BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (SECURITY OF PAYMENT) ACT 2021 (NO. 4 OF 2021) - SECT 71

BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY (SECURITY OF PAYMENT) ACT 2021 (NO. 4 OF 2021) - SECT 71

71 .         Retention money to be held on trust

        (1)         Retention money under a construction contract to which this Part applies is, by the operation of this section, held on trust by the party to the contract who retains the money from the retention money trust commencement date until the retention money trust end date.

        (2)         Until retention money held on trust under this Part is paid into a retention money trust account, the trust applies to the property of the party who retains the money, but only to the extent of the amount of the retention money.

        (3)         While retention money under a construction contract is held on trust under this Part —

            (a)         it is not available for payment to a third-party creditor of any of the parties to the contract; and

            (b)         it is not liable to be attached or taken in execution for satisfying a monetary judgment entered in favour of a third-party creditor of any of the parties to the contract.

        (4)         For the purposes of subsection (3), a third-party creditor of a party to a construction contract is any creditor of the party, other than the other party to the contract in connection with a liability arising under the contract.

        (5)         If a court replaces a party to a construction contract as trustee of the trust created by this section in the exercise of its jurisdiction to supervise the administration of the trust —

            (a)         the relevant retention money is then held on trust by the replacement trustee; and

            (b)         the replacement trustee has the functions under this Part of that party.