Williams v Roffey Bros & Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd [1991] 1 Q.B. 1

What's the case about?

Roffey Bros & Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd had a contract with Shepherd's Bush Housing Association to refurbish Twynholm Mansions, a block of flats in Fulham.  A clause in the contract provided that Roffey would have to pay a penalty to the Housing Association if the work was not completed on time.   

Roffey engaged Mr Williams to do some carpentry inside the flats.  The agreed price for the job was £20,000.  It soon became clear that Mr Williams had bid far too low and would not be able to complete the job for £20,000.  In order to keep the work on schedule (and so avoid paying a penalty to the Housing Association), Roffey agreed that they would pay Mr Williams an extra £575 per flat completed.  Williams completed eight more flats, but Roffey only paid him an extra £1500.  Williams quit the site and sued Roffey, arguing that they had breached the agreement to pay extra for his work.

Where is it on the map?

At point Q.

Who won?

Mr Williams.  The Court of Appeal agreed that he was entitled to be paid extra for the work, as per his agreement with Roffey Bros.

What's the principle of law?

This case is important for understanding the doctrine of consideration and how a contract can validly be varied.  A contract cannot validly be varied without one party giving something in exchange for that variation.  In Pinnel's Case (1602) 5 Co Rep 117a, Lord Coke stated that an agreement to waive part of a debt could only be enforceable if the debtor gave something for it (Sir Edward Coke suggested 'a horse, hawk or a robe', but other things would doubtless suffice). 

In the present case, Roffey Bros argued that the agreement to pay Williams more was unenforceable because they were not getting any extra consideration from Williams in exchange.  The Court of Appeal disagreed.  Lord Justice Glidewell held that the extra benefit Roffey enjoyed from Williams performing the contract on time (or alternatively the disbenefit that Roffey avoided by not having to pay a penalty to the Housing Association) was sufficient consideration for the variation to be enforceable.

What’s it like today?

Twynholm Mansions are solid-looking redbrick mansion block on the edge of Lillie Road Recreation Ground in Fulham.  

The flats are still owned by Shepherd’s Bush Housing Association and were refurbished again in 2010.