Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977

Rezumat

The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA) regulates the extent to which liability for breach of contract or negligence can be excluded or restricted by contract terms or notices. Despite its name, it does not apply to all unfair terms — it specifically targets exclusion and limitation clauses. It renders certain exclusion clauses completely void (e.g., excluding liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence) and subjects others to a test of reasonableness. For consumer contracts, UCTA has been largely superseded by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, but it remains important for business-to-business contracts.

Puncte cheie

• Cannot exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence (s.2(1))
• Other loss from negligence can only be excluded if reasonable (s.2(2))
• Cannot exclude liability for breach of implied terms in sale of goods (as against consumers, now under CRA 2015) (s.6)
• Reasonableness test: the term must be fair and reasonable having regard to the circumstances (s.11)
• Guidelines for the reasonableness test in Schedule 2 (relative bargaining power, inducements, custom of the trade)
• Written standard terms of business subject to reasonableness test (s.3)

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