Thank you for clicking on today’s Property Surveying blog. In this week’s instalment of our informative Property Surveying blog post, we are going to be looking at party wall surveying matters and a typical question often asked by a building owner.
This blog post will take an in-depth look at this question through the eyes of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and importantly a party wall surveyor.
Chimney breast removal is one of the most typical types of party wall works that can be undertaken to semi-detached or terraced properties.
At the turn of the century, the use of chimney breasts was widespread and generally speaking one of the main heat sources within a property.
Chimney breasts are often common in reception rooms, bedrooms, and often in kitchens. Historically in order to heat homes.
However coal being a fossil fuel is no longer appropriate to burn, in many cases being outlawed by Local Authorities throughout England and Wales.
It is also worth noting that using a chimney breast for a source of heat such as a gas fireplace, or wood burning stove, or potentially even logs, is by no means a thermally efficient or cost efficient means of heating one’s home.
Chimney breasts are also not a necessarily small protrusion into the property.
With property values being what they are, and property owners wanting to gain the maximum benefit of the space they have available to them, it is now common and altogether normal for property owners to cut away and demolish chimney breasts.
Demolishing a chimney breast can not only change the dynamic and layout of the room, it can also give property owners all important additional square footage.
In any semi-detached or terraced property, when a property owner decides to cut away and demolish their chimney breast, they are effectively going to be cutting directly into and away from a party wall.
A party wall is a shared structure between both a building owner and adjoining owner. Usually, the party wall’s ownership will stop at its mid-point.
However, either the building owner or the adjoining owner does have the legal right to gain the support of the full width of the party wall.
A formal definition of a party wall as set out by the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is as follows:
“party wall” means, (a) a wall which forms part of a building and stands on lands of different owners to a greater extent than the projection of any artificially formed support on which the wall rests; and (b) so much of a wall not being a wall referred to in paragraph (a) above as separates buildings belonging to different owners;
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 governs works directly to a party wall, meaning that if a building owner does indeed intend to cut away and demolish the chimney breast attached to it, they will need to go through the procedures that the Act sets out.
These procedures are as follows:
Service of Party Wall Notice
Prior to commencing the planned removal of the chimney breast, a building owner will need to serve a Party Wall Notice upon their neighbour, the adjoining owner.
This Party Wall Notice will need to be served two months in advance of planned construction start date.
Party Wall Notice Responses
Once an adjoining owner has been served a Party Wall Notice by their neighbour the building owner, they are given a legal right of Party Wall Notice response as follows:
Consent to the Party Wall Notice
Consenting to a Party Wall Notice means that the adjoining owner will be reserving the protections that the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 affords them.
The building owner will then be free to progress their planned works without any further party wall surveying formalities administered or followed.
If you were to liken and compare this to a traffic light, this would be green.
Dissent and Appointment of a Single Party Wall Surveyor
The second Party Wall Notice response option that an adjoining owner has to them is to dissent to the Party Wall Notice and appoint a single party wall surveyor.
That party wall surveyor’s role will be to look at the building owner’s planned construction works from the perspective of the adjoining owner’s property.
In this particular case whereby a chimney breast is being cut away and removed, the surveyor is going to ensure that there are necessary protections and protocols in place during the course of the works.
Prominently these are going to be the use of hand tools only when the party wall is being worked on.
Equally, it is likely that open chimney breasts, vents or air bricks on the adjoining owner’s side of the party wall are carefully covered prior to the planned works commencing.
This will go a significant way to reduce the detritus and dust transmission into an adjoining owner’s property.
Dissenting to the Party Wall Notice and Appointing Their Own Party Wall Surveyor
The final Party Wall Notice response option that an adjoining owner has open to them is to dissent to the Party Wall Notice and appoint their own party wall surveyor.
This party wall surveyor’s role will be very much the same as if he or she were a single party wall surveyor.
However, the all important key distinction being that the party wall surveyor will agree a Party Wall Award with their counterpart, the building owner’s party wall surveyor.
A Party Wall Award is the legal document which governs and protects building owners and adjoining owners during the course of the planned chimney breast removal works.
If you would like to discuss party wall surveying procedures with our team of experienced qualified party wall surveyors, please feel free to get in touch with us today. We will be more than happy to assist and advise you.
