Thank you, for clicking on today’s Property Surveying blogpost. Today, we are going to be discussing party wall surveyors and party wall surveying.
Here at Stokemont, while we are building surveyors at our core, we undertake party wall surveying work on a daily basis and consider it to be one of the specialities that the firm offers.
Party wall surveying procedures will apply when a building owner is planning on undertaking construction works to their property.
The construction works they are undertaking must fall within the realm of the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
We have a number of other blogposts available on our property surveying blog that you can read about in respect of the typical type of construction works applicable under the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
Furthermore, we also have a dedicated page on our website called ‘What are Party Wall Works’ whereby you can further familiarise yourself with these.
Party Wall Surveyors
Party wall surveyors are appointed under Section 10 of the Party Wall etc Act 1996, as follows:
Where a dispute arises or is deemed to have arisen between a building owner and an adjoining owner in respect of any matter connected with any work to which this Act relates either—
(a) both parties shall concur in the appointment of one surveyor (in this section referred to as an “agreed surveyor”); or
(b) each party shall appoint a surveyor and the two surveyors so appointed shall forthwith select a third surveyor (all of whom are in this section referred to as “the three surveyors”).
Party wall surveyors are also determined and defined by the Act 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.
A party wall surveyor’s statutory duty will be to resolve the dispute that exists between the building owner and the adjoining owner.
The adjoining owner is the property owner whom borders or adjoins the building owner’s planned construction work.
Qualified Party Wall Surveyor
One of the common misconceptions of the Party Wall etc Act 1996 and industry as a whole, is that party wall surveyors are formally qualified.
While the majority of party wall surveyors in the land will hold some form of other governing body qualification, such as the RICS or CIOB, the reality is that under the wording of the Act, a party wall surveyor does not need to be formally qualified.
In fact, they do not even need to hold any form of formal experience.
Instead, so long as the party wall surveyor is not legally deemed as the building owner, or the adjoining owner, they have the legal right to take on the statutory appointment and administer the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
Selecting a Party Wall Surveyor
This is the all-important reason to ensure that your selection process in locating, choosing and appointing a party wall surveyor is well-considered.
At the very least, here at Stokemont, we would advise that the party wall surveyor is indeed a surveyor by profession.
Furthermore, it is of course of great sense to ensure that the party wall surveyor holds a necessary governing body qualification as set out earlier on in this blogpost.
A party wall surveyor’s role will be to ensure that the risk associated with the building owner’s planned work is not only considered, but also reduced.
It goes without saying that a property professional with the necessary experience is going to be able to best ensure, and ultimately achieve, this.
This is not to rubbish those party wall surveyors out there who do not have a qualification, it is simply looking at it from a perspective of probability.
The more experienced the property professional, the better placed they are going to be to assist.
What is Experience?
In our opinion here at Stokemont, experience comes by way of both professional body member, and also ensure that the party wall surveyor himself (or herself) has experience with the necessary work that is taking place.
Ultimately, you will want to ensure that the party wall surveyor has worked on the type of construction work that the building owner is going to be undertaking.
Furthermore, that they are used to, and familiar with, the property to which the works are being undertaken.
What to Expect from a Party Wall Surveyor
Ultimately, the party wall surveyor’s duty is to ensure that the overall procedures as set out by the Party Wall etc Act 1996 are administered smoothly and free from any potential issue.
The party wall surveyor will be ensuring this by looking at the works from the perspective of the building owner’s property, assessing the risk associated with those works, with the outcome being to then implement procedures and protocols to regularise and lessen those risks by way of the Party Wall Award.
What is a Party Wall Award
The Party Wall Award, commonly also referred to as a Party Wall Agreement, is the conclusive legal document that a party wall surveyor, or party wall surveyors, will agree prior to the works commencing.
The Party Wall Award is going to give the building owner the legal right to progress the party wall construction works.
Equally, it is going to give the adjoining owner the all-necessary legal protections, those legal protections coming above and beyond common law. Thus, ensuring that the adjoining owner’s property is well protected throughout the course of the planned construction works, while also ensuring it is protected post-construction work.
If you would like to discuss party wall surveying procedures with our team of experienced and qualified building surveyors here at Stokemont, we will be very happy to assist you and advise.
