The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is a piece of legislation that provides a framework in which disputes relating to party walls can be resolved without expensive legal action. It enables the Building Owner to undertake certain works to party walls or party structures, but also offers protection to Adjoining Owner(s).
The Act controls all works to Party Walls, Party Structures, Party Fence Walls and excavations within 3 or 6 metres of neighbouring properties.
It is advisable to engage with a professional party wall surveyor as early as practical in order to understand the project and identify whether the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies. If the Act does apply, then the Building Owner is initially required to serve party wall notice(s) to any Adjoining Owner(s) prior to commencement of the work. Further steps may be necessary depending on whether agreement can be reached with the Adjoining Owner(s).
If you are building on the ‘line of junction’ (essentially, the boundary between two properties), are making certain amendments to a party wall / party structure, or are excavating to certain depths within a certain distance from adjoining properties, then the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 will apply.
If you do not serve the adjoining properties notice of your intentions, and provide a suitable notice period as set out in the Act, then your neighbour will be able to use legal process to stop your works, which often has significant significant financial consequences and can delay project completion dates.
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 identifies the parties as the Building Owner and the Adjoining Owner. The Building Owner is the person proposing to undertake works to their property, whereas the Adjoining Owner is any person who’s property will be affected by the works. There can be many different Adjoining Owners, depending on the location and nature of the works.
If your proposed works fall within the remits of Sections 1, 2 or 6 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 then yes, you will need to serve a party wall notice.
For works under Sections 1 and/or 6 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, you are required to give at least one months’ notice before commencing works. For works under Section 2, you are required to give two months’ notice.
The notice you receive should set out clearly the options available to you.
Essentially these are to 1) consent to the works, 2) dissent to the works and agree to appoint an ‘Agreed Surveyor’ who will administer the provisions of the Act on behalf of both the Building Owner and the Adjoining Owner, or 3) dissent to the works and appoint your own independent surveyor.
If you do consent to the works, you can request that a condition survey of your property is undertaken to ensure the existing condition of your property is recorded and so that there is a record which can be referred back to in the event of damage occurring during the process of works being carried out.
Not always. If the Adjoining Owner consents to the proposed works identified in the party wall notices, then there is no dispute under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and a party wall award is not required.
The Building Owner may prepare and issue party wall notice by him/herself and does not necessarily need a party wall surveyor if the proposed works can be agreed with the Adjoining Owner. However, in the event of a dispute under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, the Building Owner is required to appoint a surveyor.
It can be tempting for a Building Owner to serve notices themselves to save money; however, if the notices are served incorrectly and a dispute later arises, then if the notices served are deemed to be invalid, the process (including the notice time periods as prescribed within the Act) will start again. This can be very frustrating, especially if builders have been booked to commence works for construction phase timescales to be met.
Serving party wall notices correctly, and within the time limits prescribed within the Act, ensures the Act is complied with and will ensure potential legal complications and significant costs (both legal and construction related) are avoided.
It is recommended however that in all cases, a surveyor is engaged to ensure the correct processes are followed.
We cover all aspects of party wall matters, including initial advice and appraisal of the proposed works, identifying Adjacent Owner(s), issuing party wall notices and preparation and agreement of party wall awards.
We offer competitive fees benchmarked against industry standards, starting at £60 per Notice and £1,000.00 for a party wall award (which would include a condition survey as required).
Individual condition surveys (as may be requested by an adjoining owner who has consented to a notice referencing notifiable works) start at £300.00.
More complex projects, for example basement excavations, are costed on a project-by-project basis.
The ‘etc.’ refers to notifiable works which fall within the remit of the Act, but do not involve works on a party wall.
Example of these are works at the line of junction between two properties, works affecting a masonry garden wall owned by both neighbours (a party fence wall), works affecting a floor between flats (a party structure) and works involving excavations works for foundations near to neighbouring properties (adjacent excavation works).
As is clear, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, does not only deal with works to party walls.
A surveyor is any person not being a party to the matter appointed or selected under Section 10 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
The surveyors’ function is to determine disputes in accordance with the procedures set out within the Act.
If the adjoining owner dissents to the notice(s) served by the Building Owner and agrees to appoint the same surveyor as that proposed by the Building Owner, there will be one surveyor (the Agreed Surveyor).
If the adjoining owner dissents to the notice(s) served by the Building Owner and decides that they wish to appoint their own surveyor, then there will be two surveyors (one appointed by the Building Owner and one appointed by the Adjoining Owner).
In this situation, both appointed surveyors will then appoint a third surveyor, who will settle any disputes between the two surveyors appointed by the building owner(s).
