The Party Wall Act - Implications for several Parties

The UK Party Wall Act of 1996 was enacted to avoid and solve disputes between neighbors who share a standard boundary. It defines the rights of owner's of buildings in regards to any building, alteration, renovation or repair work to boundaries and walls between adjacent properties.

Most Commonly Used Rights

The most popular rights because they build owner's are as follows:

Adjacent excavation and construction
Construction of new party and boundary walls
Cutting into walls to take beam bearings or to insert damp proofing
Demolish and rebuild a standard boundary
Raise the height of a wall

Increase the thickness of a wall
Underpin the party wall

Your Duties Under the Act

If you intend to perform any work to common boundaries, you must give notice to all or any adjoining home owners. You cannot cut into your side of the party wall without informing your neighbors of one's intentions. The act will not provide for any specific enforcement procedures but in the event that you fail to serve notice, you risk being served with a court injunction or your neighbor(s) may seek various other legal redress.

Your neighbors cannot stop you from exercising your rights under the Party Wall Act however they have a say in when and how the work is undertaken. Daylight Analysis Wandsworth states that you might not cause unnecessary inconvenience to your neighbors. Inconvenience in this instance specifically refers to any additional nuisance over and above that which would predictably occur when the work is completed in the proper manner.

Owners of adjoining properties should take note that the main purpose of the Party Wall Act is to facilitate development and is not meant to be a hindrance. In case you fail to respond to a notice given beneath the act, the developer/building owner may appoint a surveyor on your behalf and the dispute resolution process will proceed without your consent.

Appointing a celebration Wall Surveyor

In the case an agreement can't be reached between adjoining property owners, the legal requirement would be to appoint a Party Wall Surveyor. Surveyors are legally mandated to act impartially; they should not favor the appointing owner. The property owners may also appoint a surveyor each to allow them to come to an agreement with the person. However, this can be a more costly and time-consuming option. In the former case, the owner going to undertake work pays the surveyors fees including fees reasonably incurred by his neighbor(s).

When choosing surveyor, one must be careful to appoint a professional with a history of surveys of this nature. Simply because it is a highly specialized field with serious legal implications in the event one or omission is committed.

If you're planning some work and your neighbor has failed to react to your notice or you're currently involved with a dispute, call AA Projects and get help from first class Party Wall Act surveyors.

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Pub: 09 Mar 2024 23:59 UTC

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