What is a Party Wall Notice?
This is a legal document which notifies your neighbour that you are planning to carry out works under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Notifiable works include:
Section 1: building a wall up to or astride the legal boundary between you and your owner.
Section 3: carrying out work to an existing party wall, party fence wall or party structure
Section 6: excavating near to your neighbour’s building and to a depth lower than their foundations (3 metre range for standard foundations and 6 metre range for piled foundations).
To carry out specified works from the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 Building Owners need to serve written valid Notices to Adjoining Owners whose properties will be affected. Invalid Notices create unnecessary expenses together with costly delays throughout the project.
Why have I received a Party Wall Notice?
A Party Wall Notice exists as a requirement for notifying you under the Party Wall Act 1996 when neighbouring property owners intend to perform building works on their property.
The proposed construction activities fall under the category of ‘notifiable’ works comprising projects such as:
- excavating within 3-6 metres of your property
- cutting into a shared party wall
- removing a chimney breast
- increasing or decreasing the height of a party wall
The above works are usually associated with loft conversions, extensions or basement conversions.
How do I reply to a Party Wall Notice?
The Party Wall Notice provides different choices to adjoining owners who wish to acknowledge its contents, namely that of ‘Consent’ or ‘Dissent’ to the Party Wall Notice Works.
There is no need to hire London Party Wall Surveyors under the consenting option to the Party Wall Notice process since it allows your neighbour to go ahead with their building project. However, you should at least request a Schedule of Condition.
The lack of commercial or residential party wall surveyor involvement means you would need to expect neighbourly cooperation regarding repair costs after consenting to construction works that might possibly damage your property. If your neighbour damages your property, there is no platform to take legal recourse other than a common law claim. That is, unless your neighbour is willing to pay for the damage.
Agreed Surveyor
An inspector appointed by both neighbours in dispute is known as an Agreed Surveyor.
If you dissent against the notice, you can opt for an Agreed Surveyor or appoint your own surveyor to handle disputes under the Act. The inspectors aim to protect your property before and during construction works.
I need Help serving a Party Wall Notice
The inspectors on our panel offer support preparing London Party Wall Notices with their subsequent delivery on your behalf. Your expert surveyor will provide advice regarding Notices that match your specific proposed building plan.
The validity of a Party Wall Notice depends on its correct preparation. The use of an incorrect Party Wall Notice London document generates delays in the progression of party wall procedures.
Your inspector will examine your construction design at no initial cost.
What do Commercial or Residential Party Wall Surveyors London do?
A legal document called the “Party Wall Award” will be drafted by inspectors who establish mutual agreement regarding the works described in the Party Wall Notice.
The Party Wall Award London document defines when work can take place along with how it should be executed and that remedial actions will apply in case your property sustains damage. The London Party Wall Award may also include a Schedule of Condition which the inspectors will have undertaken usually before works commence.
As certified London Party Wall Surveyors, your property expert helps owners properly deal with Party Wall Notices while protecting your property assets.
Can the Lonon Party Wall Surveyor serve notices on my behalf?
Yes and it is advisable for them to do so in order to ensure that they are valid.
Through its expertise, the Party Wall Surveyor London panel provides valid Notice drafting and serving at affordable rates.
Commercial or residential Party Wall Surveyor London professionals having proper experience/qualifications will create your Notice in a bespoke manner. The service includes the following:
- review of your drawings to establish which elements of work need Party Wall Notice compliance;
- determining which of the 3 Notice types should be utilised for your situation;
- a professional consultation regarding different Notice serving approaches under Section 15 of the Act leads to selection of the most beneficial outcome for consent;
- Land Registry searches for Title Register documents which reveal information about adjacent property ownership;
- valid and professional Notice(s) with careful proof-reading instead of only automatically-generated templates;
- a detailed cover letter explaining the notice procedure and how the neighbour can respond;
- Acknowledgement Forms so neighbours can respond officially;
- essential drawings collated properly for the Notice to be valid; and
- service on multiple Adjoining Owners where applicable.
Contact us today to appoint an experienced party wall surveyor in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, etc. to serve notice on your behalf. Then, one of the London Party Wall Surveyors on our panel will get in touch with you to discuss the building project and how to navigate the Party Wall Act.
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FAQs on Party Wall Notices
What should Notices contain?
Submitting Notices represents the method by which Building Owners communicate their building plans to their neighbouring property owners who stand to be impacted by the construction.
They are obligated to serve notice under the Act and this must describe the proposed works including drawings and specifications to explain everything to the recipient.
