Welcome back to another instalment of our blog post series. We will be delving into the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and specifically looking at whether the party wall agreement is a legal requirement.
For starters, when is a party wall agreement required?
The party wall procedures are required for various types of works.
The following works are notifiable under the Act, building a new wall up to or astride the line of junction between two properties, cutting into the party wall/structure for any purpose or excavating within 3m or 6m of an adjoining property.
The acts procedures are usually required for works such as loft conversions, extensions, construction of outbuildings etc.
How do you start the process of a party wall agreement?
If you are a building owner who is undertaking works of this nature, then you are legally required to serve a party wall notice upon all the respective neighbours.
The party wall notice must indicate what works are taking place and include a set of drawings outlining the proposed plans.
The notice should also include a response form which leaves the adjoining neighbours with three options.
Firstly, they can consent to the works which essentially allows the building owner to proceed with the works with no further party wall procedures – in terms of cost this is the ideal outcome for the building owner who is undertaking the works as they would not be in a position where they have to pay the fees of a party wall surveyor.
Alternatively, the adjoining owners can dissent to the works and either appoint an independent party wall surveyor or appoint an agreed surveyor.
If the adjoining owner decides dissent to the works, a party wall surveyor will then visit the adjoining property to undertake a Schedule of Condition to ensure there is a legal record of the condition in place. After undertaking the Schedule of Condition, the surveyor will then write up the party wall award.
The party wall award will likely include the details of the proposed works, the Schedule of Condition, and any guidelines which the building owner must follow when undertaking the works.
Is the party wall agreement a legal requirement?
It is a legal requirement to serve a party wall notice upon any affected adjoining property if you are planning on undertaking works which fall within the remit of the act.
If any of the adjoining owner’s dissent to the party wall notice which was served upon them, it is a legal requirement that a party wall agreement is made.
Without this, the building owner is unable to commence their works.
If the adjoining owner consents to your works, you are free to proceed and there is no need for a party wall agreement to be created.
What happens if there is no party wall agreement in place?
Surprisingly, there is no penalty in place for a building owner who chooses to ignore the party wall procedures.
However, it is highly risky for a building owner to undertake notifiable works without implementing the party wall procedures. The adjoining owner could potentially blame the building owner for damage that already existed prior to the works commencing which they would then be liable to make good.
If a building owner decides to ignore the party wall procedures, the adjoining owner is entitled to seek a party wall injunction which would halt the works until the correct procedures have been followed.
This could potentially a very costly scenario for a building owner as if it is decided that the adjoining owner rightfully obtained the injunction, the building owner would then be liable to pay the legal fees that the adjoining owner incurred for obtaining the injunction.
What should you do if your neighbour has ignored the party wall procedures?
If you are an adjoining owner who is in this unfortunate position it would not be advisable to obtain an injunction without seeking expert legal advice.
There is a severe financial risk in obtaining an injunction as these are expensive and if in the future it is decided that you wrongfully obtained the injunction you would also find yourself liable for the legal fees of the building owner who is undertaking the works.
An alternative option available for an adjoining owner is to have an experienced party wall surveyor undertake a Schedule of Condition of their property. The benefit of this is that it would allow the adjoining owner to claim compensation from the building owner if there was damage to their property because of the works.
Here at Stokemont we specialise in party wall surveying, if you are a building owner who has plans to undertake construction works which are notifiable under the act we would be delighted to assist.
Likewise, if you are concerned about neighbouring works and you believe that the party wall procedures should be in place, please feel free to get in touch with our team of experienced party wall surveyors who would be more than happy to advise!
