Party Wall Act

The Party Wall Act

The purpose of The Act

Establishes the rights and obligations of the building owner and the adjoining owner.
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Influence of the adjoining owner

The adjoining owner cannot stop the building owner from carrying out the proposed work but may be able to influence how and at what times the work is done.

Notices

It is a legal requirement that the building owner serves, in writing, Notice on any adjoining owners of their intention to carry out work of the kinds described in The Act – this is known as the “notifiable” works.

“Notifiable” works

 These are primarily:
  • excavation/foundation works
  • works to party walls
  • the construction of walls on the boundary of properties
For these types of work, Notices will need to be served on the adjoining owner(s), in accordance with the requirements of The Act. 

Types of Notice

3/6 Metre Notice

Notice must be issued if the building owner is proposing to carry out foundation/excavation work, and the foundations are:
  • within 3 metres of the adjoining owner’s foundations and will be below the bottom of the adjoining owner’s foundations
  • within 6 metres of the adjoining owner’s foundations and will be below the bottom of the adjoining owner’s foundations - for example if piled foundations are proposed.

Party Structure Notice

Notice must also be served notifying any adjoining owners of work that is proposed to a party wall, for example, inserting padstones and beams into a party wall.

Acknowledgement of Notices

The adjoining owner must respond in writing to the notice(s) within fourteen days as follows:

Option 1

Consent/agree to the work 

Option 2

Agree to the appointment of an "agreed surveyor", i.e. one party wall surveyor representing both the building owner and the adjoining owner

Option 3

Appoint their own surveyor (at the building owner's cost), i.e. the building owner and the adjoining owner each have their own party wall surveyor

Adjoining Owner’s Response to Notices

It is imperative that the adjoining owner responds to the building owner’s Notice within fourteen days stating which of the three options they agree to. If no response is received a “ten day notice” is sent to the adjoining owner stating that a surveyor will be appointed on their behalf if no response is received within a further ten days.

What happens next ?

The adjoining owner must acknowledge the Notice(s) in writing stating which of the three options they have chosen.

Option 1

 If the adjoining owner consents/agrees the “notifiable” works may go ahead without the necessity of an award but both the building owner and the adjoining owner are protected by The Act if something goes wrong during the works or damage is caused to the adjoining owner’s property. 

Party wall surveyors can then be appointed to resolve any disputes, rather than resort to legal proceedings in the court, i.e. the adjoining owner can activate the dispute resolution procedure as contained in Section 10 of The Act – this means that the building owner and the adjoining owner may appoint an agreed surveyor or each appoint their own surveyor to resolve any problems.

Option 2

 If the adjoining owner does not consent/agree to the “notifiable” works proceeding without an award being in place, an award will be prepared by an “agreed” surveyor – by mutual agreement of the building owner and the adjoining owner.

Option 3

 If the adjoining owner does not consent/agree to the “notifiable” works proceeding without an award being in place and does not agree to the appointment of an “agreed” surveyor, an adjoining owner’s surveyor will be appointed. The award will then be prepared by the building owner’s surveyor and submitted to the adjoining owner’s surveyor for consultation and agreement

The word “dispute”

The notices that the adjoining owner receives will include the word “dispute” – this doesn’t mean that the building owner and the adjoining owner are, or will be, at loggerheads or want to start a “battle”.
In my opinion it is a rather unfortunate word, but it has to be used in notices because The Act contains the word “dispute”. 
Therefore if the adjoining owner responds to the notice stating that they “dispute” the works, it simply allows the process to proceed in accordance with the provisions of The Act and for surveyors to be appointed. 
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