In today’s Property Surveying blogpost, we are going to be looking at party wall surveying procedures.
In particular, we are going to be looking at Party Wall Notices and electronic service, or e-mail service.
Party Wall Notices will formally commence the party wall procedures, and are required to be served by a building owner upon an adjoining owner.
Historically, as the Party Wall etc Act 1996 came into existence in 1997, electronic means of communication was very much in its infancy.
With that in mind, very little thought or longevity was given to the manner in which Party Wall Notices could be legally served.
Here in 2022, electronic means of communication is not only common, however is actually more commonplace and conventional than written letters.
This therefore means that the means of Notice service has adapted and evolved over that time.
Can a Party Wall Notice be Served via Email?
One of the most typical questions we are asked here on a daily basis at Stokemont, is whether Party Wall Notices can be served by e-mail upon an adjoining owner.
Equally, we are often asked whether an adjoining owner has the legal right to respond to a Party Wall Notice via e-mail.
There are always going to be degrees of debate in respect of these types of issues, however our take on it here at Stokemont is as follows:
Party Wall Notices can indeed be served by electronic means, mainly e-mail, however in order for the Party Wall Notice to be deemed as legally served, the adjoining owner must first confirm that they are happy to receive electronic service.
The issue you have with this, is that in many cases a building owner will be unable to get that assurance from an adjoining owner, therefore rendering the process somewhat of a non-starter.
It is also important to note that the intent and aim of the Party Wall Notice is to notify and inform the adjoining owner of the planned party wall works.
Therefore, so long as the Notice achieves that and gives the adjoining owner the understanding that there are proposed works that fall within the Party Wall etc Act 1996 that are due to take place, we see no reason why electronic Party Wall Notice should be such a hot topic of dispute.
In reality, it is likely that the dispute will arise when an adjoining owner is against the idea of the planned party wall construction works.
They will therefore likely be asking the building owner to serve a Party Wall Notice by conventional letter format, as this will not only give them additional time to consider their response, it will also aid that response.
It is also important to note that while, for many of us, electronic means of communication and e-mail is commonplace, there are a large number of people who do not tend to rely on e-mail.
This could present a significant issue, both to the service of the Party Wall Notice, and also to the receipt.
Our Party Wall Notice Advice
Generally speaking, here at Stokemont we feel that so long as an adjoining owner is comfortable and happy with electronic service, whether this is for a Party Wall Notice or some other form of service, we see no reason why the building owner should not exercise that right.
There is obviously going to be inherent issues, especially if the matter becomes contentious or tensions rise, as it that case generally speaking, there is going to be natural disagreement in place in any event.
Here at Stokemont, we are very proud to have launched an industry first electronic party wall surveyor’s Letter of Appointment.
The electronic Appointment can simply be completed via a dedicated webpage and link on our website.
This not only ensures speed and ease for which our appointing owners can appoint us, but it also ensures for those owners who are travelling, or unable to physically sign a conventional appointment letter, they are given consideration in that regard.
Party wall surveying procedures are naturally always going to be a cause of concern, here at Stokemont we pride ourselves in both our experience and understanding of party wall matters, but also property matters as a whole.
If you would like to discuss your party wall surveying procedures with our team of experienced and qualified chartered surveyors, please feel free to give us a call. You are also very welcome to send us an email, we will be more than happy to assist and advise you.
