A contingent contract is a legal agreement in which the terms and conditions only apply or take effect if a specific event occurs. Essentially, the parties involved agree to perform actions or obligations based on the occurrence or non-occurrence of a particular event in the future.
The agreement states that if a certain event occurs, then one or both parties will take specific actions. Contingency agreements are often used to protect against financial loss or legal liability. However, not all contingency agreements are enforceable in court.
A contingent contract will be deemed valid only if an event occurs or does not occur and it is collateral to the contract. The meaning of a contingent contract is that the conditions collateral to the contract must be certain to happen in the future.
Contingent contracts, like contingencies themselves, cannot occur unless a certain condition is met. For instance, the sale of a home cannot take place without a prior home inspection, and an aircraft cannot leave the hangar without a thorough walk-around inspection by the pilot.
Contingencies. Contingent contracts, like contingencies themselves, cannot occur unless a certain condition is met. For instance, the sale of a home cannot take place without a prior home inspection, and an aircraft cannot leave the hangar without a thorough walk-around inspection by the pilot.
Home builders and remodelers usually allocate between 5% and 10% of a project budget for a construction contingency. This amount creates enough breathing room for unexpected costs. Anyone tracking estimates and costs manually will calculate a contingency percentage on top of all costs before profit margins are applied.
This contingency is normally calculated as a percentage. If the phase is 100 days of effort, contingency at 20% would be another 20 days. As the project progresses, the level of risk reduces as the requirements and issues become known, so the percentage will be reduced.
The most basic way to calculate a contingency reserve is to add a fixed percentage to the total project budget, known as the Flat Rate method. Alternatively, if different percentages are applied to unique budget line items, this would be called a Mixed Rate method to establish the reserve.
The contract is characterized as "contingent" because the terms are not final and are based on certain events or conditions occurring. A contingent contract can also be viewed as protection against a future change of plans.