Thank you for clicking on today’s property surveying blog post. In today’s informative post, we are going to be looking at Party Wall Surveying procedures.
Particularly we are going to be looking at Party Wall Agreements, commonly referred to as Party Wall Awards. Importantly, we are going to be looking at when they are needed and under which circumstances.
Party Wall Surveying procedures are governed by The Party Wall etc Act 1996, this is also commonly referred to as the Act.
The Act is in place to ensure that there is a procedure in place which governs certain types of construction works that take place throughout England and Wales.
The Party Wall etc Act 1996 covers all different types of properties and specifically sets out that prior to commencing any planned construction works the building owner must serve a Party Wall Notice to the adjoin owner.
The building owner is the owner who is undertaking the planned construction works and the adjoining owner is the one who adjoins or borders the planned construction works.
Party Wall Works
Party wall works are generally far and wide, however can be separated into 3 district categories.
New walls up to or astride the boundary line
The first work type that The Party Wall etc Act 1996 deals with is the construction of new wall up to or astride the boundary line.
Under the Party Wall etc Act 1996 the boundary line is referred to as the line or junction if indeed the building owner is planning on undertaking works that fall within this definition, under the Act they will have a legal duty to serve Notice on the adjoining owner a minimum of one in advance of the commencing works on site.
Typical works that fall within the definition of this category are;
- Construction of walls in close proximity to the boundary line, often the flank walls of new extensions.
- Construction of garden walls that are to or close proximity to the boundary line.
Works directly to a Party Wall, Party Structure or Party Fence Wall
The second type of construction works that The Party Wall etc Act 1996 deals with is any works to a Party Wall, Party Structure or Party Fence Wall.
Obliviously, a Party Wall is any wall that separates two different properties.
A Party Structure is typically a ceiling/floor that separates two flats or properties horizontally.
A Party Fence Wall is commonly a garden fence wall that is built astride the boundary line with shared maintenance liabilities.
This is the widest spectrum and scope of construction works that the Act deals with and generally speaking typical construction works that fall under this section are:
- · Loft conversions
- · Removal of chimney breast
- · Structural insertions to the party wall
- · Cutting away form the party wall
- · Changing roof coverings
- · Underpinning
Excavations
The final section of The Party Wall etc Act 1996 is adjacent excavations.
Adjacent excavations effectively means that digging within 3m, or 6m within an adjoining property or structure is covered by the Act.
This is usually commonplace when a building owner is planning any extensions, with that extension requiring a form of foundations to support the structure above.
In the majority of cases, adjacent excavations will fall under The Party Wall etc Act, as the majority of stock in England and Wales are built on corbel brick footings. Corbel brick footing tends to be no more than 1 to 6 courses of brick beneath the ground.
With building regulations now requiring new foundations 1m deep, then in almost all cases The Party Wall etc Act will apply and a party wall notice will need to be served.
Once a Party Wall Notice has been served the adjoining owner will have 3 district response options, as follows;
Consenting to the party wall notice
Consenting to the party wall notice effectively means that the adjoining owner reserves the protection that The Party Wall etc Act 1996 affords them. Importantly, the building owner will be free to commence the planned works without any further formality or procedure as set out by the Act.
Dissenting to the party wall notice and appointing their own surveyor
The second option that an adjoining owner has at their disposal is to dissent to the notice and appoint their own Party Wall Surveyor.
In doing this the building owner will also then need to appoint their own Party Wall Surveyor. With those two Party Wall Surveyors then going through procedures and processors ultimately concluding with the agreement of a Party Wall Award, as confirmed previously this is also commonly known as a Party Wall Agreement.
Dissenting to the party wall notice and appointing an agreed surveyor
The final response option that an adjoining owner has at their disposal in response to a Party Wall Notice is to dissent and appoint an agreed Party Wall Surveyor. An agreed Party Wall Surveyor will undertake all the same duties and roles that two surveyors would, the only distinct difference is that they will act jointly on behalf the building owner and adjoining owner administering the Act impartially and neutrally.
As confirmed above the outcome of The Party Wall Surveyor/s roll will be the agreement of the Party Wall Award.
Party Wall Awards are the all-inclusive document. They will not only give the building owner the right to commence the planned building work without any further delay, they also give the adjoining owner legal protection above and beyond common law.
Party Wall Awards will also include clauses and requirements that the building owner’s contractor must adhere to during the course of the works.
Common Party Wall Award inclusions will have;
- Controlled construction working hours
- Limitations on days of work
- Requirements in the manner in which the works are completed
- Damage procedures and photocalls
- Procedures in the event of work variation or change
Party Wall Awards once served are conclusive.
If you would like to discuss party wall surveying procedures with our team, please feel free to give us a call or alternatively pop us an email. We would be more than happy to assist and advise you.