After the serving of a proper notice, the adjoining owner(s) have 14 days to respond.
What are the different types of notices?
Section 1 – Line of Junction Notice
For brand new boundary wall construction that has not existed before, you need to serve a Line of Junction Notice on your neighbour regarding the planned building works. The proposed building activities include new constructions along the boundary line such as for front, side or rear extension development. The notice period for the Adjoining Owner is 1 month.
Section 2 – Party Structure Notice
Building owners need to inform their neighbours when they plan to conduct operations on existing Party Wall structures such as cutting, raising or reduction of height. The Party Structure Notice may indicate floor partition and other dividing structures found at entrances or staircases.
The most common scenario involves loft extensions that require inserting beams into party walls as well as cutting into the wall to add damp-proofing for weathering purposes. The notice period for the Adjoining Owner is 2 months.
Section 3 – Excavation Notice
A Notice of Excavation is for Building Owners whenever excavations approach within 3 metres of neighbouring buildings. Front, rear or side extensions are typical examples of projects requiring excavations. The notice period for the Adjoining Owner is 1 month.
I have received a Party Wall Notice. What do I do?
You have received a Party Wall Notice most likely because your neighbour plans to perform building works which have implications for your property.
The Notice should not be disregarded. You have two weeks to respond either through consent or opposition regarding the planned works.
As per the Act you have the authority to appoint an inspector to represent you, but you would need to “dissent” to the works.
London Party Wall Surveyor team exists to help you appoint an inspector to review the correct service of your Party Wall Notice. The service will assist you in drafting a proper Notice response.
A Party Wall Agreement London document becomes available after the appointment of inspectors, which specifies the procedure to minimise possible property damage and how to remedy damage if it occurs.
What are the different types of party wall notice response?
Party Wall law requires a response to notices within a fourteen-day time period. A deemed dispute becomes active through non-response to Notices by neighbours after 14 days pass.
Any agreement between the parties related to proposed work must exist as documentation. In other words their consent must be expressly written.
There are only three different options to pursue for the Adjoining Owners, according to the Party Wall Act 1996:
1 . Consent to the Notices
The Adjoining Owner does not dispute under this scenario and inspector involvement becomes unnecessary. The written consent needs to arrive before the 14-day deadline for approval.
The drawback of this option is that the owners forego the involvement of a surveyor and do not have an Award which mitigates any potential dispute that might arise.
If consent is forthcoming, Building Owners should at least offer a Schedule of Condition to Adjoining Owners’ Properties in order to protect one another in respect of claims for damages.
2 . Dissent to the Notices and Appointing an Agreed Surveyor
The Adjoining Owner dissents but is happy to jointly appoint the same inspector as the Building Owner’s. An Agreed Surveyor is therefore instructed by both parties and represents both the Building Owner and Adjoining Owner impartially and makes an Award.
3 . Dissent to the Notices and Appointing Own Surveyor.
The Adjoining Owner dissents and also appoints their own surveyor, who is different from the Building Owners’ Surveyor. The Two Surveyors engage in dialogue to agree a Party Wall Award. If they disagree on any point, they can refer matters to the Third Surveyor, who will adjudicate and make their own Award.
Note: if no option is selected, then the inspector appointed by the Building Owner serves a reminder in the form of a 10-Day Notice which confirms that a dispute has arisen and that the Adjoining Owner must appoint an inspector of their choosing or a different inspector will be appointed for them by the Building Owner.
What happens if I do not reply to a Party Wall Notice?
All adjoining owners who receive a Party Wall Notice need to reply to it.
Silence exceeding 14 days following receipt of the Notice will result in automatic opposition to the Notice.
Afterwards, the Act allows 10 additional days for the appointment of a commercial or residential Party Wall Surveyor London professional if there is no reply from you as adjoining owner. Building owners who perform proposed works have permission to appoint an inspector on your behalf if their neighbours fail to designate anyone.
The building owners will gain permission to start their planned work after the expiration of both the party wall notice period.
Can I serve a Party Wall Notice myself?
A Building Owner who wishes to perform Party Wall Act-related building works can distribute Party Wall Notices to Adjoining Owners on their own.
The Party Wall Notice London document requires proper information to be included together with faultless service procedures.
Problems in completing the Notice yourself properly will make the Party Wall Notice invalid, leading to delayed progress on Party Wall Matters.
We therefore recommend you appoint an inspector to handle this, which we can arrange for you.
