Construction and CIPAA Lawyers in Malaysia
Unpaid for work done, served with a notice of adjudication, or facing a delay or defects claim? Our construction lawyers in Puchong and Kuala Lumpur act fast on CIPAA deadlines and protect your cash flow, from payment claim to enforcement.
- 15+ years of experience
- CIPAA adjudication from claim to enforcement
- We act for claimants and respondents
- Online consultations
How We Can Help
- Payment claims and responses under CIPAA
- Adjudication, enforcement and setting aside
- PAM, PWD and CIDB contract disputes
- Delay, disruption and defects claims
- Liquidated damages and performance bonds
- Construction arbitration and litigation
Explore our construction law guides
Reviewed by Ms. Khoo Ai Theng, Founder, Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya. Last updated October 2026.
Why Choose Us?
15+ Years
Legal experience
45 Working Days
Usual time for a CIPAA decision
Both Sides
Claimants and respondents
End to End
From payment claim to enforcement
CIPAA Adjudication
CIPAA gives parties to written construction contracts in Malaysia a fast, statutory adjudication process for payment disputes. It applies to work carried out wholly or partly in Malaysia, including government contracts, but not to an individual’s contract for a building of fewer than four storeys wholly for their own occupation.
- Serve a payment claim under section 5.
- The other party has 10 working days to serve a payment response under section 6. If it does not, the whole claim is treated as disputed.
- Start adjudication with a notice of adjudication. The adjudicator is appointed by agreement or by the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC).
- Exchange the adjudication claim, response and reply.
- The adjudicator decides within 45 working days, unless the parties agree to more time.
CIPAA was amended with effect from 1 January 2026 to reflect the restructuring of the AIAC, which administers adjudication. We prepare and defend payment claims and adjudication submissions from start to finish.
Enforcing and Setting Aside Adjudication Decisions
An adjudication decision is binding until it is set aside, or until the dispute is finally decided by arbitration or the court, or settled. If you are not paid, you can:
- Enforce the decision as a High Court judgment under section 28.
- Suspend or slow down work under section 29 after giving notice.
- Ask the principal for direct payment under section 30, in the right case.
A losing party can only set the decision aside under section 15 for fraud or bribery, a denial of natural justice, a lack of impartiality or independence, or an excess of jurisdiction. A stay may be granted under section 16 while a setting aside application or the final determination is pending.
Construction Contract Disputes
Most construction disputes start with the contract. We advise on:
- PAM, PWD and CIDB standard forms, design and build and subcontract terms.
- Variations, interim certificates, retention sums, set-off and termination.
- Pay when paid clauses, which section 35 of CIPAA makes void.
- Liquidated damages, which under section 75 of the Contracts Act 1950 can be enforced without proof of actual loss where the sum is a reasonable estimate.
- Calls on performance bonds, which the court can restrain for fraud or unconscionability.
Delay, Disruption and Defects Claims
Delay claims depend on the contract machinery for extensions of time, notices and loss and expense, and on good records.
- We prepare and test extension of time and loss and expense claims.
- Where the employer prevents completion and the contract cannot extend time, liquidated damages may fall away.
- We act on defective workmanship, materials and design, and on the defects liability period.
- Claims in contract must generally be brought within six years under the Limitation Act 1953.
Construction Arbitration
Many construction contracts send disputes to arbitration, often under the AIAC Arbitration Rules and the Arbitration Act 2005.
- Arbitration is private and suits technical disputes.
- Arbitrators with construction experience can decide the issues.
- Awards can be enforced in Malaysia and in New York Convention countries.
We act from the notice of arbitration and the appointment of the tribunal to expert evidence, the hearing and the award, and on court applications to stay proceedings, set aside awards or enforce them.
Construction Litigation
Where there is no arbitration agreement, construction disputes are decided in court:
- The Magistrates’ Court hears claims of up to RM100,000.
- The Sessions Court hears claims of up to RM1 million.
- The High Court hears larger claims and enforces adjudication decisions, often in its dedicated construction courts.
We handle letters of demand, summary judgment, injunctions, the trial and appeals, and advise on whether adjudication, arbitration or litigation is the most cost-effective route.
Frequently Asked Questions
CIPAA is the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012. It gives parties to written construction contracts in Malaysia a fast, statutory adjudication process for payment disputes, with a decision usually within 45 working days, and it makes pay when paid clauses void.
The non-paying party has 10 working days from receiving the payment claim to serve a payment response under section 6 of CIPAA. If it does not respond, the whole claim is treated as disputed and the claimant can start adjudication.
CIPAA applies to written construction contracts for construction work, or consultancy services, carried out wholly or partly in Malaysia, including government contracts. It does not apply to a contract by an individual for a building of fewer than four storeys intended wholly for that individual's own occupation.
Yes, but only on limited grounds under section 15: fraud or bribery, a denial of natural justice, a lack of impartiality or independence, or the adjudicator acting in excess of jurisdiction. The decision remains binding unless it is set aside or the dispute is finally decided by arbitration or the court.
You can enforce the decision as a High Court judgment under section 28, suspend or reduce the rate of work under section 29 after giving notice, and in some cases ask the principal to pay you directly under section 30.
No. For contracts covered by CIPAA, section 35 makes conditional payment provisions, such as pay when paid and pay if paid clauses, void. A paying party generally cannot withhold payment only because it has not been paid by the party above it.
Generally yes. Following the Federal Court's interpretation of section 75 of the Contracts Act 1950, a liquidated damages clause can be enforced without proof of actual loss if the sum is a reasonable estimate. The party resisting the clause bears the burden of proving that it is unreasonable.
It depends on the amount, the urgency, your contract and the evidence. Adjudication is fast and suits payment disputes, while arbitration or litigation finally decides the dispute. We often use adjudication to secure cash flow while the wider dispute is resolved.
Speak to a Construction Lawyer
Whether you have an unpaid payment claim, have received a notice of adjudication, or face a delay or defects dispute, the statutory deadlines are short. Book a consultation with our construction team.
- (+60)12-401 4799 | (+60)3-8060 0267
- [email protected]
Consultation by appointment at Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur and Puchong, Selangor, or online.
