procedure in your agreement becomes relevant. Diarise the response date so a deemed refusal does not pass unnoticed.
If you miss the 20 working day notice, you may forfeit the right to a revised practical completion date and to expense and loss for that instruction. That can leave you exposed to penalties for late completion.
This guide describes the standard JBCC 6.2 conditions. Your signed agreement may amend them through contract data or special conditions, and those amendments govern over what is written here. Read your own contract, and take professional advice on any specific claim. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Sakhani reads your signed JBCC contract, including its amendments. It counts the working days from each instruction and reminds the people responsible before the notice and claim deadlines. It also drafts the notice of intention to claim for a person on your team to check and send. See how it works or read more about JBCC contracts.
See every JBCC notice with its clause, period and addressee, or let Sakhani read your signed contract and keep the clocks for you.