A Guide to Party Walls

A Party Wall is a boundary between two buildings or properties owned by two or more owners.

According to the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, there are two types of Party Wall, and these are;

A wall that spans a boundary of land belonging to two or more owners
A wall that is situated entirely on one owner’s land but is used by two or more owners as a boundary to their property.

If your neighbour is planning building work, there are three types of Notice that you may receive outlining areas of work to be carried out on their property.

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This type of Notice deals with works that require excavations for new foundations that are either within three meters of the owner’s building and lower in depth than the foundations of the building or within six meters of the owner’s building and intersects at an angle of 45 degrees in line with an external wall. This Notice will have plans attached detailing the depth of the foundation.

We assess the proposals and advice on the Notices to be issued and the need for any further drawings or information that might be needed. We will also identify the Adjoining Owner should this be necessary. The necessary Notices are then prepared and submitted to the Adjoining Owner following which records of the condition of neighbours’ buildings, party walls and adjacent areas are produced. If required, we will prepare an Award and agree detailed terms with the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor or act as Agreed Surveyor if appointed. Should any problems arise during the work, we will re-inspect the property and advise on the appropriate action to be taken

We would examine the Notices submitted by the Building Owner to ensure that they are valid. Contact will then be made with the Building Owner’s Surveyor, we will visit your property, examine the building to prepare a record of the condition and then negotiate the Party Wall Award. On completion of the work we will re-inspect your property to ensure compliance with the Award and if notified of problems during the course of the building work we will inspect and take the appropriate action.

When owning a property, it is important to know the location of the boundaries and who is responsible for these. The deeds of the property will normally provide these details, but on occasions the actual boundary positions may have been altered following the construction of an extension or other building and in some instances the boundary fences themselves may have been relocated. From time to time neighbours disagree about the position of a boundary and we can help to agree the boundary position based on the property deeds, ordnance survey maps and site measurements.

Party Wall Disputes

If you, as the neighbour, on receiving a party wall notice, do not consent within 14 days to proposed works on the adjoining property you are considered as being “in dispute”. This dispute is resolved by the appointment of a surveyor who in turn draws up a Party Wall Award, It should be noted that all party wall surveyors, such as MCP Ltd, have a legal duty to be impartial.

A Party Wall Agreement can also be referred to a ‘Party Wall Award’. It is a written agreement that is drawn up by two surveyors, each acting on behalf of a different neighbour. The cost of the surveyors is covered by the neighbour undertaking the work.

Guidelines as to how the proposed work will be carried out
A Schedule of Condition of the adjoining owners’ property. This will often include supporting photographs.
Plans and drawings that show in detail proposed works.

The Award tends to be based upon an RICS drafted document. This draft will then be subject to amendment to reflect proposed works.

The Award should also contain the following:

Details of both properties
Details of the owners of the properties, including their home addresses
Details of both surveyors and the third or agreed surveyor
Plan detailing proposed works
Working hours on properties
Details of assurances such as Public Liability Insurance
Access arrangements for surveyors to access properties
A timetable with predicted completion date for the work
Surveyor’s fee for the adjoining owner

Once the Party Wall Award is agreed by both parties a signed a copy is sent to both owners, via their appointed surveyors. There is a 14-day period in which either owner can then appeal on the contents of the Party Wall Award.

Why would you need a Party Wall Award?

The Party Wall Award ensures that there are certain protections under the Act.

If you are the owner of the building that works are being carried out upon, the Party Wall Award will ensure that all defects existing in the adjoining property are recorded prior to the commencement of work. The Award further provides a right of access to the property belonging to the adjoining property in order that works can be carried out.

If you are the neighbour, the Party Wall Award enables surveyors to regulate the time periods in which work is carried out, enables provision for dealing with damage, ensures that any damage to the property will be repaired and that work will not cause any avoidable inconvenience.

The key thing is to find a qualified and trusted chartered building surveyor to carry out the Party Wall Assessment.

For more information on the Party Wall Act of 1996: www.gov.uk/guidance/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance

A Guide to Party Walls

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