Thank you for tuning in to this week’s surveying blog. In this week’s blog, we will be discussing whether or not you can prepare your own Party Wall Notices to initiate the Party Wall Procedure.
What is a Party Wall Notice?
Party Wall Notices are in place to invoke the Party Wall etc Act 1996 by service upon the adjoining owner(s), and also to notify them of the building owner’s proposed works to their property which may affect their property in the process.
Party Wall Notices should be simple in their form, the notification should also include sufficient information so that the adjoining owner can make a fully informed decision in response to the Party Wall Notice received.
Once a notice is served, the adjoining owner(s) will have 3 response options available to them:
Response Option 1: Party Wall Notice Consent
Consenting means the adjoining owner will be giving the go-ahead without any further of the Act’s procedures being followed.
Here at Stokemont, in an attempt to ensure the building owners’ protection against any potential false damage claim as well as any damage occurring to a consenting adjoining owner during or post-construction work, we would still highly recommend that a Schedule of Condition Report of the adjoining owner’s property is opted for.
A Schedule of Condition Report involves a Party Wall Surveyor visiting the adjoining property before the construction work commences, to record the current condition, the surveyor will would then provide a copy of this report to each respective owner acting as a record of proof in the event of a damage claim.
The building owner would be liable for the Schedule of Condition Report fees, should the adjoining owner wish to have the inspection undertaken.
Response Option 2: Party Wall Notice Dissent, Agreed Surveyor Appointment
Dissenting and appointing an Agreed Party Wall Surveyor essentially means that one Surveyor acts impartially on behalf of both the building owner and the adjoining owner.
The Surveyor’s role will be to protect the interests of both owners impartially via the agreement of a Party Wall Award which is the final legally binding document, governing the construction work and adding damage protection above and beyond common law for both the building owner and the adjoining owner.
The building owner would be solely legally liable for both Party Wall Surveyors’ fees.
Response Option 3: Party Wall Notice Dissent, Two Surveyor Appointment
Dissenting and appointing their own Surveyor will mean that an adjoining owner chose to appoint an independent Party Wall Surveyor from the Building Owner. At this stage, both Surveyors will select a third surveyor in the interim who can mediate any disputes that arise. Other than this, the surveyors will undertake the same roles as response option 2, concluding their input via the agreement of a Party Wall Award.
The building owner would be legally liable for both Party Wall Surveyors’ fees.
Once an option has been selected by the adjoining owners, the next stage would be to arrange for access to the neighbouring properties for the Schedule of Condition Report to undertaking either by the surveyor or surveyors, if two are included within the procedure.
Can I prepare my own Party Wall Notices? (is it a good idea?)
The short answer is yes to whether notices can be prepared by a building owner planning works.
A more in-depth answer is that generally speaking, Party Wall Notices can be drafted and served by a building owner wishing to proceed with the works or any individual in fact.
In my experience, I have come across Party Wall notices that have been drafted and served on behalf of building owners by Architects, Structural Engineers, Builders, Solicitors, Lawyers, and Doctors.
Generally, it’s advised that if individuals were to choose to draft their own notices, the individual drafting and serving of the notice should obtain a favourable level of knowledge concerning construction as a whole as well as the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
This would ensure that the notice served would be valid.
A key point to note is that when it comes to a dissent to the notice served, per section 10 of the Party Wall etc Act 1996, the individual appointed, will need to be anyone who isn’t party to the matter as specified below:
“A “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.”
This essentially confirms that building owners cannot act as their own surveyors, and neither can family members who reside within the same subject property.
Party Wall Notices are a vital part of the party wall procedures. More often than not, these can be incorrectly served. To address an invalid notice, the building owner will need to re-serve Party Wall Notices and all legal timeframes and periods will be re-set as a result causing delayed to the planned works.
Here at Stokemont, we would recommend that Surveyors or qualified property professionals who deal with Party Wall matters daily and are specialists within this area should be instructed and appointed to deal with Party Wall matters as this would ensure that one of the most prized assets is in safe hands.
We do understand that there are going to be building owners that want to take control of the party wall procedures as it would also manage their planned outgoings. Therefore, If you would like to serve your own Party Wall Notice, we do have our own which is available here.
Equally, we would also be more than happy to assist with your party wall surveying procedures and prepare or review a Party Wall Notice on your behalf.
If you would like to discuss Party Wall Notices or any other party wall surveying procedures with our team of qualified and experienced party wall surveyors, please feel free to give us a call today and we will be more than happy to assist and advise you.
