In this week’s Property Surveying blogpost, we are going to be discussing Party Wall Surveying, and in particular the situation whereby works are proceeding on site, however no Party Wall Notices have been served, or a Party Wall Agreement, or a Party Wall Award, in place.
This is unfortunately a relatively common position to find yourself in, and ultimately means that the Building Owner has commenced their proposed construction works, without following the correct legal Party Wall procedures, as set out by the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
If you find yourself in this position, the first thing to do is to speak to a qualified and experienced Party Wall Surveyor in the first instance, to discuss the proposed works, the risks, and the likely protections that the Party Wall etc Act 1996 would afford you.
If the works are of significant risk to your property, such as excavations, extensive structural change, or even works directly to a Party Wall, then the best step would be to consider obtaining a Party Wall Injunction that would ultimately stop the Building Owner’s works in their tracks, until the necessary and legally due Party Wall procedures have been followed.
Injunctions are not without risk, and can ultimately mean that the Adjoining Owner is having to underwrite costs in order to obtain an injunction, and ultimately incur out-of-pocket expense.
Building Owners have a legal responsibility to serve Party Wall Notices on an Adjoining Owner a minimum of one month in advance of their proposed works being undertaken, and ultimately through the service of the Party Wall Notice, the Adjoining Owner is given a legal right to consider their legal Party Wall response options, and ultimately make an informed decision.
In many cases, Building Owners may be unaware of Party Wall procedures, as with the run-up to construction being highly stressful, and involving a number of different parties, in many cases it can be overlooked or missed.
If you are a Building Owner and you find yourself in this situation, the key thing is to take action as soon as you can, the longer you leave it, the higher the risk to the Adjoining Owner’s property, and ultimately the higher the costs which you may find yourself footing.
If you would like to discuss the proposed works with our team of qualified and experienced Party Wall Surveyors, give us a call now here at Stokemont, and we will be more than happy to assist you.
