It is a well-known fact that construction projects—whether residential or commercial—are often plagued by delays. And while property owners (whether private developers or municipalities) often approach this problem by including detailed scheduling requirements and liquidated damages provisions in their construction agreements, these same entities often ignore the critical role that schedule float plays in keeping their projects on track. This article will provide property owners with guidance to address schedule float in their construction agreements.

The truth is that not every property owner has the capacity to retain a full-time project scheduler to ensure a contractor is timely performing its work or accurately scheduling construction activities for the project. The inability to consistently monitor the progress of the work often results in months, if not years, of delays. With delays often come increased costs to complete the project. While no negotiation can protect against all unforeseeable project delays, float allocation clauses are a particularly useful tool to mitigate such.