JBCC payment certificates: when payment is due and the interest on late payment

Under JBCC 6.2, a payment certificate is a contractual promise with a date attached. If the employer misses that date, interest starts running and you can begin the formal steps towards suspension. This guide explains each step and the notice you send.

How the monthly payment certificate works

Clause 25 of the JBCC Principal Building Agreement 6.2 (2018) sets up a monthly cycle. The principal agent values the work, including materials on site, and issues an interim payment certificate. The contract data sets the interval and the date the valuation is made.

The certificate states the amount due to you, less retention and amounts already paid. You usually submit your own valuation or statement to the principal agent and quantity surveyor beforehand. This is not a contractual requirement in every case, but it makes errors easier to spot before the certificate is issued.

A copy of the certificate goes to you as well as the employer. Keep it with the date it was issued, because that date starts the payment clock.

When the employer must pay

In the standard edition, the employer must pay the certified amount within a short, fixed period after the certificate is issued. That period is commonly read as seven calendar days. This is the main exception to JBCC's usual practice of counting in working days, so check how your signed agreement counts it.

The due date is fixed by the certificate's date of issue, not by when the employer gets round to processing it. If the employer disputes part of the amount, the agreement has its own route for that, through recertification and dispute resolution. Unhappiness with the figure is not a reason to hold back the whole payment without following that route.

Interest on late payment

If the employer does not pay by the due date, clause 25 gives you interest on the unpaid amount. Interest runs from the day after the due date until payment is made, at the rate stated in the contract data. The standard edition provides a default rate where none is stated.

You do not need to give notice for interest to start. Even so, claim it on your next statement so that the principal agent includes it in the next certificate.

The notice before suspension or termination

Late payment does not by itself give you the right to stop work. Under clause 28 (suspension), read with clause 29 (termination by the contractor), you must first give the employer a formal notice of default. The employer then has the remedy period set out in the clause to pay.

Only if the remedy period ends without payment can you suspend the works. If the default continues, you can take the further steps towards termination under clause 29, each with its own notice.

What the notice should contain

• The payment certificate number, the certified amount and the due date
• A clear statement that payment has not been received by the due date
• A statement that this is a notice of default under the relevant clause, and the remedy period that now runs
• A statement that you intend to suspend the works if payment is not received by the end of that period

Send it to the employer and copy the principal agent. Use the method of giving notice that the agreement requires.

Keep the tone factual. The notice is a record, and someone may read it later in adjudication.

Worked example

In this example, the principal agent issues Payment Certificate 7 for R1,850,000 on Tuesday 3 March 2026.

1. Payment due. Counting seven calendar days, payment is due by Tuesday 10 March 2026.
2. Interest starts. No payment arrives, so interest runs from Wednesday 11 March 2026.
3. Send the notice promptly. Sakhani recommends sending the notice of default within 5 working days of the missed due date, which here means by Tuesday 17 March 2026. This is a good-practice target, not a contractual time bar. In this example the contractor sends the notice on Thursday 12 March 2026.
4. Remedy period. For this example, assume your agreement gives the employer 10 working days to pay. Check the actual period in your signed PBA. Counting Monday to Friday from Friday 13 March, the period ends on Thursday 26 March 2026.
5. Suspension. If the employer still has not paid, you can suspend from Friday 27 March 2026, after giving any further notice that clause 28 requires.

The example assumes no public holidays fall in this window. Human Rights Day, 21 March 2026, falls on a Saturday, so there is no Monday holiday in its place. It also assumes Saturdays are not working days on this project.

What missing it costs you

There is no contractual time bar on the notice itself, and interest runs regardless. However, every day you wait to serve the notice of default is a day added before you can lawfully suspend.

If you suspend without serving the notice properly, you may be in breach yourself. The principal agent may also treat any time and cost consequences as your risk.

Your signed contract governs

This guide describes the standard JBCC 6.2 conditions. Your signed agreement may change them through the contract data or other amendments. Those changes govern over the standard conditions described here, so read your own agreement for the payment period, interest rate and remedy period. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

What Sakhani does about this

Sakhani reads your signed contract, including the contract data. It counts the days from each certificate's date of issue and reminds the people responsible when payment falls due or is missed. It then drafts the notice of default for a person on your team to check and send. See how it works or read more about JBCC contracts.