Revised AIA Contract Documents - Time to Update
Check Your 2007 AIA Document Expiration Date and Update to 2017 Version.
As many of you may know, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) discontinued support of the 2007 versions of frequently used standard form contracts. This means users can no longer create a new document from the expired version, edit the expired version, or even finalize an expired version.
To keep up with industry trends and important court decisions, every ten years AIA Contract Documents are reviewed and updated. AIA’s new forms and contracts released in 2017 include the popular AIA A101, A102, A103, A201, A401, and B101 contract documents.
If your past projects were constructed using modified 2007 AIA contracts and forms, and you are now in the contract development stages for a new project, your standard forms should be updated to conform with the 2017 revisions. The 2017 AIA documents contain numerous updates that will impact your contract formation.
For example, one heavily modified area of the expired 2007 documents, the insurance provision, is now a separate exhibit so the parties can more freely tailor insurance and bond requirements. The new 2017 contract documents also embody a common modification, many of our clients employ, allowing for negotiation of an appropriate “termination fee” in terminations for convenience.
There are many other changes intended to improve efficiency and promote collaboration to reflect current trends in project team interaction. For more information, and to view side-by-side comparisons of the 2007 and 2017 Contract Documents, visit https://www.aiacontracts.org/contract-doc-pages/27091-aia-document-comparisons.
If you have any questions about the 2017 AIA revisions or drafting a contract for your project, please do not hesitate to contact us.