Substantial Completion and the Impact of the Architect's Certificate

The concept of substantial completion is a source of many construction project disputes. Generally, in order for party to a contract to fulfill his or her obligations under the contract, there must be complete or full performance. A party is not entitled to the benefit of the contract if it has not fully lived up to its end of the bargain. Construction contracts, however, are a different creature. They typically deal with two different stages of completion-substantial completion and final completion. Substantial completion is the point in the project where the building is fit to be used for its intended purpose. Any remaining work that needs to be completed is generally referred to as punchlist work. Completion of the punchlist work usually constitutes final completion.