Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, a building owner has a legal duty to serve a Party Wall Notice upon an adjoining owner prior to their planned works commencing.
Party Wall Notice
This Party Wall Notice has to be served a minimum of one month, or alternatively two months, prior to the planned works commencing.
Equally, when the Party Wall Notice has been served, the adjoining owner will have two separate occasions to respond to the Party Wall Notice.
Party Wall Notice Response Time
The first response option comes when they are served the first or initial Party Wall Notice.
This Party Wall Notice carries a 14 day statutory response period.
However, if the building owner has not received a response from the adjoining owner within those 14 days, they are then afforded the legal right to serve a follow on or further Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner.
This follow on Party Wall Notice, formally referred to as a Section 10(4) Notice gives the adjoining owner a final 10 days to respond to the Party Wall Notice.
On both of these separate Notice service occasions, the adjoining owner will also be afforded the right of a 2 day grace period, allowing for Royal Mail delivery times and the likely delay that it will take for the Royal Mail to deliver the Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner.
No Party Wall Notice Response
If the adjoining owner fails to respond to the Party Wall Notices that have been served on them on those two separate occasions, at that stage they would be formally dissented to the Party Wall Notice.
However, as they haven’t put forward confirmation of who their party wall surveyor will be, this confirmation being by way of non-response.
The building is therefore given the legal right to appoint a party wall surveyor on the non-responsive adjoining owner’s behalf.
The party wall surveyor that is appointed on behalf of the adjoining owner, will then undertake the normal procedures and roles on that owner’s behalf.
They will often reach and write to the adjoining owner requesting contact and a suitable and available date to complete a property inspection of their property.
If however the adjoining owner still fails to respond to that surveyor’s letter, at this stage it is likely that the building owner’s party wall surveyor and adjoining owner’s party wall surveyor will then proceed to complete an external only Schedule of Condition report, followed by the agreement of the Party Wall Award.
Schedule of Condition Report
While we have touched briefly above on the inspections and Schedule of Condition reports, it is probably a good idea to put into context what they actually are within the specifics of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
A Schedule of Condition report is a detailed and robust record of the adjoining owner’s property prior to the building owner’s planned construction works commencing.
The Schedule of Condition report is in place to ensure that there is a documented record of proof of the condition of the adjoining owner’s property.
The beauty of this is that it means that should there be any allegation or suggestion of damage, this suggestion being as a result of the building owner’s construction works, the existence of the Schedule of Condition report will make it straightforward and transparent for the party wall surveyors to assess the damage and confirm whether the damage was existing or is new. Ultimately then determining how close the link with the works that the building owner too place and the damage caused is.
If indeed the link is strong, or if indeed both surveyors definitively believe that the damage is related to the works, the adjoining owner then gains the benefit of the protections of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
Namely, these protections being that the building owner will be held accountable for the cost and repair of the making good to their property.
Party Wall Award
As set out above a Party Wall Award will eventually be agreed, whether the adjoining owner provides response to their party wall surveyor, or provides access to their property.
A Party Wall Award is the legal document that concludes the party wall surveying procedures.
The Award itself will give the building owner the legal right to progress their construction works.
Equally it will also ensure that the adjoining owner is protected in the event of issue or damage. This protection is set out above.
It will also carefully govern the building owner’s planned works, thereby ensuring that they pose the least amount of risk as possible to the adjoining owner’s property.
It goes without saying, that the majority of party wall surveyors will want to ensure that the Party Wall Award is agreed in the conventional way.
This conventional way being via discussion and input from the adjoining owner.
Ultimately, the adjoining owner’s property is going to be affected during the course of the works and potentially after the works.
It is therefore important and imperative that the adjoining owner plays a part in the run up to the agreement of the Party Wall Award, while also being given the opportunity to discuss their specific concerns with their party wall surveyor.
However, if the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 did not account for a scenario whereby an adjoining owner did not respond, in reality this would mean that all an adjoining owner needs to do to stop the Act’s procedures in its tracks would be to simply not respond to a served Party Wall Notice.
The Act has therefore simply and strategically built in a process and protocol to deal with adjoining owners who do not respond to Party Wall Notices, irrespective of whether this response is intended or a genuine oversight.
Party Wall Notice procedures are complicated at the best of times.
If you would like to discuss how Stokemont can be of assistance to you with your party wall matter, please feel free to get in touch with our party wall surveyors today.
We will be more than happy to assist and advise you.
