Thank you for clicking on today’s property surveying blog post. In this week’s take on our property surveying post, we are going to be looking at party wall surveying. Party wall surveying is one of the most typical day to day surveying activities that our RICS Building Surveyors and Party wall Surveyors undertake here at Stokemont.
Over the years, we have not only built up excellent experience on all different types of properties, we have also been lucky enough to work on all different forms of party wall work that the Party Wall Etc Act 1996 deals with.
We are also very proud to offer 30 minutes free, no strings advice to all callers, and thought we would take this opportunity to address some of the more typical questions and answers that we tend to find we have been asked over the years.
This blog post will look at some of your straightforward definitions to help you fully understand the party wall procedures at hand.
Party Wall Notice
A Party Wall Notice is the formal commencement of the party wall procedures.
The notice will be served by the building owner, or alternatively, the building owner’s party wall surveyor.
The Party Wall Notice will be served directly upon the adjoining owner, setting out their legal right to the procedures and protocols as set out in the Party Wall Etc Act 1996.
Party Wall Notice Responses
Under the Party Wall Etc Act 1996, the adjoining owner will have three legal rights of Party Wall Notice response options.
These response options are as follows:
Party Wall Notice Consent
Consenting to the Party Wall Notice effectively means that the adjoining owner reserves their legal rights as set out in the Party Wall Etc Act 1996.
This reservation will effectively mean they don’t gain the input and benefit of a party wall surveyor assessing and reviewing the works from the perspective of their property prior to them commencing on site.
Dissenting and Appointing an Agreed Party Wall Surveyor
An agreed party wall surveyor will mean that the adjoining owner is agreeable to a single impartial party wall surveyor acting on behalf of both themselves and the building owner.
The party wall surveyor’s role will be to undertake all the normal assessments as if he was acting on behalf of one of the respective owners. The only difference being, that he will be acting on behalf of both the building owner and adjoining owner in a joint capacity.
Dissenting and Appointing their Own Party Wall Surveyor
The final Party Wall Notice response option an adjoining owner has open to them is that they can dissent and appoint their own party wall surveyor.
This party wall surveyor will then act solely on behalf of the appointing owner, reviewing all of the matters from that appointing owner’s property, reporting and progressing toward the agreement of a Party Wall Award.
Schedule of Condition Report
A Schedule of Condition report is the party wall surveyor’s pre-construction works condition record.
It will be undertaken in advance of the building owner’s works commencing. The aim and intention of the report is to ensure that a robust and thorough record is in place of the adjoining owner’s property prior to the construction works commencing on site.
The way to look at a Schedule of Condition report is that it effectively acts as a legal record, protecting the adjoining owner in the event of any issue, damage, or claim of damage, during or post building owner’s party wall works.
Party Wall Award
A Party Wall Award is the conclusion of the party wall procedures. The Award itself will not only govern the various specifics of the building owner’s construction works, it will also give the building owner the legal right to progress and commence their planned works on site.
The Award will contain various legal recitals, however importantly, will set out the temporary, short term, and long term provisions that the building owner and their contractors need to adhere to during the course of the works.
Party Wall Surveyor
Under the Party Wall Etc Act 1996, and in particular, Section 10 as follows:
(1) Where a dispute arises or is deemed to have arisen between a building owner and an adjoining owner in respect of any matter connected with any work to which this Act relates either
(a) both parties shall concur in the appointment of one surveyor (in this section referred to as an “agreed surveyor”); or
(b) each party shall appoint a surveyor and the two surveyors so appointed shall forthwith select a third surveyor (all of whom are in this section referred to as “the three surveyors”).
A party wall surveyor will be appointed to act on behalf of the building owner, or the adjoining owner, or as set out above, they can be jointly appointed as the agreed surveyor.
The party wall surveyor’s role and duty will be to administer the Party Wall Etc Act 1996 in an impartial and neutral manner, thereby ensuring that the procedures progress in the most prompt manner possible.
It is important to note that under the Party Wall Etc Act 1996, anyone can refer to themselves as a party wall surveyor. The phrase and term is not protected in the same way that many other referrals and professions are.
For this reason, there tends to be a vast array of different types of party wall surveyors in the land, with different experience, backgrounds and property understanding.
Here at Stokemont, we would always advise you seek the input of a specialist party wall surveyor, while also taking a close look at the governing bodies and property membership bodies that they are a party to and members of.
Party Wall Works
Party wall surveyors don’t have the jurisdiction to deal with all of the construction works that are taking place on site.
Instead, their remit and realm is very much restricted to the types of work that the building owner is undertaking, with those works furthermore being restricted to the ones that fall under the jurisdiction of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996.
For this reason, party wall surveyors will often be limited in what they can and cannot do in the event of any issue.
Furthermore, they will be limited in what they can request in terms of information during the course of the pre-Party Wall Award investigations and enquiries.
Party Wall Timings
While the wider construction works are governed by the Local Authority hours, the party wall surveyor or party wall surveyors will have the jurisdiction and remit to agree reasonable timings for which the works can take place.
This is set out by Section 10(12) of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996 as follows:
An award may determine
(a) the right to execute any work;
(b) the time and manner of executing any work;
In practice, what this means is that the party wall surveyors will take a look at the works that are taking place. Importantly, those works which are party wall works as set out above.
They will then determine whether there should be restrictions and adjustments to the overall working hours to best accommodate the adjoining owner’s concerns and requirements.
Typical examples of this may be reducing working hours on a Saturday, reducing working hours during school term times or exam times, or any other reductions to best accommodate the status on site.
Party wall procedures are inherently going to be complicated. In many cases, this complication can grow and extend based on the types of works that are taking place. Whilst also taking into account the types of properties to which the works are taking place. Finally, the respective owners, both the building owner and the adjoining owner, are always going to have an effect on the overall simplicity of the administration of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996.
If you would like to discuss party wall surveying procedures with our team of experienced and qualified RICS building surveyors here at Stokemont, or perhaps you’d like to take us up on the free 30 minutes, no strings advice that we offer on a daily basis.
All you need to do is get in touch with us today via our contact page, and one of our experienced and qualified RICS building surveyors and specialist party wall surveyors will be more than happy to assist you.
