Faulkners Surveyors As certified and experienced Party Wall Surveyors we specialise in all Party Wall matters.
We cover every aspect essential to encourage upon and solve Party Wall problems, such as:
- Preparing and serving valid Party Wall Notices
- Acting as the Building Owners Party Wall Surveyor
- Acting as the Adjoining Owners Party Wall Surveyor
- Acting as the Agreed Party Wall Surveyor
- Undertaking and preparing Schedules of Condition
- Preparation and negotiation of Party Wall Awards
All our Party Wall Surveyors are experts and work in accordance with the guidelines set down by the Professors of Party Wall Surveyors.
The Party Wall Act etc. 1996 is law, failure to comply with this legislation might result in works being unlawful.
Party Wall (WikiPedia)
The Party Wall Act 1996
as it impacts the garden
At first sight, it is simple to believe that the 1996 Party Wall Act does not affect garden building, nevertheless it does affect the building of boundary walls even if not part of structures and can also applies to deep excavations.
The Party Wall Act 1996 entered into force in 1997, so it is now law and provides you rights and duties whichever the side of the ‘wall’ you are on i.e. whether you are planning/doing work on a pertinent structure or if your neighbour is.
The Party Wall Act does not apply to boundary fences.
The Party Wall Act does not impact any requirement for Preparation Approval for any work carried out. Similarly, having Preparation Permission does not negate the requirements under the Party Wall Act.
The Party Wall Act comes into effect if somebody is preparing to do work on a pertinent structure, for the functions of the Act ‘party wall’ does not simply indicate the wall in between 2 semi-detached homes, as far as garden enthusiasts are concerned it covers:
- A garden wall, where the wall is astride the limit line (or butts up against it) and is utilized to separate the residential or commercial properties however is not part of any building.
- Excavation close to a neighbouring property.
For information of how the Party Wall Act affects building operate in basic, take a look at this page.
Similar to all work impacting neighbours, it is always better to reach a friendly agreement instead of resort to any law. Even where the work needs a notification to be served, it is better to informally go over the designated work, think about the neighbours remarks, and amend your plans (if proper) prior to serving the notification.
What garden work needs a notification and authorization.
The basic concept of the Party Wall Act is that all work which might have a result upon the structural strength or support function of the party wall or might trigger damage to the neighbouring side of the wall should be notified. Suggestions should be sought from a regional Structure Control Office or professional surveyor/architect if in doubt.
Operate in the garden covered by the Party Wall Act include:
- To rebuild/build a party and/or destroy border wall.
- To increase the height or density of a party border wall.
- Excavations within 3 metres of a neighbouring structure where the excavation will go listed below the bottom of the structures of the neighbouring building.
- Excavations within 6 metres of a neighbouring structure where the excavation will go below a line drawn 45 ° downwards from the bottom of the foundations of the neighbouring structure.
Boundary walls
If the prepared work on a boundary wall falls under the Party Wall Act, a notification needs to be issued to all affected neighbouring celebrations. The notification must include (see sample letters in Part 5 of the Party Wall leaflet):.
- The owners of the residential or commercial property undertaking the work.
- The address of the home.
- A full description of the proposed work (this will usually be simply a single sentence describing the work).
- The proposed start date for the work.
- A clear statement that the notification is being served under The Party Wall etc Act 1996.
- The date the notification is being served.
- If the work involves excavations, a drawing revealing the depth, position etc
If the prepared work is a new boundary wall approximately or astride the limit line the procedure of serving a notice under the Party Wall Act is as follows:.
- The individual planning to perform the work must serve a composed notification at least one months prior to the designated start of the work to every neighbouring party giving details of the work to be performed.
- Each neighbouring party needs to respond in writing giving consent or signing up dissent – if a neighbouring party does nothing within 2 week of receiving the notification, the impact is to put the notification into dispute. No formal contract is required for a wall up to the boundary line, the neighbour just requires not to object in composing.
- No work might commence on a wall astride the limit line until all neighbouring parties have actually concurred in writing to the notice (or a revised notice).
See listed below regarding what takes place in the event of a dispute/objection.
Excavations.
If the prepared work is an excavation within the distance/depth covered by the Party Wall Act, the notification needs to be served a minimum of one month prior to the prepared start day of the work. Neighbouring celebrations must give written arrangement within 14 days or a disagreement is deemed to have taken place.
See below regarding what occurs in case of a dispute/objection.
If a disagreement develops, what happens.
If contract can not be reached between neighbouring celebrations, the procedure is as follows:.
- A Property surveyor or Surveyors is/are appointed to identify a impartial and reasonable Award, either:.
- A single ‘Agreed Property surveyor’ (somebody appropriate to all celebrations).
or. - Each party appoints their own Surveyor to represent the specific celebrations.
The individual who is carrying out the work will normally need to pay all the costs of the Surveyors, the only exception being if the neighbour calls out a Property surveyor needlessly – in the opinion of the Property surveyor. It must be kept in mind that any Surveyor must act within their statutory obligations and propose a neutral and reasonable Award.
- A single ‘Agreed Property surveyor’ (somebody appropriate to all celebrations).
- The Agreed Property surveyor, or the private Surveyors jointly, will produce an Award which needs to be neutral and reasonable to all parties.
- When an Award has been made, all parties have 14 days to appeal to a County Court versus the Award.
When you have contract.
All work needs to comply with the notice as soon as you have contract. All the arrangements ought to be retained to ensure that a record of the granted permission is kept; a subsequent buyer of the residential or commercial property may want to establish that the work was carried out in accordance with the Party Wall Act requirements.
Remember:
- We’ve just given a short overview of the Party Wall Act here as it impacts garden work however take a look at the Communities and Local Government site for a more detailed explanatory booklet including example letters for reactions and notices.
- Talking about desired work with neighbours is complimentary and can prevent misunderstanding which might develop if a notification arrives suddenly.
- Your local Building Control Workplace may be able to give complimentary advice regarding the Party Wall Act and how it applies to particular situations.
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