In this week’s property surveying blog post, we are going to be discussing the importance of foundation drawings, and why they are required when you serve a Party Wall Notice upon an adjoining owner.
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 sets out the various different requirements that must be adhered to and followed during the process of serving a Party Wall Notice upon an adjoining owner.
One of these requirements is that if the building owner is undertaking excavation works to their property, they must furnish the adjoining owner with a clear and to scale foundation drawing which confirms the exact type of foundation they are planning on undertaking and the location to which they are planning on doing so.
This is by far one of the most overlooked elements of a Party Wall Notice, and ultimately results in an invalid Party Wall Notice being served. The risk and issue in missing this out is that the statutory notice periods, as set out by the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, are in effect null and void. This means that a building owner would need to re-serve the Party Wall Notices and wait the applicable notice periods, thereby likely causing delays to the proposed construction start date.
In advance of serving a Party Wall Notice, we would always advise speaking to a qualified and experienced party wall surveyor, to ensure that the notice you are preparing is as thorough, clear, and mostly importantly, it is valid, thereby ensuring that the party wall procedures are undertaken correctly and with minimal delay or issue resulting from error.
If you would like to discuss Party Wall Notices with our team of party wall surveyors here at Stokemont, give us a call now and we will be more than happy to assist you.
