So, you have encountered a situation where you’ve rocked up to your property one day and found construction workers everywhere and your party wall in disarray. Seriously, what is going on?
Your neighbour is making modifications to the wall that you both share and hasn’t bothered to consult you on it. You’ve not been given a party wall notice, so what can you do? Thankfully, this is more common than you think, so let’s take a look at why this is happening, and what you can do to prevent it.
Common Reasons Why
There are a handful of common reasons why you may not have been given a party wall notice, and it’s important to understand why this might occur.
First of all, it may be the case that your neighbour simply hasn’t understood exactly how the party wall act of 1996 works, and thus they have not known that they have needed to submit a party wall notice to you.
Alternatively, they may have done their research and come to the conclusion that the modifications they want to make fall outside of the purview of the party wall act, and that they do not need to notify you. This does happen from time to time, although it is statistically unlikely.
How to Solve the Problem
Generally speaking, why the problem is occurring is not as important as what you do about it. You need to make sure that you resolve the issue as soon as possible, and generally this can begin by going and talking to your neighbour.
Explain the situation to them, and see what they have to say about what’s going on. They may well simply not understand how it all works, and could then provide you with detailed information about what they want to do.
If they are in breach of the party wall act, then you do have a few options available. The most sensible thing that you can do is file an injunction, which will prevent the work from carrying on until such a time as they complete the necessary paperwork.
Obviously, you can also lodge a formal complaint, as refusing to abide by the party wall act is an action which is considered to be breaking the law. Naturally, you can then use the law to defend yourself and stop the actions from occurring.
In conclusion, regardless of why you have not been served a party wall notice, the first thing that you will need to do is not panic. Regardless of what happens, you can fix this, you just have to make sure that you experiment with the right choices. It is important to have an open and honest dialogue with your neighbour about what’s going on, because it may well simply boil down to a miscommunication problem.
Naturally, you will want to come to an agreement which benefits you both, so compromise may be your best friend in specific situations.
If you’d like to discuss your Party Wall Surveying requirements with our team of Surveyors, give us a call now and we will be happy to assist.
