Frequently Asked Questions

A Party Wall notice is a document which informs a neighbour of impending works which are notifiable under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. It normally contains plans, describes the works taking place and comes with an acknowledgement form, which should state your choices as a neighbour under the Act: namely to consent or dissent.

Generally, you will need to send party wall notices if you are carrying out a rear extension, creating a loft extension with a dormer or removing chimney breasts. Notifiable works are set out in the Party wall etc. Act 1996 and the most common are:

• Excavating within 3 meters of your neighbour, where the excavations are deeper than the foundation of your neighbour
• Inserting beams, removing chimney breasts and other work to a party wall
• Building new walls up to or astride the boundary of the property

You essentially have two options when replying to a party wall notice: consent or dissent. If you choose the former, then your neighbour proceeds with the works and no surveyors are appointed under the Act. However, if it is the latter, then you can appoint your own surveyor or both neighbours jointly appoint an agreed surveyor (who acts on behalf of both parties) for an award to be drafted and served. All surveyors in the party wall process are required to be impartial with the role of resolving disputes. This is because their appointment is statutory. In terms of consent and dissent, this is completely up to you. You will have to weigh up how much you trust your neighbours and whether you require the extra protection of an award.

One of the services that we offer is a schedule of condition. This will note down the condition of the property such as the size and location of cracks. We carry out a schedule of condition for party wall work to show the state of the property before work. We can then compare this to the new condition of building elements after the work has been carried out to see if any damage has occurred and if it is attributable to the relevant works. Additionally, we carry out a schedule of condition when a property is to be leased out. This will indicate the condition of the property when a lease starts so it can be left in a similar condition once the lease is complete.

Party fence wall: a wall which is located on the boundary line between properties that separates the boundaries between properties. It does not include a wall that is part of a building.
Party structure: a party wall or partition that separates different properties such as ceilings in-between flats.
Party wall: a wall that separates buildings belonging to different owners.

This will depend on the location of the extension – if it is within 3 meters of a neighbour or up to the boundary line then you will have to serve notice, provided you will be excavating at a lower depth than their foundations. Additionally, if you are doing any work to the party wall such as removing chimney breasts or inserting beams, you will also have to serve notice. If you require advice contact us for a free consultation about the best way forward.

An award is the final document that sets out certain terms which will have to be abided by in order to limit any disruption or damage to a neighbour’s property. It will serve as protection for both owners, as it will direct how the notifiable works are to be conducted and what remedies are available if any future problems occur. The surveyors may also assist during and after the work has been carried out. The award will also contain many other documents usually listed in a document register, such as plans, method statements, engineers’ calculations and any other reports which are deemed necessary to resolve a dispute. These are only needed if there is no consent to the works.

Virtually in every case, the person carrying out the works pays for the party wall surveyor(s) and any other associated costs; however, within the Act, costs are generally paid by whichever party is benefiting from the work. In 99% of works this is the party carrying out the works; however, in certain circumstances, such as when an adjoining owner requests additional works, costs can be shared. It should be noted that the costs of safeguarding (such as underpinning) are wholly born by the party carrying out the work.

The first course of action is to send them a notice to comply with the Act, which we can send to them for free. If they do not comply with The Party Wall etc Act 1996, the manner in which they are conducting the work may be illegal. The next possible action is to try to obtain an injunction for them to stop works under court order. We do not often recommend this, as it can be very costly. These costs are not always recovered from the building owner. If they do not comply with the Party Wall Act and damage were to occur, a court would not look kindly on them.

This will depend on whether the adjoining owners have consented or dissented to the works. If there is consent, there is normally a phrase within the notice stating that the building owner can start straight away. If there is dissent, then the building owner should wait for an award to be served and for the notice period to expire, which is 1 month for section 1 and 6 works and 2 months for section 2 works. If an award is served earlier than the notice period, the building owner can only start works before the expiry of the notice period with written consent from the neighbour to do so.