In this week’s property surveying blog post, we are going to be discussing Party Wall Notices, and in particular what a building owner can do in the event that their adjoining owner hasn’t responded to their Party Wall Notice.
This is a very common scenario that a building owner can find themselves in, and ultimately means that the building owner, or their party wall surveyor has served a Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner, waited the 14 statutory notice days, and the 2 day grace postage period, however has not had a response to the Party Wall Notice.
The party wall procedures and the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 set out a clear protocol to be followed to ensure that the building owner’s proposed construction works are not delayed through the non-response by the adjoining owner.
The next step to take should the building owner find themselves in this position, is to serve a Section 10(4) Notice upon the adjoining owner.
The Section 10(4) reminder, or reminder notice, as it is commonly referred to within the profession will effectively give an adjoining owner a further 12 statutory notice days, and 2 grace postage days to respond. Should the adjoining owner still fail to respond after the expiration of the Section 10(4) Party Wall Notice, the building owner will then be within their rights to appoint a surveyor on behalf of the non-responsive owner, as if that adjoining owner had appointed the surveyor themselves.
The benefit of this is that the building owner is able to progress their works without delay, and ultimately push forward with the party wall procedures moving towards a Party Wall Awards Agreement.
Party Wall Notices are a key part of the party wall procedures, therefore ensuring a valid notice service is pivotal.
If you would like to discuss your party wall procedures with us, or you have been served a Party Wall Notice and are unsure how to respond, give our qualified and experienced team of party wall surveyors a call now who will be more than happy to assist you.
