Handover takes place through a handover meeting – not by the client taking the work into use

On 24 April 2026, the Supreme Court delivered its judgment in the case between Tesliåsen AS and Melhus Sparebank (HR-2026-965-A). The Court clarified that, under NS 8406, taking over takes place through taking over proceedings. It is not sufficient that the client begins using the building or civil engineering works. This directly affects the final account: the deadline for submitting the final account starts to run only upon taking over.

1 The timeof handover determines the final settlement

Upon taking over, the daily penalty charge ceases to accrue, the risk passes to the client, and the deadlines for the final account start to run, cf. clause 24.4 of NS 8406.

The Contractor must send the final account and final invoice within two months of taking over, cf. clause 25.1 of NS 8406. If the deadline is not met, the client may set a written additional deadline of at least 14 days. Claims that have not then been paid or included in the final account are lost. The question of when taking over took place may therefore determine all or part of the build contractor’s final account.

2 The Supreme Court's clarification

NS standards must normally be interpreted on the basis of their wording. The Supreme Court therefore placed decisive weight on how NS 8406 itself regulates taking over.

Clause 24.1 of NS 8406 identifies taking over proceedings as the procedure for taking over. Use of the building does not replace the proceedings.

If the client begins using the contract work without the build contractor’s consent, this constitutes a breach of contract under clause 24.6 of NS 8406 – not taking over. If the client needs to use part of the building before the entire contract work is complete, the parties must apply the rules on partial taking over.

The record documents who attended, any defects and whether the contract work was taken over. It reduces the risk of a subsequent dispute about the date of taking over and what was agreed.

3 Any deviations must be agreed and documented

The parties may agree a different solution, but the agreement must be capable of proof. Do not assume that emails referring to “handover”, “completion” or use of the building have the same effect as taking over proceedings. State expressly what has been agreed, which date is to apply, and the consequences of the agreement for daily penalty charges, risk and the final account.

4 A departing agreement must be proved

The clarification is particularly relevant to NS 8405 and NS 8407. Both standards link taking over to taking over proceedings and require a record, cf. clause 32.1 of NS 8405 and clause 37.1 of NS 8407.

Subcontractors under NS 8415, NS 8416 and NS 8417 have corresponding rules regarding takeover. For NS 8415 and NS 8416, however, one must check whether the time limit for the final settlement runs from the registration meeting or from the takeover.

This does not necessarily apply to consumer construction contracts or self-developed contracts. In those cases, the contract and the relevant regulations must be assessed separately.

5 What you should do

5.1 Build contractor

Send a written summons to taking over proceedings when the contract work is approaching completion. Do not wait for the client to take the initiative.
If the client does not attend, complete the proceedings alone under clause 24.1 of NS 8406 and send the record immediately.
Do not postpone taking over because variation claims or the final account are still being discussed. Daily penalty charges may continue to accrue until taking over, cf. clause 26.2 of NS 8406.

5.2 Client

Do not commission the plant without clarifying this with the contractor. Use without consent does not constitute handover and may be a breach of contract, cf. NS 8406 clause 24.6.
If part of the contract work is to be used before the remainder is complete, carry out a partial taking over under the relevant standard.
Do not set an additional deadline that will bar claims until two months have passed from taking over, see clause 25.1 of NS 8406.

5.3 Both parties

Agree a clear procedure if the project requires phased use or municipal taking over of infrastructure.
Prepare a clear record. At a minimum, it should state the date, those present, defects, deadlines for remediation and whether the contract work has been taken over.

6 Start here when the final settlement is disputed

In a final account dispute, first clarify whether and when taking over proceedings were completed. If they were not completed, the deadlines under clause 25.1 of NS 8406 will normally not have started to run. Locate the summons, the record and the email correspondence before assessing whether a claim was submitted too late.

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Whether the question concerns the contract, variations, delays, handover, final account or dispute resolution, we assist throughout the entire project. Contact us for an assessment of your case.