Most final account disputes are variation disputes, and most variation disputes are about work nobody instructed in writing. This sets out when instructed work is a variation, who can instruct one, how it is valued, and what a contractor must do to be paid.
Final account disputes are mostly variation disputes, and the pattern rarely changes: work was discussed on site, the contractor carried it out to keep the project moving, and when the invoice arrived the employer said the work was always included in the price. Almost every one of those disputes was avoidable at the moment the work was instructed.
What a variation is
A variation is a change to the works the contractor agreed to carry out: an addition, an omission, a substitution, or a change to the manner, sequence or timing of the work where the contract treats that as a variation. It arises either because the employer wants something different or because conditions on site require something different.
The first question is not how the work should be priced. It is whether the work is a variation at all. If it is already within the contract scope, properly construed, the contractor must do it for the contract price and an instruction to carry it out changes nothing. Work through the contract documents, drawings, specification and bill of quantities before treating an instruction as an extra, and record the conclusion at the time. A contractor who invoices for work that was always in scope loses credibility on the items that genuinely were extras.
Who can instruct one
Only the employer, or a person the contract authorises to act for the employer, can instruct a variation. The contract usually names that person: the architect, the engineer or the project manager. A comment from the site foreman or from a consultant with no authority under the contract is not an instruction, whatever the tone in which it was delivered.
Where the person who gave the direction may not have authority, ask for written confirmation from the person who does before starting. That single email is the cheapest insurance available on a construction project.
The obligation to comply, and its limits
A variation clause obliges the contractor to carry out changes instructed under it. How far it reaches is a question of construing the words the parties used, so the starting point is always the clause itself rather than an assumption about what a variation clause can and cannot cover. Where an instruction looks as though it may go beyond the clause, the practical course is to record the objection in writing at once, ask for confirmation, and reserve the position on both cost and time while continuing to perform if the contract requires it. Downing tools is rarely the safe option.
Getting it in writing
Most contracts require variations to be instructed in writing and provide a procedure for confirming oral instructions, typically a written confirmation from the contractor which becomes effective if the employer or certifier does not dissent within a stated period. Use it. A contractor who has confirmed every oral instruction in writing within seven days has a final account; a contractor who has not has a series of arguments.
Before the works begin, agree a single form of site instruction, a single register, and one person on each side authorised to issue and receive them.
How variations are valued
The contract sets the hierarchy, and it is usually some version of the following.
Where the varied work is of similar character and executed under similar conditions to work priced in the contract, the contract rates apply. Where it is similar but the conditions or quantity differ significantly, those rates form the basis of the valuation and are adjusted.
Where it is not comparable to anything priced in the contract, a fair valuation is made, built up from cost of labour, materials, plant, overheads and profit.
Where the work cannot sensibly be measured, the contract may permit valuation on a daywork basis against records signed at the time. Daywork sheets that were never countersigned are worth very little.
In a lump sum contract the price is fixed for the defined scope, so the argument is about scope and the valuation is a bolt-on. In a measurement contract, payment follows the quantities actually executed at agreed rates, so accurate measurement and site records carry more weight than correspondence. Errors in the bill of quantities are dealt with as the contract provides, and the treatment of an error is a question of what the contract says rather than of fairness.
Omissions
An instruction to omit work reduces the contract sum, but the consequences seldom stop there. The contractor may have incurred preliminary costs, ordered materials or priced the omitted work at a margin that supported the rest of the tender. Where a significant omission is instructed, deal with the cost consequences expressly at the time, and record what is to happen to the omitted work.
Notice, time and payment
Two points end more variation claims than any question of valuation.
The first is notice. Many contracts require the contractor to notify a claim for additional payment, or for the time consequences of a variation, within a stated period, and some make that notice a condition of entitlement. Missing it can extinguish payment for work that was properly instructed and properly carried out.
The second is time. A variation that affects the completion date requires a separate application under the extension of time clause. Payment for the varied work does not carry an extension with it, and the two are dealt with in Extensions of Time in Cyprus Construction Contracts.
Where work is carried out with no concluded agreement on price at all, for instance under a letter of intent or after the contract scope has been overtaken, a claim for a reasonable sum in quantum meruit may be available instead. That is dealt with in Getting Paid for Work Done.
What to send us
The contract with the drawings, specification and bill of quantities, the instruction or correspondence relied on, the variation register if one exists, and the valuations issued. Where the instruction was oral, tell us who said what, when, and who else was present.
Variation disputes sit within our construction practice. The clauses that prevent them are set out in Before You Sign a Building Contract in Cyprus: Ten Clauses That Protect You.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and their application can change, and individual circumstances differ. For advice on your own matter, contact Klitos Platis at klitos@kleanthousplatis.com or telephone +357 22 680 330.
Klitos Platis
Advocate, Partner
Kleanthous & Platis LLC, Nicosia · Revised 4 August 2026
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