FAQs: C103™-2015, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Consultant without a Predefined Scope of Consultant’s Services

 

What is AIA Contract Document C103-2015, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Consultant without a Predefined Scope of Consultant’s Services?

C103–2015 is a standard form of agreement between owner and consultant that contains terms and conditions, including those related to copyrights and licenses, claims and disputes, termination or suspension, and compensation. C103-2015 does not include a scope of consultant’s services, which must be inserted in Article 2 or attached as an exhibit. Separation of the scope of services from the owner/consultant agreement allows users the freedom to append alternative scopes of services. Scope of services documents that may be paired with C103–2015 include C201™–2015, Standard Form of Consultant’s Services: Land Survey and C202™–2015, Standard Form of Consultant’s Services: Geotechnical Engineering.

C103–2015 is a part of the conventional (A201) family of documents; however, C103–2015 could potentially be used in other document families with appropriate edits.

 

What consultants can an owner retain using C103?

An owner can use C103-2015 to hire almost any consultant for a project. C103-2015 provides terms and conditions for an owner/consultant agreement, but it does not include a scope of services. AIA Contract Documents currently offers two standard form of consultant’s services that parties can attach to this document: C201-2015, Standard Form of Consultant’s Services: Land Survey and C202-2015, Standard Form of Consultant’s Services: Geotechnical Engineering. For other consultants, the parties must create their own scope of services and either insert them into Article 2 or attach them as an exhibit.

 

How can I add a scope of services document to C103?   

There are three ways to add a scope of services to C103-2015:

  1. The parties can attach an AIA Contract Documents standard form of consultant’s services as an exhibit to C103-2015. 
  2. Use AIA Contract Documents standard form of consultant’s services, C201-2015 for land survey and/or C202-2015 for geotechnical engineering. 
  3. For other consultants, the parties must create their own scope of services and either insert them into Article 2 or attach them as an exhibit to C103-2015.  

 

How do consultants hired with C103–2015 fit in with the rest of the design team?

A consultant hired under C103–2015 has an obligation to “coordinate its services with those services provided by the Owner and the Owner’s other consultants.”  Likewise, C103–2015 requires an owner to “coordinate the services of its other consultants with those services provided by the consultant.”

 

What terms and conditions are included in the C103–2015?

C103–2105 contains terms and conditions provisions related to copyrights and licenses, claims and disputes, termination or suspension, and compensation. C103–2015 only provides terms and conditions for an owner/consultant agreement and does not include a consultant’s scope of services. The parties must insert a scope of services in Article 2 or attach them to C103–2015.

 

Can C103–2015 be used to hire a geotechnical engineer? What about a surveyor, structural engineer, MEP engineer, or architect?

C103–2015 can be used to hire a geotechnical engineer and land surveyor. C103–2015 provides terms and conditions for the owner/consultant agreement, but it does not include a scope of services. The AIA currently offers two standard forms of consultant’s services that parties can attach to this document: C201™–2015, Standard Form of Consultant’s Services for Land Survey and C202™–2015, Standard Form of Consultant’s Services for Geotechnical Engineering. 

C103–2015 can be used to hire a structural or MEP engineer; however, the AIA does not currently offer a standard form of consultant’s services for these disciplines. Given this, the parties must create their own scope of services and insert them into Article 2 or attach them as an exhibit to C103–2015. Moreover, the parties should recognize that many of the AIA’s owner/architect agreements include “usual and customary structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering services” as part of the architect’s basic services. Thus, the parties should take care to avoid scope conflicts. 

C103–2015 should not be used to hire an architect. While an architect is an owner’s “consultant”, the AIA offers numerous owner/architect agreements that are more suitable. Refer to B101™–2017, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect.

 

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