What is a Party Wall Dispute?
- Home
- What is a Party Wall Dispute?
Notices for Party Walls
The party wall dispute occurs when a person who wants to do certain kinds of building work (of the sort that the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 covers) and notifies an adjoining owner of their intention to do the building work.
Without a proper notice and a proper adjoining owner, the Act is not invoked.
A notice alone can not stop building works from going ahead if “dissent” has been communicated. Indeed, the Party Wall Act is intended to be an enabling piece of legislation. It serves the dual purpose of reconciling any issues between two adjoining owners and allowing them to proceed with the building works that the Act is designed to cover. Of course, the Act also serves to protect the interests of adjoining owners, who might be affected by the works that are going ahead.
Sometimes it is a bit confusing what the term “dispute” means; you shouldn’t need to find yourself arguing with neighbours on your fence. If an Adjoining Owner does not agree with a notice, its considered a dispute and having a surveyor appointed is necessary to check party wall matters adequately.
If the owner dissents, the party wall surveyor now controls when and how the works will be carried out. The surveyors role is limited to those elements of the construction recorded in the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
Objection to a notice is not enough to block the planned building works. The Act is meant to support the parties involved (by settling disagreements and allowing works to go ahead). Under the Act, if damage is caused to a neighbour’s property, the responsible building owner will have to put things right again or compensate the adjoining owner.
Works covered by the Party Wall Act 1996 might unlawfully take place without notice. If this happens, the neighbour may bring an injunction application.
When you have a party wall dispute and could use some informal guidance, just give us a call.
Schedule of Condition Cost
The building owner’s surveyor typically carries out the condition survey.
They inspect the property in question and ascertain the condition of parts of the building(s) and/or structure nearby to the proposed works. Their findings are documented usually in a tabular form. The report consists of a written description of relevant elements of the building and is often accompanied by photographic evidence.
This report serves as evidence if there is an issue regarding damage to the adjoining owner’s property.
Inspections take, on average, 2-3 hours to complete with time to travel back to the office to generate the report. The average cost of the report is around £500.
Negotiating Party Wall Fees in Canterbury
If you want to build next to someone and your plans might affect their property, you have to hire a surveyor to negotiate with the other property owner’s surveyor.
Both these surveyors check to make sure your plans are safe, reasonable, and not going to cause any problems for the other property owner. Having two surveyors is a bit like having two lawyers and it can obviously get quite expensive. But if you and your neighbours want to maintain good relations and if you want to do anything close to a property line that might affect the other property, it’s wise to have the necessary negotiations and assurances carried out.
What is the Cost of the Adjoining Owner's Surveyor?
While the Building Owner’s Surveyor attempts to negotiate a reasonable fee for the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor, several factors might justify a higher fee. These include:
(1) distance and travel time to the site;
(2) the quality of the input, which could pertain to the Party Wall Award, the Schedule of Condition, or both; and
(3) the degree to which the surveyor and building owner had to communicate to resolve complex issues.
With these factors in mind, the hourly fee should probably reflect a “going rate.” If the building owner’s surveyor doesn’t agree to this rate, then the Third Surveyor, if needed, could be tasked with determining a reasonable fee. The timesheet for the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor would likely reflect these typical components of an award:
(1) review of notices and drawings;
(2) exchanging letters of appointment;
(3) assistance in creating a schedule of condition;
(4) various communications, including emails and phone calls; and
(5) editing the Party Wall Award.
How do I serve a Party Wall Notice?
To serve a notice under the Party Wall Act, which concerns building work on a shared wall, there must be at least a 2-month waiting period before the actual building can begin. The notice must be directed to the proper legal owner and/or leaseholders of the property.
If these necessary details are not included in the notice, then it has not been served properly, and the notice period does not start. The notice can be served without planning permission and up to a year in advance of when the work is scheduled to start.
Once the adjoining owner receives the Party Wall Notice, they have 14 days to reply to it. They can either accept the notice (and allow the building owner to get on with the work) or dispute it (in which case they shouldn’t get on with the work until the dispute is resolved).
If neither party hears in 14 days, the building owner’s surveyor serves the adjoining owner with a further notice to help move things along. If they still don’t accept or dispute, we start assuming the adjacent owner disputes the notice and proceed to appoint surveyor on their side.
