Faulkners Surveyors is a respectable and expert company of party wall surveyors in Stockton-on-Tees, specialising in all party wall matters in Stockton-on-Tees and the Home Counties. The company was founded in 2010 with the coming together of 3 independent experienced Surveyors who specialise in this niché location of surveying.
Party wall Stockton-on-Tees matters
This information only applies in England and Wales.
If you’re a homeowner who has agreed small repair works with a neighbour of a shared boundary, you’ll need a party wall agreement for repairs. For more extensive works, you’ll require to serve a party wall notice.
What is the legal background to party walls?
The Party Wall Act applies to the majority of work performed to party walls. If it applies, it means that you will need to serve notice of the proposed works on your neighbour( s) and, if they do not consent to the work, you’ll have to select a surveyor to prepare a Party Wall Award.
If works to the party wall are so small, that service of notice under the Act is not required (eg uncomplicated repair work, such as replastering, or cutting into the party wall to add or change recessed electric electrical wiring and sockets) you can utilize a basic Party Wall Agreement to tape the work to be undertaken.
What is a party wall?
The term “party wall” consists of the following:
- a wall that bases on the land of two (or more) owners and types part of a building – this wall can be part of one building only or separate structures belonging to different owners
- a wall that bases on the land of two owners however does not form part of a structure, such as garden wall (but not consisting of timber fences).
- a wall that is on someone’s land but is used by two (or more) owners of different properties.
What works are covered by the Party Wall Act?
- Building a new wall or structure on or at the limit of two homes.
- Cutting into or carrying out work to a party wall or structure.
- Making a party wall taller, much shorter or much deeper.
- Getting rid of chimney breasts from a party wall.
- Tearing down and restoring a party wall.
- Digging listed below the foundation level of a neighbour’s home.
Types of notice.
- Party structure notice, for alterations that directly affect the party wall and consist of typical jobs, such as cutting holes to place beams and padstones, cutting in flashings and getting rid of chimney breasts.
- Notice of nearby excavation, for when you are excavating within 3 or 6 metres of your neighbour’s structure.
- Line of junction notification, for the construction of a new wall adjacent to a border, or the construction of a new wall astride a border.
When do you require to serve notice?
If your works are governed by the Party Wall Act, you’ll require to serve a party wall notice on every neighbouring home affected at least two months before the works begin. You can take up to a year to begin work when notice has been served.
Your neighbours may seek to stop your work through a court injunction or look for other legal redress if you begin work without having initially offered notice in the correct way.
What takes place after you serve notice?
Once notice about intended work is served, your neighbour might either:.
- Provide their approval in writing, or.
- Disagree with the works proposed in composing, or.
- Do nothing.
If, after a duration of 2 week from the service of your notification, the person receiving the notification has actually done nothing, a disagreement is considered having developed. Any disagreements will be dealt with by a property surveyor.
When do you need a party wall agreement or award?
You’ll need a party wall agreement if you’re going to carry out construction or changes which include:
- Work carried out on a wall,.
- Floor or ceiling shown another home,.
- Building on the limit with another property,.
- Excavating within six meters of an adjoining structure,.
- Repairing a party wall or spouts, fall pipes, sewers, drains, wire avenues, flues, chimney stacks, eaves or troughs utilized in common with neighbours.
To learn more, see the Department for Communities and Local Government (Assistance for performing structure work under the Party Wall Act 1996).
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Learn More about Party Wall
A party wall (occasionally parti-wall or parting wall, also known as common wall or as a demising wall) is a dividing partition between two adjoining buildings that is shared by the occupants of each residence or business. Typically, the builder lays the wall along a property line dividing two terraced houses, so that one half of the wall’s thickness lies on each side. This type of wall is usually structural. Party walls can also be formed by two abutting walls built at different times. The term can be also used to describe a division between separate units within a multi-unit apartment complex. Very often the wall in this case is non-structural but designed to meet established criteria for sound and/or fire protection, i.e. a firewall.
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