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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
A Full Structural Building Survey is the most comprehensive type of survey, and the highest (Level 3) on the RICS scale. It is ideal for older properties or properties which may have issues. A Full Building Survey is also advised if you are planning major works to the property. It includes all the fundamental elements of the other RICS building survey reports but offers a more in-depth analysis and provides advice on defects, repairs and maintenance. This type of survey does not typically include a valuation, but we recommend that this is carried out separately for greater accuracy in any case.
You would not buy a car without inspecting it physically and checking the service history. This is similar for properties; the difference being is that this is potentially the biggest investment of a lifetime.
It would be of immeasurable benefit to know what issues may occur in the short and long term and have a plan in place to cover the costs for these. A valuation focuses on the price of the property, whereas the building survey focuses on its condition. Realizing you have moved into a property wrought with problems can be a nightmare, so don’t let it happen.
Asbestos materials were used for many years in buildings and theoretically could be present anywhere, although in the recent decades they have been phased out. In many cases, such as in the pre-80s Artex ceilings, these do not present a high risk unless tampered with. The report, however, will advise as to whether the asbestos found within your property is deemed unsafe and if so will need to be removed by a licensed Asbestos contractor. Please note that if the surveyor has mentioned Asbestos in your report it may very well be that there are more unseen materials comprising Asbestos within the property.
The report is sent out to the client only. The client can then decide to send the report or its findings to their solicitor. If serious previously unknown issues are uncovered, we find clients may, at times, use this information to ask the sellers to reduce the price accordingly. This would, of course, be dependent on the nature of the issue and this is done through your legal adviser.
The surveys are non-invasive. So, given that the walls will not be opened up, the surveyor may not be able to confirm the extent of a particular defect. This may occur in particular with floor damp as fitted floor coverings would prevent the surveyor from being able to inspect the area further. On these occasions, we may refer to further inspections you may need to undertake to fully confirm the extent of the damage and the cost of repair.
A Homebuyer’s Report is a Level 2 survey on the RICS scale and it advises on defects which may affect the property and its value. The Homebuyer’s report follows a traffic light system where issues that need immediate attention are highlighted in red, whilst problem-free areas will be green. The format of the report however, is fixed, and as such does not allow for additional items such as photos to be included in the report. It is not as in-depth as a Full (Structural) Building Survey.
The site visit itself is very similar for each report; but the report itself is very different. RICS Homebuyer’s Reports tend to be cheaper and have a pre-formatted form, which doesn’t allow you to add further information in or photographs. The Full Building Survey is a much more detailed and in-depth and usually requires more investigation. The latter will also provide advice on structural defects and maintenance options for each of the issues uncovered throughout the visit. For these reasons, RICS ranks the quality standard of a Full Building Survey higher (level 3) than a Homebuyer’s report (level 2).
Your surveyor will be more than happy to give any issues you may have concerns about the extra attention it needs. They can then advise in the report if they believe this to be a significant defect and whether any remedial works are required.
If you are planning to move house in the near future, then yes, it’s a great idea to consider booking a home evaluation or property valuation. This will give you a realistic idea of how much your home will sell for in current market conditions. It can also reveal certain home improvement opportunities you could make to increase the value of your home.
A property valuation is essential if you are looking to purchase a new home or any property for that matter. A property valuation consists of multiple conditional and quality checks that determine the value of your home.
Knowing your property’s worth will come in handy if you want to secure the best market price and hold your own when it comes to the negotiation stages of the transaction.
Having someone with the experience to see a project through from start to finish is invaluable. There are lots of industry standards, regulatory costs and unknowns when building structures intertwined with habitable spaces.
At Prince Surveyors, we specialise in helping our customers navigate through the everchanging building industry whether you are soundproofing a wall, upgrading a chimney, building an extension or even a new home on an empty plot of land.
We believe it’s common sense to hire a project manager due to the size of the financial investment you will be making, hiring a project manager will massively reduce your risk of losing money.
Feel free to check Trustpilot, as well as the testimonials on our homepage.
We have a panel of surveyors who operate throughout the country, ensuring that the surveyor you receive is local to you, all of whom specialise in building surveys, projects, party walls, valuations, etc.
The surveyors on our panel, however, are regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the Residential Property Surveyors Association (RPSA) and/or other professional regulatory bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT), Society of Operations Engineers (SOE), The Faculty Of Party Wall Surveyors (FPWS) and/or Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE). A Chartered Building Consultancy also has extensive first-hand experience on-site.
