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Property Development Glossary

No jargon walls. No textbook definitions. Practical explanations of the terms that matter when you're running a development.

Feasibility

Feasibility Study

A feasibility study is a financial analysis that determines whether a property development project will generate an acceptable return before committing capital.

Preliminaries are the time-related overhead costs of running a construction project — site establishment, supervision, insurance, temporary services, and project management — that aren't tied to specific building work.

Development Margin

Development margin is the profit from a property development expressed as a percentage of total development costs or gross realisation, measuring the financial return on the project.

Project Delivery

Progress Claims

A progress claim is a contractor's formal request for payment for work completed during a specific period on a construction project.

Variations (Construction)

A variation is a change to the original scope, cost, or timeline of a construction contract, formally documented and requiring approval before work proceeds.

Site Diary

A site diary is a daily record of activities, conditions, and events on a construction site, serving as a contemporaneous log for project management and dispute resolution.

Practical Completion

Practical completion is the contractual milestone when a building is sufficiently complete for its intended purpose, triggering key obligations like defects liability and final payment.

Retention (Construction)

Retention is a percentage of each progress payment withheld by the principal as security against defective work, typically released in two stages — at practical completion and at the end of the defects liability period.

Procurement

Tender Process

The tender process is the structured method of inviting, receiving, evaluating, and awarding contractor bids for construction work packages.

Scope of Works

A scope of works is a detailed document defining exactly what work is included in a construction contract — materials, methods, quality standards, and exclusions — forming the basis for pricing and delivery.

Risk & Compliance

Extension of Time (EOT)

An extension of time is a formal claim by a contractor for additional time to complete the works due to qualifying causes of delay beyond their control.

Defects Liability Period

The defects liability period (DLP) is a contractually defined period after practical completion during which the contractor is obligated to return and rectify any defects that become apparent.