In today’s blog post topic, we are going to look at party wall surveying procedures. Particularly, we are going to be looking at the scenario whereby a building owner, or adjoining owner, may request the review the Party Wall Award prior to its service and agreement.
The starting point for any technical question such as this is to look at the wording of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996.
Section 10 of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996 confirms as follows:
Either of the parties or either of the surveyors appointed by the parties may call upon the third surveyor selected in pursuance of this section to determine the disputed matters and he shall make the necessary award.
An award may determine—
- the right to execute any work;
- the time and manner of executing any work; and
- any other matter arising out of or incidental to the dispute including the costs of making the award;
Specifically under the statute it is a party wall surveyor’s statutory duty to agree the Party Wall Award on behalf of the appointing owner. As the party wall surveyor’s role is one of impartiality, they must ensure they can exercise and fulfill their duties without any pressure, prejudice, or bias from the appointing owners.
It is also worth noting that Section 10(17) of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996 specifically confirms:
Either of the parties to the dispute may, within the period of fourteen days beginning with the day on which an award made under this section is served on him, appeal to the county court against the award and the county court may—
- rescind the award or modify it in such manner as the court thinks fit; and
(b) make such order as to costs as the court thinks fit.
Effectively what this means is that once the Party Wall Award has been agreed, and importantly served upon the appointing owner, whether that be the building owner, or the adjoining owner, they are effectively given 14 calendar days to appeal the Party Wall Award.
Unsurprisingly, appointing owners will often find the award agreement and procedures approach to be unconventional and will often take issue with the fact they are being bound into an award, however, haven’t had the opportunity to review or have any input in it.
Commonly, this can be compared to a contract, whereby in normal situations and circumstances, both respective parties to that contract will, generally speaking agree on its terms, inclusions and tone.
Once they are both happy with that contract, they will both respectively sign it and a contract becomes a binding agreement.
Party Wall Awards are slightly different. Firstly, the party wall surveyors aren’t, or at least shouldn’t, introduce terms or inclusions that are favourable to their appointing owners. Instead, they should be looking at the overall works that are taking place, the properties which the works are taking place to, and the overall wording of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996.
Providing they undertake these duties and do so with the benefit of both experience and knowledge, then in theory, the Party Wall Award should be an impartial, best fitting legal document which not only governs and allows the works to proceed, it also has the various different procedures should there be any form of issue, variation, and/or damage.
Whether it be an adjoining owner or a building owner to review the Party Wall Award. At that stage it is going to be impossible for some form of comment not to be submitted by them. And in a worst case scenario, they may even take issue with the wording of the award itself.
This would make it impossible for a party wall surveyor to then serve that Party Wall Award impartially, as the appointing owner would have specifically vocalised a dispute to its content.
This would also prejudice Section 10.17 of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996 which we have touched on above.
Commonly, if there is a dispute under the Party Wall Etc Act 1996, then there are two surveyors appointed. Both a building owner’s party wall surveyor and the adjoining owner’s party wall surveyor. Should a dispute arise, then it is the duty of the third surveyor to resolve that on behalf of the party who raises the dispute.
The third surveyor’s resolution is in the form of a third surveyor referral, effectively ensuring that the party wall procedures are progressed smoothly and the matter that pertains the dispute is resolved without issue or delay.
Here at Stokemont, we have dealt with thousands upon thousands of Party Wall Awards over the years. This question of appointing owner’s being able to review Party Wall Awards is an ongoing and repetitive one we tend to find.
Our take on this is that it is all the more important for an owner to carefully select a party wall surveyor at the time of making the appointment, as they will want to ensure they are not only selecting a professional who is capable of administering an impartial Party Wall Award. However, one that they also have confidence in doing so properly.
Party wall surveying procedures can be confusing and difficult to understand at times. Especially if it is the first time you are having to deal with them. Here at Stokemont, we take great pride in ensuring our clients and appointing owners are always fully informed and abreast of the situation at hand.
If you would like to discuss your party wall surveying procedures with our team of experienced and qualified RICS Chartered Building Surveyors and Party Wall Surveyors, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us today, as we will be more than happy to assist and advise you.
