The Party Wall Act
What is the Party Wall etc Act?
The Party Wall etc Act 1996 is designed to give protections to owners with a freehold or leasehold interest in a property during alterations and building works. This is regarding whether planned work might affect the structural strength of the party wall, or cause damage. If you are in doubt about whether your or your neighbour’s works require notice, we can help clarify for you.
Who is involved?
Two terms are used to describe “owners”:
- The building owner is carrying out the work;
- The adjoining owner are the neighbours whose property may be affected.
An owner can be a person, company, or other body.
Party Wall or Party Structure?
A wall is a “party wall” if it stands astride the boundary between two or more owners; it can also be a wall that separates the land or buildings of two owners but sits wholly on one of the owner’s land.
“Party Structure” is used to describe a wall or floor that separates different parts of the same building that is owned by different owners e.g. the floor structure between two flats.
Serving Notices
If the works fall under the Act, a Party Wall Notice will need to be served by the building owner onto the adjoining owners. Notices fall into three main categories: works to an existing party wall; excavation within three meters of an adjoining property; and excavations within six meters of an adjoining property.
Once notices have been served, the adjoining owners have 14 days to respond to these Notices. If they fail to do so, they are deemed to have dissented from the works and will need to appoint their own surveyor. The surveyor can act on behalf of both owners and in this instance would be known as the agreed surveyor. The building owner surveyor would complete a schedule of condition of the adjoining owner’s property prior to notifiable works commencing, and will check-off the schedule after notifiable works are completed to check for damage. The schedule of condition would be witnessed and agreed by the adjoining owner surveyor.
Costs
It is the responsibility of the building owner to pay all surveyor’s fees.
Our Services
At Walton Goodland, we have extensive experience in party wall awards, having acted as building owner surveyor, adjoining owner surveyor, and as agreed surveyor. Based in Carlisle, we cover the northwest, Cumbria, Lancashire, the northeast, and Northumberland.
Should you have any queries or concerns regarding party wall awards, please contact our chartered building surveyor, Matthew McKenna, at admin@waltongoodland.com; or by calling 01228 514 199.
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