If you’re a building owner who wants to carry out building works, then there’s a good chance those works are covered by the Party Wall Act 1996. If this is the case, we recommend you get your plans checked over by a qualified party wall surveyor.
Your Obligations
As the building owner, you have to notify your neighbours if you want to do any of the following:
- Build on or at a boundary between two properties.
- Work on an existing party wall or structure.
- Excavate near the foundation level of their building.
Technically, your neighbour can’t stop you from making lawful changes to the property, but they can influence how you do so.
If you don’t follow the Party Wall Act, your works might be considered unlawful and could be subject to an injunction. Generally, this isn’t a court battle you’ll win, either.
If your planned work is covered by the Act, you have to give notice to all adjoining owners in written form at least two months before you want to start.
We recommend speaking to your neighbours before a formal notice. It helps to ease the tensions and prevent disputes.
Rules on Party Wall Notices
If the property has been turned into a flat, it can be your job to notify every leaseholder individually.
Once you have given a notice, the adjoining owners have 14 days to reply. They have to provide written acknowledgement of their decision. If they object, a dispute is raised.
Regardless of the outcome, create a schedule for people to follow – that way, they’ll know what you intend to do ahead of time.
Solving Disputes
If a dispute happens, then all parties must appoint a surveyor. You can all get your own, or you can share a single agreed surveyor.
It is important to note that if you have two surveyors, they have to choose a third surveyor to act as an intermediary for their discourse. If the two surveyors can’t agree on something, the third surveyor makes the final choice.
What is a Party Wall Surveyor?
The surveyor is the person who settles the dispute. They do this by making a party wall award. This is a document which contains the following:
- What work will be carried out during the project.
- When the work will be carried out.
- How the work will be carried out.
- What other additional work is required, like installing protective measures.
The award will also usually contain a description of the condition of the adjoining property. This will be useful for identifying what damage was already present and if there is any damage that you were ultimately responsible for.
The surveyor will inspect the work as it is being carried out to ensure that everything is done in accordance with the award.
If the proposed works involve underground tasks, the award will be much more complex to show the greater risks at play.
Party Wall Surveyor Fees
As the building owner, it will be your job to pay all of the costs associated with the award. This does mean that you will have to pay the fees for all surveyors, but only if the works are solely for your benefit.
Therefore, it is within your interest to try and manage the entire process as efficiently as possible to minimise potential costs.
It’s probably important to recognise that the surveyors are not required to provide a quote. The fees that they charge are calculated by an hourly rate, and then the final figure is agreed with your surveyor. However, if both surveyors cannot agree on a final price, the third surveyor will have the final jurisdiction.
What to Do Now
It is important to understand what your obligations are as the building owner. When it comes to trying to plan out work, you need to make sure that you are doing things in the responsible way.
You have certain responsibilities that need to be met, and it is important that you adhere to the rules of the acts at all times. Failure to do so will skew the resulting court battle in the favour of the neighbours.
At the end of the day, as long as you subscribe to the rules of the act and follow all of the formal processes, there is no reason why you cannot successfully complete work. It’s often just a case of making sure that you follow the rules, as this will ultimately give you the best chance and successfully navigating the process without coming into conflict with your neighbours.
If you would like to discuss party wall procedures with our team of party wall surveyors, give us a call today and we will be more than happy to assist you.
