In this weeks property surveying blog post topic we are going to be looking at Party Wall Surveying procedures and in particular the mistake that a building owner can make once they have served both the initial, or first Party Wall Notice and the follow on Section 10(4) Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner.
In advance of undertaking any construction work that falls under the realm of the Party Wall etc Act 1996, the building owner, who is the person undertaking the works has a legal duty to serve a Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner, who is the owner neighbouring and affected by the works, with a Party Wall Notice in advance of those works commencing.
The Party Wall etc Act 1996 requires the building owner to serve the Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner a minimum of 1 month, or potentially 2 months, in advance of those proposed works commencing.
In the event that the adjoining owner does not respond to the Party Wall Notice, or for whatever reason doesn’t receive it, under the Party Wall etc Act 1996 at that stage the building owner will then need to serve a further Notice upon the adjoining owner in accordance with Section 10(4) of the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
The initial Party Wall Notice carrying a 14 day statutory notice period, which effectively means that there are 14 days for which the adjoining owner can consider their response, with the Section 10(4) Notice carrying a 10 day statutory notice response period. With any legal letter, you allow for 2 days postage on each one of those respective timings, which would effectively take the adjoining owners Party Wall Notice response period to around about 1 calendar month.
In the event that the adjoining owner for whatever reason hasn’t responded within that 1 month time frame, at that stage the building owner is within their legal rights to appoint a Party Wall Surveyor on behalf of the non-responsive owner, with that Surveyor fulfilling and undertaking all of the statutory duties required upon them as a Party Wall Surveyor on behalf of the non-responsive adjoining owner.
The logic and premise behind this concept, is that for those adjoining owners who don’t respond, they are still afforded the same protections as if they had, with the input of a Party Wall Surveyor looking at the building owners proposed party wall works from the prospective of their property.
One of the decisions a building owner will need to make, is whether they want to indeed appoint a Party Wall Surveyor upon the non-responsive adjoining owner.
Many will look at this an unnecessary expense, with the aim of making the all important costs savings that come with construction work.
The risk a building owner carries if they don’t appoint a Party Wall Surveyor post Party Wall Notice and post Section 10(4) Party Wall Notice, is that the Notices will remain live and open meaning that at any stage the adjoining owner would have the legal right to appoint a Surveyor effectively from the start of the construction project right up until the end.
Once a Party Wall Surveyor is appointed the procedures as set out by the Party Wall etc Act 1996 will then need to be followed whereby a Surveyor review is undertaken, Schedule of Condition reports are prepared and a Party Wall Award is agreed.
All of these procedures bring with them natural professional delays and therefore the building owner could find themselves in a position whereby they have broken ground on site, or commenced construction works and effectively have to stop and cease all of those works until the necessary Party Wall procedures are adhered to.
With Party Wall procedures ranging from a couple of weeks to a few months, dependant on the level of information to hand, this could be an incredibly costly mistake and error for a building owner, and they could effectively find themselves in a position where they not only loose their contract, but may need to to extend parking bay suspensions which would accommodate their skip, scaffolding licences, access licences or if they intended on living through the construction works whilst residing at the property, they may need to consider relocation accommodation as it could all become more prolonged and towards the end intolerable.
Here at Stokemont, whenever a 10(4) Party Wall Notice expires we strongly advise that the building owner does indeed appoint a Party Wall Surveyor upon their non responsive adjoining owner, as this way they will be insuring that they fully adhere to the legal requirements and execute and administer the Party Wall etc Act 1996 in the manner in which the law intends.
If you are planning on undertaking construction works to your property and believe that the Party Wall etc Act 1996 and its procedures may apply, give us a call today and we will be more than happy to review the plans free of charge and advise you definitively if indeed the Party Wall etc Act 1996 is applicable, to whom, how and the associated costs for our professional fees.
Party wall surveying procedures are naturally complex and the smallest hiccup can result in the costliest of changes on site, we would therefore always advise that you take the advice and input of both a qualified and experienced surveying team to ensure that you best understand and are prepared for the procedures to follow.
If you would like to discuss how Stokemont can be of service to you, get in touch with us today and we will be more than happy to assist you.
