RIBA/BIID Domestic Professional Services Contract 2020 : Interior Design Services

The RIBA/BIID Domestic Professional Services Contract 2020: Interior Design Services has been devised as an agreement between an Interior Designer and a consumer Client relating to work to the Client’s own home, including renovations and extensions, provided that the Client has elected to enter into the agreement in their own name, ie. not as a limited company or legal entity or where the property will be let.

The contract is suitable for commissions for simple domestic interior design projects of any value. It may not be suitable or sufficiently comprehensive for complex projects. For these projects the Client and the Interior Designer should take appropriate legal advice on alternative legal terms.

Under the CDM Regulations 2015, on interior design projects where the Interior Designer is required or chooses to undertake, or subcontract, some building interior decoration work, a Principal Designer must be appointed to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety in the Pre-construction Phase of a project; and a Principal Contractor must be appointed to take control over the Construction Phase of the project and to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate the health and safety during the Construction Phase. This contract has the option for the Interior Designer to be appointed as the Principal Designer and/or the Principal Contractor.

The RIBA/BIID Domestic Professional Services Contract 2020: Interior Design Services is not suitable for works where the property is to be let or for commercial or residential work undertaken for business clients, including charities, religious organisations, not-for-profit bodies, or where the Client is a public authority. The RIBA recommends the use of the RIBA/BIID Concise Professional Services Contract 2020: Interior Design Services for commercial projects.

Key features

• is based on the RIBA/BIID Concise Professional Services Contract but is suitable for simple domestic projects of any value
• is for use with a consumer Client, relating to work to the client’s own home – including renovations and extensions – provided that the Client has elected to undertake the work in their own name and not as a limited company or other legal entity or where the property will be let
• is compliant with the Consumer Rights Act 2015
  focuses on the Interior Designer providing interior design services, including the provision of FF&E and undertaking minor building interior decoration work
• it includes the provision for the Interior Designer to undertake the services of a Principal Designer and/or Principal Contractor, under the CDM Regulations 2015

Easy to understand

The RIBA/BIID Domestic Professional Services Contract 2020: Interior Design Services is written in plain English, which provides three key benefits:

1. the language used in the contract is succinct and easy to understand, compared to other standard forms of contracts

2. the terms of the contract are fair and equitable for both the Client and the Interior Designer

3. the clause structure used in the contract avoids the use of large numbers of sub-sub clauses and large amounts of cross-referencing between provisions

Copies required for each Party

It is legally advisable that both parties to the contract each have an original signed version. Therefore, you should purchase two copies of the contract, so that both the Client and the Interior Designer has an original signed copy. Alternatively, prepare your contract online – see RIBA Contracts Digital – which allows you to issue final copies of the contract to each party at no extra cost.

Integration with other RIBA documents

The RIBA/BIID Domestic Professional Services Contract 2020: Interior Design Services has been specifically written to integrate with the RIBA Building Contracts and the RIBA Plan of Work.