Third Surveyor referrals will come into play, where the two appointed Party Wall Surveyors are in some form of dispute.
Under section 10 of the Party Wall etc Act 1996 (‘the Act’), in the event the Building Owner’s Party Wall Surveyor and the Adjoining Party Wall Surveyor have been unable to reach resolution on an issue.
The Act gives either of the appointed Party Wall Surveyors or, alternatively, either the Building or Adjoining Owners the right to refer the matter in dispute to the Third Surveyor to enable swift and proactive resolution.
The Third Surveyor will have been selected by the respective Party Wall Surveyors at outset of the party wall procedures.
In practice, this usually means that, when the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor has been appointed and has responded to the Party Wall Notice, they will tend to either ask their counterpart – the Building Owner’s Surveyor – to submit a list or selection of Third Surveyors for their consideration.
Should the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor not be agreeable to that list of proposals for a Third Surveyor, generally speaking they will then submit their own list.
The premise being that both Building Owner’s and Adjoining Owner’s Party Wall Surveyors need to agree on the selection of the Third Party Wall Surveyor definitively and collectively.
As previously confirmed within this blogpost, Third Surveyors are in place to resolve any dispute that should arise.
It is worth noting that the very role of a Party Wall Surveyor is to avoid disputes and resolve any issues in dispute by virtue of the Act.
However, as with any professional situation, there are often differing opinions on how to administer the Act, it procedures and those elements of it that are either reasonable or unreasonable.
Here at Stokemont, we undertaken numerous different party wall surveyor appointments each and every day, whether that be acting as an Agreed Surveyor, on behalf of the Building or Adjoining Owner, or indeed Third Surveyor selections and appointments.
We thought we would take a look at some handy tips for party wall surveyors and owners alike, on how Third Surveyor referrals can be avoided.
Third Surveyor referrals do carry an immediate cost and a cost risk associated within them.
In the first instance, whether they like it or not, the Building Owner and Adjoining Owner will need to cover the costs of the Third Surveyor’s referral fee. In many cases this referral fee is likely to be at the same level as their own Party Wall Surveyor’s fee or, potentially, even higher.
There is also no guarantee that the party, or person referring the matter to the Third Surveyor, will indeed to able to recover their costs.
The premise behind this is that it is for the Third Surveyor to not only resolve the dispute but, also, to determine how costs and fees are apportioned. This will not only include his/her fees as a Third Surveyor, but will also include the fees of the two appointed Surveyors who have referred the matter to the Third Surveyor.
This is where the cost risk comes into play. Effectively, whenever a Third Surveyor referral is made, both Building Owner and Adjoining Owner are effectively being made a party to the potential fees that can come with the referral. This will apply even in a scenario whereby it is the Surveyors who are in dispute and not necessarily the Appointing Owners.
A good example of this is Party Wall Surveyor fees and, in particular, an Adjoining Owner’s Party Wall Surveyor’s fees and costs.
It is not uncommon for a Building Owner’s and Adjoining Owner’s Party Wall Surveyors to have some disagreement or fallout in respect of the quantum of reasonable fees. In many cases this will present itself whereby the Adjoining Owner’s Party Wall Survey has put forward a fee and the Building Owner’s Party Wall Surveyor finds that fee to be unfairly high or, in their opinion, unreasonable.
It is a duty of the two Party Wall Surveyors to agree all matters in dispute, including fees.
Here at Stokemont we would advise that referrals to the Third Survey are not looked at as a go to procedure or scenario, but as an absolute last resort. Not only do referrals to a Third Surveyor bring with them a level of cost, they also carry with them stresses that, in our experience, owners generally tend to want to avoid.
Our take on how to avoid referrals to a Third Surveyor is as follows:
Owner Discussions
We would advise that both Surveyors attempt to speak with the Building and Adjoining Owners.
Irrespective of whether they have been appointed by the respective owner, it still makes sense for their to be open discussions between all parties in advance of a referral.
In many cases, this can go a long way to resolving any issue and effectively avoid the costly and stressful referral to a Third Surveyor.
Informal Third Surveyor Input
In many cases, a good Third Surveyor will have no issue in providing both the Building Owner’s and Adjoining Owner’s Surveyors some informal input into the matter in dispute.
This is similar to a formal referral, albeit it is usually a quick conversation between the respective Party Wall Surveyors and the Third Surveyor, with the outcome being some firm guidance on the matter in dispute.
Reconsidering the Dispute
The third and final tip is for the respective Surveyors to reconsider the matter in dispute and, effectively, for one of the two to make some form of concession, to best enable matters to progress.
Referrals to a Third Surveyor are a common procedure under the Act. Here at Stokemont we do genuinely aim to avoid such referrals at all costs, however, do recognise there are always going to be scenarios which necessitate referral.
If you would like to discuss Third Surveyor referrals with our team of qualified and experienced party wall surveyors. Please get in touch with us today and we will be more than happy to book some time into the diary to discuss this with you accordingly.
