Three roles, three legal bases
The difference between the roles lies not in the title but in the legal basis. One role arises from statute, another from statute and contract together, the third from contract alone. That decides what the client can demand without having agreed anything separately.
| Role | Legal basis | What the law or regulation requires | What it does not cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner's supervision | Building Code § 20, regulation no 80 | competent supervision of construction, independence, checking conformity with the building design and the construction contract | assessing whether the architectural or technical solution is suitable; the regulation does not mention the price or invoices submitted for the works |
| Designer | contract; Building Code §§ 13 and 14; regulation no 97 | a design free of contradictions that makes it possible to build a compliant building; a main design detailed enough to determine the budgeted cost | any obligation to stay within a set sum, unless the contract provides for it |
| Project manager, client's representative | contract only | the law does not name this role | everything the contract does not mention |
Owner's supervision is the owner's statutory obligation. In the words of § 20(1) of the Building Code (ehitusseadustik, EhS): “The owner is obliged to ensure competent supervision over the construction of the building (hereinafter owner's supervision).” (unofficial translation). The supervisor must be independent (subs. 2), and their work “does not exclude or limit the contractor's liability under the contract for work” (subs. 4). The minimum content of supervision is set out in regulation no 80, and it is technical: conformity with the design and the contract, covered works, quality. The regulation says nothing about the price or additional works.
The designer is responsible for the design, which is the basis of the price. Under § 9(1) of regulation no 97, the põhiprojekt (the main design) must be detailed enough to determine the budgeted cost of the building, organise the construction procurement and prepare a quotation. A design error can therefore turn into an additional claim during construction. How the client recovers that cost from the designer depends on their design contract.
The project manager has no statutory status. The term does not appear in the Law of Obligations Act, the Building Code, the Public Procurement Act or the regulations on owner's supervision and building design. Their powers, obligations and liability are exactly what the contract says, and the type of contract decides which provisions of the Law of Obligations Act apply.
What this means for the final cost
Protecting the client's interests is the sum of several contracts, not the task of one person. If the client assumes that owner's supervision also checks the price of additional works, that the designer is also answerable for the budgeted cost, or that the project manager will report a rise in the final cost in good time, each assumption must be in the relevant contract. By default, only what the law requires applies.
Three questions are worth asking of every contract. Who confirms that the work done conforms to the contract and that the sum claimed for it is correct? Who decides whether a change is lisatöö (additional work) or muudatustöö (changed work), and who may approve it on the client's behalf? Who tells the client when the forecast final cost rises, and within what time? If the answer is “someone” or “everyone”, the answer is not written in any contract.
The boundaries between the roles must also be written down. Under § 2(2) of regulation no 80, where there are several supervisors the owner must define each one's field and scope in writing. The same discipline suits the client's whole team: if supervision, the designer and the project manager do not know where one person's responsibility ends and another's begins, the gap in between is left uncovered, and that is often exactly where final cost growth begins.
None of these roles reduces the töövõtja's (the contractor's) liability. For owner's supervision, Building Code § 20(4) says so directly. The existence of a client team gives the contractor no grounds to say that someone else should have spotted a defect.
The articles in this branch
- The article on the statutory content of owner's supervision covers the obligation in Building Code § 20, the mandatory checks and deadlines in regulation no 80, and why cost control has to be written separately into the supervision contract.
- The article on the designer's liability and design errors covers the requirements that apply to the design, the design stages as the basis of the price, and how a design error ends up on the client's bill.
- The article on the project manager and the client's representative covers a role with no statutory status: powers, decision limits, reporting on the final cost and the link with owner's supervision.
If the project is the renovation of an apartment building or another building, a separate guide covers choosing the designer and supervision for a renovation. The specific features of renovation are not repeated here, because the articles in this branch deal with roles that are the same on every construction project.
This article describes the legal rules as at the date of checking and is intended for professional orientation. It does not replace legal advice or a review of the specific case.