CISR15170 - The Scheme: payments: managing agents

When a managing agent is acting for a principal or ‘client’ in letting contracts that include construction operations they will not generally be a contractor as defined within the Scheme. This is because the contract for construction operations will more likely be between the principal and the subcontractor. The managing agent’s role would be to see that the work is carried out in accordance with the principal’s contract with the subcontractor and may include making payments to them.

Where the contract between the principal and the managing agent includes the maintenance of the property and the agent enters into a contract on their own behalf, even though this is done under the terms of the service contract between the agent and the principal, the agent will be acting as a contractor within the Scheme.

Remember that payments made under a contract between the managing agent and the subcontractor may be caught by the Scheme where it is a mixed contract, for example,including elements of security, cleaning, minor repairs and maintenance. When considering such a case you should refer to the section dedicated to ‘construction operations’ at CISR14000 onwards for more on mixed contracts and operations caught by the scheme. Brief details on the scope of construction operations is also covered in Appendices A & B of CIS340 - ‘Construction Industry Scheme. Guide for contractors and subcontractors’, available on .