Thank you, for clicking on today’s Property Surveying blogpost, today we are going to be looking at party wall surveying matters.
Party Wall Notices are required when a building owner is planning on undertaking construction works to their property, those construction works falling within the realm and coverage of the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
While Party Wall Notices can be served by party wall surveyors, they can also be served directly upon an adjoining owner by a building owner.
In this blogpost, we are going to be putting forward some handy and helpful tips to help those building owners who choose to serve their own Party Wall Notice upon an adjoining owner, avoid a Party Wall Notice dissent.
Party Wall Notice Dissent
A Party Wall Notice dissent occurs when the adjoining owner receives the Party Wall Notice, and opts to dissent, thereby meaning that they are selecting the procedures whereby party wall surveyor will be required.
For a building owner, Party Wall Notice dissents will be the intended avoided response, as ultimately it is going to result in additional time and cost, the building owner having to bear the cost of the party wall surveying procedures.
These handy tips are designed to best aid a building owner in the pre-Party Wall Notice discussions with their adjoining owner, hopefully accommodating a favourable Party Wall Notice response.
Pre-Party Wall Notice Discussion
The first tip that we would advise a building owner proceeds with, is to discuss the planned works with the adjoining owner as soon as possible.
Ideally, this should be well in advance of serving a Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner.
The premise and aim here being that the better informed an adjoining owner is, the more likely they are to respond favourably to the planned construction works, and in particular the party wall element of those planned works.
Ultimately, in a majority of cases, adjoining owners are likely to receive some form of notification of the planned works from the Local Authority.
However, it is important for a building owner to note that this is unlikely to be sufficient in terms of particulars of information, ultimately meaning that they may feel somewhat in the dark when it comes to building owner proposals.
A building owner taking the necessary time to discuss the planned works with an adjoining owner, will bode well in terms of neighbourly relations during the course of the construction works. However, as set out within the aim of this blogpost, it is also likely to bode well for positive Party Wall Notice response.
Clear Construction Information
The next advice and tip that we would offer a building owner is to ensure that the adjoining owner has clear information when it comes to the construction works.
This should be in the form of both the drawings that the building owner provides to the adjoining owner, and also the overall understanding that the building owner has about the planned works.
Key information such as work timings, contractor details, confirmation of start dates, potential duration of project, are all going to best help fully inform an adjoining owner, ultimately likely leading to a positive Party Wall Notice response and avoiding a Party Wall Notice dissent.
Adjoining Owner Involvement
This is somewhat a tricky one, as in many cases building owners will just want to crack on with their works without getting too involved in adjoining owner discussion.
However, our advice here at Stokemont, would be that the building owner does open discussions with the adjoining owner, giving them the opportunity to voice any concerns in respect of the planned works.
This will then give the building owner an opportunity in advance of Party Wall Notice service, to ensure that the Party Wall Notice cover letter takes into account the adjoining owner’s concerns raised.
This of course assumes that the concerns are indeed addressable and reasonable in the first instance.
Typical concerns that we have seen adjoining owners raise, pre-Party Wall Notice service are as follows:
- Finish of the wall
- Timings of the works
- Contractor undertaking the works
In having this information to hand, the building owner is likely going to be able to respond to these various concerns, which will ultimately give the adjoining owner a sense that they have been involved in the process prior to the Party Wall Notice. In our experience, here at Stokemont, this bodes well for positive Party Wall Notice response, and avoids a Party Wall Notice dissent.
Party Wall Notice Service Consideration
The next point that we would recommend building owners consider is the Party Wall Notice service itself.
As set out at the start of this blogpost, party wall surveyors can serve Party Wall Notices, as can a building owner directly.
However, here at Stokemont, we would advise that building owner Party Wall Notice service is reserved for those scenarios whereby the works are straightforward. Or, alternatively, when there is a very good neighbourly relationship between the respective owners, the building owner and the adjoining owner.
If indeed the adjoining owner has demonstrated particular concern about the party wall procedures themselves, or the planned works, we would very much advise that the building owner consider a Party Wall Notice to be served by a party wall surveyor.
A Party Wall Notice surveyor is going to give the adjoining owner a point of contact to contact and ultimately discuss the planned works.
In the scenario whereby a building owner had not given the adjoining owner a point of contact, for example, serving the Party Wall Notice themselves, it is likely that upon receipt of the Party Wall Notice, the adjoining owner is going to reach out to party wall surveyors, which could ultimately end up in the building owner having to go through a two party wall surveyor dissent scenario.
This would ultimately mean that the building owner not only has to bear the reasonable costs of their own party wall surveyor, but they will also need to bear the cost of the adjoining owner’s party wall surveyor.
Party Wall Surveyor Selection
If indeed the building owner is agreeable for the Party Wall Notice to be served by a party wall surveyor, it is important that the building owner carefully consider who and which party wall surveyor serves that Party Wall Notice.
The Act is peculiar insofar as anyone can act as a party wall surveyor.
Yes, we do indeed mean anyone, this effectively means that there are a wide range of varieties of party wall surveyor out there. Both those with experience, and those without. Both those with qualifications, and those without.
In fact the definition of who can be a party wall surveyor as set Section 20, out by the Party Wall etc Act 1996 is 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.
This is an all-important consideration for building owners to have, as ultimately they will want to ensure that the adjoining owner is given a reasonable and sensible point of contact, who can adequately answer surveying queries that the adjoining owner may have.
If you would like to discuss party wall surveying procedures with our team of experienced and qualified party wall surveyors, please feel free to give us a call today and we will be more than happy to assist and advise you. You can also ping us an email, we will be equally happy to assist.
