Hello, and welcome to today’s instalment of our informative property surveying blog post, where we are going to be taking a look at what The Party Wall Act.
The Act itself was introduced in 1996 with it coming into full effect in 1997. The aim of the Act was to be a framework for any disputes that may arise when work is being done on the Party Wall, party structures, boundary walls of the property and excavations near neighbouring buildings depending on how deep the excavation would need to be.
Terminology in The Act
Just for clarity and understanding I am going to explain some common terminology that you will find in the Act and throughout this blog post to ensure that there is no confusion.
- Building owner- The person that is carrying out the works.
- Adjoining owner- Those that share a Party Wall (your neighbours)
- Notice- A letter that the building owner must serve to the adjoining owner outlining what works are going to take place.
- Agreement/Award- this will be the final part of the Party Wall procedure, which will outline the works that are going to take place and the protections that are going to be given to the adjoining owners.
Some common works that do fall under the Party Wall Act are:
- converting a loft – including cutting into boundary walls to support new beams
- underpinning
- inserting a damp-proof course
- increasing the thickness of the party wall
- demolishing and rebuilding a party wall
- extending above a storey which lies on the boundary
- building a new wall for an extension, for example up to or on the boundary
- excavation work for new foundations, subject to condition
Works of this nature will fall under The Party Wall etc Act 1996 as not only are they capable of causing damage to the adjoining owner’s property but they may also require access to the adjoining owner’s property to complete.
So the Act is there to ensure that not only are the works capable of being completed but also any disputes that arise from the works in the way of damages by the works are rectified.
Serving Party Wall Notice
Before any works can be carried out that may fall under the guides of the Act, a Party Wall Notice must be served to the adjoining owner/s to inform them of what kind of works will be taking place.
If a Notice is not served then the adjoining owner can seek the works be stopped through court injection. Unfortunately one fall back of the act is that it does not outline any punishment for a building owner that starts works and does not serve notice.
We at Stokemont would consider it best practice to serve a Party Wall Notice as early as practically possible, but at the very least, the minimum time a notice must be served is 1 or 2 months before the works will commence, depending on the types of works that are being carried out.
It is also important to keep in mind that a notice is only valid for a year so it should not be served pre-emptively, especially in cases where you would also need planning permission for the works that are being undertaken.
Once a Party Wall Notice has been served then the neighbours will have a total of 16 days to respond, this includes a statutory 14 days with 2 day postage allowance.
If the adjoining owner fails to respond within this timeframe, then a final Notice must be served. This will consist of a total of 12 days, 10 statutory days and again a 2 day postage allowance.
If again the neighbour does not respond after the final Notice has been served then it will be considered that the neighbour has refused to accept the works and you would be in dispute.
In this case, as per Section 10 of the Party Wall Act, you are capable of appointing a Party Wall surveyor on their behalf to ensure that there are no delays to the proposed works.
In Case of Agreement
It is not very common that you will find an adjoining owner will not respond to a notice entirely. In some cases an adjoining owner will be happy to agree to the notice thus giving their consent for the building owner to go ahead with the planned works.
This can be beneficial for the building owner as it ensures that there are no delays with them starting the works, but this can be somewhat disadvantageous for the adjoining owner as by agreeing to the notice they no longer have the protections that The party Wall etc Act will afford them.
In Case of Refusal?
If the adjoining owner refuses the notice, then this will be considered a dissent which will then leave the adjoining owner with two options. They can appoint a Part Wall Surveyor of their own or they can even use the Part Wall Surveyor of the building.
Some people may be wary of using the building owners surveyor as it may be perceived that there is going to be a bias towards the building owner, but this is not the case as surveyors ultimately have the duty to uphold the Act and therefore must act impartially when dealing with Party Wall matters.
What Will the Party Wall Surveyors do?
There is no set procedure within the Act of what a Party Wall Surveyors must do when dealing with Party Wall matters, but the Act does however outline some of the powers that are afforded to a surveyor such as the ability to create an Award.
An Award is a legally binding document which will outline the works that are going to commence and what protections are going to be put in place for the adjoining owners.
When There are Two Surveyors
In cases of a dispute where two surveyors have been appointed, then they must decide upon an award together and if they are incapable of coming to an agreement on the award, then the Act outlines that a 3rd surveyor must be appointed by the other surveyors who will be ultimately responsible for deciding on said award.
Although, this is only usually considered a last resort as the losing party will have to pay for the cost of the 3rd surveyor. so, not only could this option end up increasing the overall cost of the works, but it still does not guarantee that the 3rd surveyor involved will decide on an award that would be favourable for you.
What to do Once you Receive a Party Wall Award?
Once an Award has been decided upon this is considered legally binding and you are capable of starting work straight away. It is worth noting too that the Award itself is only valid for one year so it is best not to delay the planned works upon receipt of said award.
The Award can even supersede common law, for example in such cases where access may be needed for the building owners works, even if the adjoining owner does not consent to give access as long as the Award grants it then they can not claim trespass on part of the building owners contractors.
It is also important to note that the adjoining owners will have the ability to appeal the Award through the courts up to 14 days from the date the award has been decided, Where it is possible that the award can be modified or even rescinded.
Although this is not too common as it is a very timely and costly affair where the building owner is still capable of continuing works while the courts decide whether to modify the award or not.
We hope this gives you further insight into The Party Wall etc Act and if you do have any queries in relation to any Party Wall matters or want to discuss them in more depth, feel free to pop us an email or call us today and speak to one of our experienced Party Wall Surveyors.
