Welcome to another addition of the Stokemont blog posts! Today we are going to be taking a comprehensive look at Party Wall Surveying procedures.
If you’re a building owner and are planning on commencing construction works to your property, it is important to bear in mind that these works could fall within the remit of the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
Construction works that are “Notifiable” under the the Party Wall etc Act 1996 include:
- Excavations within 6 metres of any adjoining walls, structures, properties or houses
- The construction of new walls up to, astride, or in close proximity to boundary lines
- Works directly to a party wall, neighbouring wall, floor or ceiling
The Party Wall Act is in place to ensure that the adjoining owner, whose property will be affected as a result of the building owner’s proposed construction works is protected above and beyond that of common law.
In order for these protections to kick into play, the building owner must serve a Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner.
Party Wall Notices will contain the following key information and accompanying documents:
- The name(s) of both the building owner and adjoining owner
- The addresses where the works is taking place
- The addresses of the neighbouring property
- A description of the Party Wall works
- The proposed start date of the works
- Drawings setting out the works
- Details of how these works interact with the adjoining owner’s property
Once a Party Wall Notice has been served, the adjoining owner will have 14 days from the date of the notification to review to the Notice setting out how they intend to respond.
In the event that the adjoining owner doesn’t respond, a further Party Wall Notice can be served which will then give a final 10 days for response.
An adjoining owner’s Party Wall Notice response options are as follows:
Consent to the Party Wall Notice:
This would draw a line under the procedures, meaning that no further formality or procedure was followed.
Dissent to the Party Wall Notice and appoint their own Party Wall Surveyor:
The Party WallSurveyor’s duty would be to ensure the agreement of a Party Wall Award. A Party Wall Award gives the building owner and adjoining owner full legal protection.
Dissent to the Party Wall Notice and appoint an Agreed Party Wall Surveyor:
Appointing an Agreed Party Wall Surveyor means that one Surveyor acts on behalf of both the building owner and adjoining owner.
Irrespective of which Party Wall Notice dissent option is selected, Party Wall Surveyors are duty bound to act impartially, free of bias and in a manner befitting the best interests of the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
Under the legal requirements of the Party Wall etc Act 1996, the building owner will be responsible for the reasonable costs of the Party Wall Surveyors or Agreed Party Wall Surveyors.
The standing on this being that it wouldn’t be fair or reasonable for an adjoining owner to have to cover the costs of a Party Wall Surveyor to protect their property when it is the building owner’s works that are resulting in the risk.
In the rare scenario that the Party Wall Surveyors themselves find themselves in a dispute, they would have selected a Third Surveyor. The Third Surveyor’s whose role will be to resolve any issue that arise.
It is important to bear in mind that disputes between Party Wall Surveyors, while frequent, are rarely of such significance that they need to be referred to the Third Surveyor.
If they are, the Third Surveyor would then be duty bound to resolve the issue and determine whose liable for his or her fees in having to do this.
Over the years that we’ve been undertaking Party Wall work on behalf of clients, one of the most common occurrences we’ve seen is the appointment of neighbouring Party Wall Surveyors of which do not have a great deal of property understanding, experience or qualification.
An oddity of the Party Wall etc Act 1996 is that anyone, yes that isn’t a type, anyone can act as a Party Wall Surveyor.
“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.
For this very reason we’d advise exercising very careful due diligence when it comes to the selection of a Party Wall Surveyor.
Over the years here at Stokemont we’ve acted for a number of different owners on Party Wall matters and are very proud to have built up a firm client base throughout England and Wales.
We also work very hard to ensure that the service we provide is second to none and the interaction you have with our Surveyors is memorable for the right reasons.
If you’re planning on undertaking construction works to your property and you have the belief that they may fall into the perspective of the Party Wall etc Act 1996. We would advise giving us a call today, or sending over the drawings so that our Party Wall Surveyors can review those and provide you with a little bit more of advice.
If the works are covered by the Party Wall etc Act 1996, we will also be more than happy to provide you with a fixed cost quotation and a little bit more information about the procedures.
Party Wall procedures can be confusing, with multiple different sources of information available and a significantly competitive market.
Here at Stokemont, we pride ourselves on ensuring that our approach is not only impartial, but that our fees are competitive and our Party Wall Surveyors are not only experienced, but also qualified.
