In this week’s Property Surveying blogpost, we are going to be discussing Party Wall Surveying matters, and in particular what both a Building Owner, and Adjoining Owner can do, in order to find a Party Wall Surveyor to assist them with the proposed Party Wall works.
A Party Wall Surveyor’s role is to protect either the Building Owner, or Adjoining Owner, and effectively act on behalf of their interests, to ensure that the Building Owner’s proposed works are as of low risk as possible.
In doing this, they will review the Building Owner’s proposed construction works, from the perspective of the Adjoining Owner’s property, assessing all of the risks both in terms of the works themselves, and the long-term risks associated with those works, and going through various steps to ensure that those risks are brought down to an absolute minimum.
Under the Party Wall etc Act 1996, oddly, and peculiarly, a Party Wall Surveyor requires no formal qualification.
This has led to a wide variety of different types of Party Wall Surveyors available in the open marketplace, ranging from those with exceptional experience, to those with not so exceptional experience.
It has also led to Surveyors with qualification, offering their services, however also those without.
For this reason, it is imperative that a Building Owner, or Adjoining Owner go through careful selection processes to ensure that the Party Wall Surveyor they select to assist in their Party Wall matter is of sound qualification and experience.
Here at Stokemont, we would advise starting with a Surveyor who is a member of a recognised and leading government body, such as the RICS, or Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, or CIOB, or Chartered Institute of Building.
This way you will ensure that you are selecting a Surveyor who is not only experienced and qualified, but also fit for the job.
If you would like to discuss your Party Wall Surveyor requirements with our team of Surveyors here at Stokemont, give us a call now and we will be more than happy to assist you.
