Hello and welcome to the latest edition of our blog post series! The aim of this post is to provide valuable information to building owners who are currently planning on undertaking construction works which fall with the remit of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
You may be wondering if your works are notifiable under the Act?
If you are either planning on:
- Building a new wall up to or astride the boundary line between you and your neighbour.
- Excavating within 3m of a neighbouring property to a depth lower than the existing foundations.
- Undertaking works directly to the party wall.
Then your proposed works will be notifiable to any of the respective adjoining owners.
If your proposed works are notifiable under the Act, it is essential that you follow the party wall procedures as it is a legal requirement.
Failing to follow the Acts procedures could land you in a difficult and costly situation.
An adjoining owner may seek to obtain a party wall injunction which will cease all works on site until the correct procedures have been adhered to.
If this does occur – as a building owner – you may find yourself liable to pay for the adjoining owner’s legal costs for obtaining the injunction.
Not only this, but while the works are brought to a halt on site, you will soon rack up a substantial fee for the contractor, scaffolding hire & machine hire etc.
It is also vital that a Schedule of Condition is undertaken of any respective adjoining property. This offers you protection as you will not be blamed for any damage to the adjoining owner’s property that existed prior to the works commencing.
How much time should you leave for the Party Wall Procedures?
As a building owner it is important that you leave a suitable period to proceed through the party wall procedures. You do not want to find yourself in a position where the contractor is ready to start but you are unable to start as you are waiting on the party wall award.
If your proposed work’s falls under either section 1 or 6 of the Act. You will be required to serve a party wall notice on any respective adjoining owner 1-month before you intend to start the works.
However, if your planned works fall under section 2 of the Act. Then you will be required to serve a party wall notice 2-months before the commencement of the works.
The adjoining owner is allowed 14 days to respond to the notice and a further 2 days are allowed to consider postage times.
Although, if the adjoining does not respond within this period a further party wall notice will need to be served to provide them with an additional 10 days to respond. Likewise with the initial notice an additional 2 days are added on to this period to allow for postage times.
If this period of 28 days passes by and you still have no response from the adjoining owner, then you are entitled to appoint a party wall surveyor on their behalf.
Once a surveyor has been appointed you should allow for a further 4-6 weeks for the surveyor to undertake the Schedule of Condition and produce the party wall award.
Who is responsible for the fees related to the Party Wall Procedures?
It is important to note that as the building owner who is undertaking the construction works you will be liable for all costs associated with the party wall procedures.
The standpoint of the act is that the adjoining owner should not be liable for any costs to protect themselves from works that are of no benefit to them.
Although it may seem tempting, it is probably not the best idea to hire the cheapest surveyor you can find.
If you do this, please bear in mind that you are more likely to see delays to the party wall procedures and you will likely be less protected against damage claims from any adjoining of the owners.
It also worth noting that it is quite rare for an adjoining owner to respond to a party wall notice consenting to your works.
For this reason, it is important that you properly budget for the party wall procedures as you could find yourself liable for the fees of multiple party wall surveyors.
We would advise budgeting around £1500 per surveyor, their fees will be made up from their hourly rate which is applied to the level of time spent on the project.
If you are a building owner who has plans to undertake construction works which fall within the remit of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 please feel free to contact one of our highly experienced and well qualified party wall surveyors to discuss by clicking here.
Here at Stokemont we would be thrilled to assist you with your works, and we will ensure that the correct party wall procedures are followed effectively and efficiently.
