Thank you, for clicking on today’s Property Surveying blogpost. Today, in this informative edition of our blog, we are going to be looking at party wall procedures as set out by the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
In particular, this blogpost is going to be taking an in-depth look at the procedures and scenarios surrounding the service of a Party Wall Notice.
Under the Party Wall etc Act 1996, prior to any planned works commencing, the building owner has a legal duty and responsibility to serve a Party Wall Notice upon the neighbouring owner, the adjoining owner.
Party Wall Notices are in place to first and foremost invoke the Party Wall etc Act 1996 upon the adjoining owner, however, also notify them of the building owner’s proposed and planned works to their property.
Party Wall Notices should not only be clear and simple, they should also include enough information so that the adjoining owner is able to make a fully-informed decision in response to the Party Wall Notice.
Once the building owner has served a Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner, the adjoining owner will be afforded three different Party Wall Notice response options, which we are now going to discuss in greater detail.
Consenting to the Party Wall Notice
Consenting to the Party Wall Notice means that the adjoining owner, upon receipt of the Party Wall Notice, gives a thumbs-up or green light to the building owner in respect of their planned works.
Consenting to the Party Wall Notice means that the protocols and procedures as set out in the Party Wall etc Act 1996 are not to be administered or followed.
Instead, the building owner will be given legal right to crack on and progress their works without having to give any further consideration, time or expense to the party wall procedures as set out by the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
For a building owner, this is by far the most favourable and beneficial outcome in response to a Party Wall Notice.
Dissenting to the Party Wall Notice and Appointing their own Party Wall Surveyor
The second Party Wall Notice response option that is open to an adjoining owner, is the dissent to the Party Wall Notice.
In dissenting to the Party Wall Notice, the adjoining owner will be given the legal right to seek the input, counsel and advice from a party wall surveyor.
The party wall surveyor’s role will be to act on behalf of the adjoining owner in accordance with Section 10 of the Party Wall etc Act 1996, set out as follows:
(1) Where a dispute arises or is deemed to have arisen between a building owner and an adjoining owner in respect of any matter connected with any work to which this Act relates either—
(a) both parties shall concur in the appointment of one surveyor (in this section referred to as an “agreed surveyor”); or
(b) each party shall appoint a surveyor and the two surveyors so appointed shall forthwith select a third surveyor (all of whom are in this section referred to as “the three surveyors”).
In layman’s terms, the party wall surveyor’s role will be to ensure the risks associated with the building owner’s planned works are as low as they can possibly be.
This is very much done through surveyor review of drawings, plans, method statements, structural information and the like.
The party wall surveyor will also be introducing temporary procedures and protections during the course of the works, such as access statements, method statements for works and any other required input.
Under the Party Wall etc Act 1996, the building owner is responsible and liable for the adjoining owner’s party wall surveyor’s reasonable fee.
In practice, this means that the building owner will need to pay the adjoining owner’s party wall surveyor’s fee directly upon the agreement of the Party Wall Award.
The Party Wall Award is the final conclusion of the Party Wall etc Act 1996, and essentially validates the building owner’s rights, giving them the right to progress and crack on.
Dissenting and Appointing an Agreed Party Wall Surveyor
The third and final Party Wall Notice response option that an adjoining owner has, is to dissent to the Party Wall Notice and appoint a single agreed party wall surveyor.
Much like option two, the single agreed party wall surveyor is going to undertake all of the same procedures, checks and offer the same advice, albeit, in this case there will only be one party wall surveyor acting on behalf of both the building owner and the adjoining owner respectively.
It is important and key to note that by virtue of the name, and agreed surveyor, you can only have an agreed party wall surveyor if the adjoining owner is indeed in agreement to it.
This effectively means that the option for an agreed surveyor is very much at the adjoining owner’s control and ultimate decision.
Importantly, an adjoining owner does not need to present any form of reasoning should they wish to dispute or refuse and agreed surveyor appointment.
The key distinction between a two party wall surveyor role, and an agreed party wall surveyor role, is that with two party wall surveyors, a third surveyor will be selected.
Third surveyors come onboard in the event that the building owner’s surveyor, or adjoining owner’s surveyor, are unable to resolve a particular matter in question and are effectively in dispute in that regard.
The third surveyor’s formal duty at that stage would be for him or her to step in and ultimately resolve said disputes on behalf of the respective owners.
Third surveyors effectively act as a tribunal within the Party Wall etc Act 1996, to ensure that should there be a dispute, matters do not stall and are not stopped from progressing.
Party wall surveying procedures, while simple on the face of it, can often become complicated. Here at Stokemont, we pride ourselves on our simple and straightforward approach to party wall surveying work.
If you would like to discuss your party wall surveying issues, or requirements 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.
