In today’s property surveying blog post, we are going to be looking at party wall surveying procedures. Party wall surveying procedures are the leading service that we undertake here at Stokemont.
Throughout each week, our surveyors will not only serve multiple Party Wall Notices, they will complete multiple Schedule of Condition reports, usually well over 10, agreed Party wall Awards and naturally resolve party wall disputes. The key factor to all of this being undertaken smoothly, and with as little issue as possible, is experience.
This brings us back to the title of this blog post and ultimately whether party wall surveyors need to be experienced.
First and foremost, a key distinction to make is that through the eyes of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996, a party wall surveyor is defined as follows:
“surveyor” means any person not being a party to the matter appointed or selected under section 10 to determine disputes in accordance with the procedures set out in this Act.
Simply put, this means that the party wall surveyor is not formally bound by duty and statute to possess any form of qualification, or experience for that matter.
This is an incredibly odd peculiarity of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996 and in practice, means that there are a significant variance and wide range of different types of party wall surveyors within the professional market.
While this does make it an incredibly free market to trade in, free markets always bring out the best in companies. It does also place the potential issue whereby there are party wall surveyors out there operating, who do not necessarily have, or hold, the conventional qualifications, or have experience that one would expect of a property surveyor. Here at Stokemont, we believe that any building owner, or adjoining owner looking for a party wall surveyor and finalizing their selection of that surveyor, should ensure as follows:
Experience
First and foremost, you will want to ensure that the party wall surveyor you are selecting is experienced. We advise asking them whether they have worked on the type of construction works that are taking place in this specific matter. Furthermore, what typical issues they found during the course of the agreement of that party wall award. That is likely to give you a firm understanding of exactly how they handled it, and how they can best implement what was learned to aid smoothness in the subject property.
Professional Qualification
We would also advise that as a bare minimum, your party wall surveyor holds some form of formal qualification.
While the law, Act and statute does not require it, it goes without saying that a professional that holds governing body accreditation and membership is going to likely have a deeper toolbox in their arsenal that they can rely upon to aid resolution and smoothness of the job as a whole.
There are a number of different professional governing bodies within the property sector.
The obvious ones being the most recognised; the RICS, the CIOB, the CIARB.
Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII)
Again, another well and commonly overlooked one, it is important to note that if your party wall surveyor isn’t a member of a governing body, it is highly unlikely that they will not have any form of professional indemnity insurance in place.
This can place you in a precarious situation whereby if there is right to claim on a count of professional misconduct or error, you wouldn’t have the right to pursue that surveyor for their misjudgment and fault. With construction works carrying a significant risk, both to the building owner and adjoining owner, here at Stokemont, we believe this should be a bare minimum for any party wall surveyor selection, appointment and instruction.
Complaint Handling Procedure (CHB)
While it’s a relatively rare part of the job, there can be scenarios whereby building owner and adjoining owner alike are unhappy with their party wall surveyor’s actions, duties and administration of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996.
If your surveyor is a member of a governing body, they are likely to have some form of CHB in place to assist and safeguard clients who are unhappy or dissatisfied with the service.
Having a CHB in place will mean that the client has a point of call and vessel to go to raise any issue or disputes. That vessel being designed by their governing body for time and cost effectiveness, as well as generally being resolution geared.
Location
Generally speaking, while party wall surveyors and building surveyors for that matter, will travel far and wide for property instructions. Generally speaking, you will want to ensure that they are close enough to the subject property should there be an issue.
This is somewhat of a moot point as these days, with public transport, it is usually likely that a surveyor can be onsite within a couple to a few hours in the worst case scenario.
However, ultimately, you will want to ensure they are indeed close enough to best assist and advise should there be any unforeseen issues or errors on site.
It is worth noting that there are party wall surveyors who are not resident in the UK. However do take on professional instruction. This is something that is known within the professional circuit, however, obviously would never be known by the general public. As a bare minimum, we therefore advise that your party wall surveyor is in good locality to the property.
Party Wall Surveying Procedures
Finally, the last requirement that we advise you ask of your party wall surveyor prior to their instruction and appointment is how they will best handle the matter.
Every party wall surveyor is different. They will all have different systems and procedures for administering the Party Wall Etc Act 1996.
We therefore, want to ensure the surveyor you select, appoint or instruct, has an administration system that is aligned with your expectations as an owner and ultimately client.
It should, therefore, be a top priority to ask the surveyor how they intend to administer the Act, what you can expect from the service and ultimately gain a better understanding in that regard.
Thank you for reading today’s property surveying blog post. In case you didn’t know, our blog is updated on a daily basis with informative and straightforward advice. Why not subscribe to our blog above? This will ensure you are fully abreast of all the topics we post.
If you would like to discuss your party wall surveying procedures with us and our team of experienced party wall surveyors, please feel free to give us a call today. We will be more than happy to assist and advise you.
