party wall matters
party wall matters The Party Wall Act 1996 acts as a safeguard for both parties when works are being carried out to Party Walls. This is a complex area and we are always happy to offer free informal advice and support. Please either telephone one of our Chartered Surveyors on 0845 050 0022 or email info@now-survey.com with your query. The Party Wall Act 1996 imposes duties upon those with interest in a building to notify their neighbour of their intention to carry out any work which may affect a party wall or its foundations. Under the Act, notice must be served and if agreement cannot be reached, surveyors may be appointed. Under the Party Wall Act, now survey are able to offer detailed advice and assistance on all complex Party Wall issues. In particular, should you have been served with a Party Wall Notice or if you are contemplating works which may affect a Party Wall, please contact us for free, no obligation advice. Please note our surveyors cover the UK and are able to help with all Party Wall issues. 2
building owners The Party Wall Act places a legal duty upon any building owner proposing works under the Act to give a written notice to the adjoining owners. This notice must be served at least one month (sometimes two months) prior to the date the work is due to start. It is important to note that failure to serve a valid notice in time, where one is required, can cause a significant delay to works starting and could result in legal proceedings being brought against you. Remember Planning Permission and Building Regulation Consent is not enough. Once you have served notice upon your neighbour they have 14 days in which to respond in writing. If they disagree with the notice or do not respond to you within the 14 days then a difference is deemed to have arisen between the parties. This means that both you and your neighbour must appoint surveyors under section 10 of the Act. You can either jointly agree upon an agreed surveyor or you can each appoint a different surveyor. The surveyors will then prepare an Award. An Award is a legal document which deals with the practicalities of the work including how the works will be executed, the method and timescales of the work and any other matter which may arise between the parties for example structural calculations or a Method Statement if the work is particularly difficult. Normally, a Schedule of Condition will be included within the report. The Schedule of Condition records the current condition of the neighbouring property as a safeguard to both parties. Then if any damage were to occur, the extent of that damage is easily quantifiable and in normal circumstances would be put right at the expense of the building owner. Usually it is the building owners responsibility to pay (that is the party initiating the works) to pay all the costs associated with drawing up the Award including surveyor s fees. Where a difference has arisen and before surveyors produce an Award parties may agreed to settle any outstanding matters between them without the need for an Award to be in place. 3
adjoining owners As the adjoining owner you are unlikely to directly benefit from your neighbour s works; in fact, for a short period of time, you may experience some disruption to your daily life and it is possible that your home may suffer from damage as a result of the works. Consequently when you receive notice under the 1996 Act from the building owner you should carefully consider how best to safeguard your home and your rights during the progress of the works. We would ALWAYS recommend that a surveyor is appointed to help safeguard your interests. Once you receive written notice from the building owner you only have fourteen days in which to respond in writing. If you have already selected a surveyor to act for you then you should pass the notice to your surveyor so that he can check the notice and respond on your behalf. Your surveyor may then advise you of the most suitable response and write to the building owner on your behalf. If you have not appointed a surveyor then you usually have three main options available to you, which are detailed below. 1. Consent to the notice - This option allows the building owner to get on with his works with no further action required from either party. In this case surveyors are not appointed under the Party Wall Act and your neighbour will not incur any further cost. 2. Dissent from the notice - This option means that a difference arises between the parties and requires both parties to appoint a surveyor. This person may be the same agreed surveyor or two different surveyors. In most cases the surveyor(s) will examine the proposed plans, check the engineer s calculations, and make an initial assessment of likely impact of the works. The surveyor(s) will then usually prepare a Schedule of Condition of the adjoining owners property before works start. Before the work begins the surveyor(s) will produce a detailed legal document called an Award. The Award extends specific protections and rights to both parties, which are determined on an individual basis. During the progress of works the surveyor(s) will generally return to both premises to check works are being conducted in accordance with the terms of the Award. Finally the surveyor(s) will return after the completion of works to check that there has been no damage to the adjoining owner s property. 4
FAQs You have sent me a letter - how did you get my details? We obtain details from the planning department of you local authority of any works proposed which are likely to affect neighbours under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Party wall issues are totally separate from the planning application process and consequently your local authority is under no obligation to provide you with any information regarding your rights under the Party Wall Act. We send letters to all planning applicants and their neighbours to ensure that they are informed of their rights, obligations, and options before works commence. We have strict procedures in place to ensure that your data is treated in accordance of the Data Protection Act; you should be aware that the data that we have collected about you is freely available in the public domain. I am confused as to what an Award actually is and whether this is different from having a survey completed on my property. A Party Wall Award is