Thank you for taking the time to visit Stokemont’s informative blog post. In this week’s surveying blog, we will be looking into the rights both Building and Adjoining owners have under the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
Once a building owner planning construction works has been granted all necessary approvals, before commencing, should the works be notifiable in accordance with the Party Wall etc Act, the next step would be to notify all adjoining owners that may be affected by these works via a Party Wall Notice.
Party Wall Notices are in place to first and foremost invoke the Party Wall etc Act 1996 upon the adjoining owner(s), however, also notify them of the building owner’s proposed and planned works to their property.
Party Wall Notices should be simple in their form, the notification should also include enough information so that the adjoining owner can make a fully-informed decision in response to the Party Wall Notice received.
Once notice is served, the adjoining owner(s) has 3 response options available to them:
Response Option 1: Party Wall Notice Consent
Consenting means the adjoining owner will be giving the go-ahead without any further of the Act’s procedures being followed.
Here at Stokemont, in an attempt to ensure the building owners’ protection against any potential false damage claim as well as any damage occurring to a consenting adjoining owner during or post construction work, we would still highly recommend that a Schedule of Condition Report of the adjoining owner’s property is opted for.
A Schedule of Condition Report involves a Party Wall Surveyor visiting the adjoining property before the construction work commences, to record the condition, the surveyor will would then provide a copy of this report to each respective owner acting as a record of proof in the event of a damage claim.
The building owner would be liable for the Schedule of Condition Report fees, should the adjoining owner wish to have the report undertaken.
Response Option 2: Party Wall Notice Dissent, Agreed Surveyor Appointment
Dissenting and appointing an Agreed Party Wall Surveyor means that one Surveyor acts impartially on behalf of both the building owner and the adjoining owner.
The Surveyor’s role will be to protect the interests of both owners impartially via the agreement of a Party Wall Award which is a legal document, governing the construction work and adding damage protection above and beyond common law for both the building owner and the adjoining owner.
The building owner would be solely legally liable for both Party Wall Surveyors’ fees.
Response Option 3: Party Wall Notice Dissent, Two Surveyor Appointment
Dissenting and appointing their own Surveyor will mean that an adjoining owner will also need to appoint a Party Wall Surveyor. Both Surveyors will select a third surveyor in the interim who can mediate any disputes. Other than this, the surveyors will undertake the same roles as response option 2, concluding their input via the agreement of a Party Wall Award.
The building owner would be legally liable for both Party Wall Surveyors’ fees.
Once an option has been selected by the adjoining owners, the next stage would be to arrange for access to the neighbouring properties for the Schedule of Condition Report to undertaking either by the surveyor or surveyors, if two are included within the procedure.
Following this, the legally binding document will be drafted by the surveyors(s) and agreed upon with all protections being in place for the respective properties including in the procedure.
What are the rights of a Building Owner carrying out the construction proposal?
Section 1
Under section 1, the Act provides a building owner with the right to build a flank wall up to the line of junction wholly on their land with access legally being permitted on the adjoining land if necessary to complete the building works.
The Act also allows the building Owner to request for a wall to be built astride the boundary line dividing two or more parcels, therefore making the wall a Party Fence wall, which essentially would mean the wall would sit equally across two parcels of land. However, consent would need to be provided by the adjoining owner in this respect.
Given the works are not to be directed to the Party Wall, Notice would need to be served 1 month before the planned works.
Section 2
Under section 2, the Act provides a building owner who wishes to carry out work to an existing party wall additional rights which go beyond ordinary common law rights. Section 2 of the act lists what work can be done.
The most commonly used rights under section 2 are as follows:
- To cut into a party wall to insert a steel beams (for example to facilitate a loft conversion)
- Cut off projections from a party wall (for example, to remove a chimney breast)
- Raise the height of a party wall
- Demolish and rebuild a party wall
- Underpin the whole thickness of a party wall
- Carry our repairs to a party wall
Section 6
Under section 6 of the Act, a Building owner has the right to excavate, or excavate for and erect a building or structure, within a distance of three metres measured horizontally from any part of a building or structure of an adjoining owner and to a lower level than the level of the bottom of the foundations of the building or structure of the adjoining owner.
Given the works are not to be directed to the Party Wall, Notice would need to be served 1 month before the planned works.
What rights are given to an Adjoining Owner under the act?
Adjoining Owners have serval reasonable rights under the Act. Furthermore, additional rights may be implemented into the Party Wall Agreement by Surveyors appointed under section 10 if necessary.
All rights are generally in place to avoid any inconveniences or obstacles for an Adjoining owner as a result of a neighbour wanting to carry out construction works.
The rights that an adjoining owner included are not limited to:
- The right to appoint an independent or agreed surveyor in accordance with section 10 to resolve any dispute under at the sole cost of the building owner.
- The right to request that reasonable or necessary measures be taken to protect their property from foreseeable damage and intrusion of privacy.
- The right not to endure any unnecessary inconveniences.
- The right to be compensated for loss or damage caused by the agreed works .
- The right to request security for expenses concerning works of significant complexity, which would need to be deposited into an escrow account. This would allow funds to be available against a potential loss if works are not completed or halted for an unreasonable length of time.
Here at Stokemont, we take great pride in assisting our clients and owners and ensuring that they are fully informed.
If you are either a building owner planning works or an adjoining owner whose neighbour is planning works and would like to discuss party wall surveying procedures 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.
