Construction Dispute Statistics UK (2026): Data, Causes and Trends

This is where every dataset converges. The leading causes of construction disputes are not surprises or force majeure events. They are administrative and evidential failings that better records would prevent.

Table 3 · What actually causes construction disputes

How to read the UK causes. These come from a multi-select survey question answered by 165 adjudication practitioners (King's College London and the Adjudication Society, 2024, figure 16). Each percentage is the share of respondents who named that cause as a leading cause of the adjudicated disputes they saw, not the share of disputes attributable to it. Respondents could pick several, so the column does not total 100%.

Inadequate contract administration is the most cited cause of adjudicated disputes in the UK, named by 50% of the practitioners surveyed (King's College London and the Adjudication Society, 2024). The next most cited, lack of competence at 42%, is closely related. Globally, HKA's analysis of more than 2,200 projects across 114 countries found change in scope to be the leading cause, followed by design failings, with sums in dispute averaging 33.4% of contract budgets and time extensions sought averaging 65.8% of planned schedules (HKA CRUX Insight, Eighth Annual Report, 2024).

This page is free to cite and reference. If you use any figure above, please credit the original source named beside it, and, where helpful, link back to this page as the compiled dataset.

<blockquote cite="https://gatherinsights.com/en/construction-dispute-statistics-uk">
  UK adjudication referrals reached a record 2,264 in the year to April 2024, and
  inadequate contract administration is the most cited cause of adjudicated
  disputes, named by 50% of the practitioners surveyed.
  <footer>
    Source: <a href="https://gatherinsights.com/en/construction-dispute-statistics-uk">
    Construction Dispute Statistics UK 2026, Gather Insights</a>, compiled from
    King's College London and the Adjudication Society (2024).
  </footer>
</blockquote>

How we compiled this data. Figures were taken directly from each source's own published report. Where a source publishes on a rolling annual basis (King's College London and the Adjudication Society, Arcadis, HKA), we cite the latest edition that actually contains the figure and state both its publication year and the year the data covers, because those are often different. Where a source has stopped reporting on a region, we say so rather than carrying the number forward under a newer date. Survey figures are stated in the unit the survey actually measured: where a percentage is the share of respondents who selected an option, we say so rather than restating it as a share of disputes, and we note where a question allowed multiple selections. UK-specific figures are labelled as such and separated from global or regional averages so the two are never conflated. We do not blend figures from different sources into a single averaged statistic. This dataset is reviewed annually (next review July 2027) and any revised figures replace the previous ones in place, with the "last updated" date changed accordingly.

Correction, 9 August 2026. An earlier version of this page listed a UK average dispute value of £27 million and a UK average resolution time of over 14 months, both attributed to Arcadis, 2024. Neither could be substantiated. Arcadis's most recent UK figures are in its 2021 edition, on 2020 data, and are £27.7 million and 9.8 months; the 2024 and 2025 editions cover North America only and contain no UK data. The rows have been corrected to the verified 2021 edition with the data year stated, and the resolution-time figure now reflects what the source actually reports.

The same review found that several King's College London and Adjudication Society percentages were stated as shares of disputes when the source reports them as shares of survey respondents. The causes figures (50%, 42%, 30%, 25%) come from a multi-select question answered by 165 practitioners, the 63% "smash and grab" figure is the share of respondents naming it the most common claim category, and the 52% figure is the share of respondents who saw no case go on to litigation or arbitration. All have been restated in the source's own unit, and the two causes previously merged at 30% ("exaggerated claims" and "changes by client") are now listed separately, as the source lists them. The underlying numbers are unchanged. Anyone who cited the previous wording should update it.

• King's College London and the Adjudication Society, 2024. Construction Adjudication in the United Kingdom: Tracing Trends and Guiding Reform (third report). Covers adjudication referrals recorded by Adjudicator Nominating Bodies between May 2023 and April 2024, causes of disputes, claim value bands and procedure use.
• NBS National Construction Contracts and Law Report, 2018 (and 2015 survey). UK survey of construction professionals on dispute prevalence, causes and values.
• Arcadis Global Construction Disputes Report 2021, 11th annual edition (The road to early resolution), published June 2021, reporting 2020 data. United Kingdom section, pages 16 to 17: UK average dispute value US$38.6 million (approx. £27.7 million) and UK average dispute length 9.8 months. This is the most recent UK-specific data Arcadis has published.
• Arcadis Construction Disputes Report, 15th annual edition, 2025 (Construction Disputes in Motion: Speed, Agility, and Adapting to Change), reporting 2024 data. North America only — from the 2023 edition Arcadis narrowed the report to North America, and this edition contains no UK figures. Source of the US$60.1 million average dispute value and 12.5 month average dispute length quoted above.
• HKA CRUX Insight, Eighth Annual Report, 2024 (From Insight to Foresight). Analysis of more than 2,200 projects across 114 countries, causes of claims, sums in dispute and time extensions sought.
• Office for National Statistics, 2024. Construction statistics, Great Britain (construction new work output).

Source: Gather Insights, the AI powered site diary and commercial record management platform for UK construction. Data compiled July 2026 from the sources listed above. Last updated 9 August 2026 (Arcadis rows corrected). Next scheduled review July 2027.