a legally binding document that allows the Building Owner to undertake works to the Party Wall lawfully, whilst safeguarding the rights of the Adjoining Owner. It governs how and when the works are to be undertaken, states the precise nature of the works in plain English, and sets in place procedures and obligations to protect both parties from potential damage or claims. As a part of the Award your surveyor will generally examine and comment upon the drawings for the works. In most cases the surveyor will also attach a schedule of condition which is a written report of his survey of the relevant parts of the adjoining owner s building. The schedule of condition allows the surveyor to return to the adjoining property after completion of the works to verify and record any damage. Although the surveyor will try to keep the Award as simple as possible, it is a formal legal document and accordingly if you have difficulty understanding it then one of our specialist advisors will be happy to go through the final Award with you to explain what it means. My neighbour has given me written assurance that their contractors are fully insured and will repair any damage to my property immediately. Surely this means that I am protected anyway? This assurance is certainly a start, however even if the contractors are reputable, it is very easy for them to dispute whether they have caused certain types of damage, such as cracks to your walls or ceilings. Even if you take photographs of your property yourself, this is unlikely to provide sufficient neutral evidence in the event of a claim being made. Furthermore, insurance claims often take many months to settle and this may result in you having to either make a significant initial outlay to repair your home or leaving your property damaged for some time. My neighbour has told me that if I appoint a surveyor then I will put them to a lot of additional expense and this may sour our relationship - surely it is not worth getting a surveyor in these circumstances? It is true that the Building Owner will normally have to pay your surveyors fees; however this expense must be seen in context of the cost of the entire building project. One would hope that the Building Owner has gone to additional expense to have an engineer check his drawings and a surveyor inspect his property in order to secure his own interests: these costs are as much a part of having building work completed as architectural or planning fees. The surveyor s fees are normally minimal in comparison with the budget of the overall project - the benefits that an Award can have for both parties often far outweigh the cost. An Award easily allows claims for damages to be verified and dealt with quickly. It also ensures both parties have a written record of their legal position and the Award can therefore often prevent future neighbourly disputes. In some cases the only way to resolve a disputed claim for damages without an Award is through the courts, which usually puts a total end to amicable neighbourly relations. 4
FAQs The Local Authority Building Inspector will be checking the works during their progress - will he be doing the same job as a Party Wall Surveyor? Absolutely not. The Building Inspector is being paid to check on the safety and conformity of the Building Owner s works from their side of the boundary. He will not normally enter your property at any stage and will not be able to assist you with any damage claim. The reason this is the case is because you are given an opportunity to appoint your own Party Wall Surveyor and you are not therefore the Local Authority s concern. My neighbour has started works subject to the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 already or has told me that he is going to start such works shortly. I have not had a written notice yet - what should I do next? Even if you do not intend on appointing a surveyor, it is absolutely vital that you get a notice from your neighbour. Without a valid notice the works may take place contrary to the legal provisions of the Party Wall Act. If you have serious concerns that work may be starting without notice being served, and you are sure that works will fall under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, we may be able to assist you in seeking an order from the court which will stop such works until a notice is served and you are given the opportunity to appoint a surveyor. Conversely our involvement may encourage your neighbour to serve the necessary Notice and could help safeguard your position. Please call for further advice. I have a notice under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 - is it valid and what do I do next? We are always happy to offer our opinion on the validity of notices at no charge - please either fax or post the notice to our office for advice. If you decide that you would like an Award drawn up and for one of our surveyors to act on your behalf please call the office for more advice and one of our surveyors will then deal with it on your behalf. I have received a letter from my Local Authority - is this anything to do with Party Wall Act? No. Your Local Authority will not become involved in party wall matters under any circumstances, nor will they serve notices on behalf of your neighbours. How long does it take it publish an Award? Our surveyors can normally offer two types of service. Please note that if the surveyor is acting on behalf of only one of the parties, he can only offer a standard service. In most cases where two surveyors are used the Award will be produced within three to four weeks of the surveyors being appointed. If one of our surveyors is acting as the agreed surveyor, our standard service time is usually ten to fourteen days. Our surveyors can sometimes offer an express service (an extra charge is applicable) where, if the surveyor is promptly provided with all relevant documentation, the award will be sent by recorded courier within seventy-two hours of the survey of the adjoining owner s property being completed. This ensures there are minimal delays to the building program. 4
party wall matters Now Chartered Surveyors Head Office: 71-72a Bedford Place Southampton SO15 2DS t: 0845 050 0022 f: 0845 050 0044 e: info@now-survey.com London Office: Dalton House, 60 Windsor Avenue London SW19 2RR t: 0845 050 0022 f: 0845 050 0044 e: london@now-survey.com www.now-survey.com