Soon after the housing grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 began to bite, the courts clearly stated that if you wanted to claim a set-off, you must give notice of intention to withhold payment under Section 111. But adjudicators and judges have been unable to agree whether notice is necessary for what is called abatement. So what is abatement? Simply, it is the right to reduce the price for work or materials when what is provided is less than the contract requires. For example, if building work is defective, a claim for the full price can be reduced (abated) by the difference between the price and the true value of the work. In contrast, set-off is the right to deduct from payment otherwise due - for instance, the cost of remedying the defective work.
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