Faulkners Surveyors As certified and experienced Party Wall Surveyors we specialise in all Party Wall matters.
We cover every aspect needed to recommend upon and fix Party Wall problems, such as:
- Preparing and serving legitimate Party Wall Notices
- Acting as the Structure Owners Party Wall Surveyor
- Acting as the Adjoining Owners Party Wall Property Surveyor
- Acting as the Agreed Party Wall Surveyor
- Carrying out and preparing Schedules of Condition
- Preparation and negotiation of Party Wall Awards
All our Party Wall Surveyors are professionals and operate in accordance with the guidelines set down by the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors.
The Party Wall Act etc. 1996 is law, failure to adhere to this legislation might lead to works being illegal.
Party Wall (WikiPedia)
The Party Wall Act 1996
as it impacts the garden
At first sight, it is simple to think that the 1996 Party Wall Act does not impact garden construction, nevertheless it does affect the construction of border 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 responsibilities whichever the side of the ‘wall’ you are on i.e. whether you are planning/doing deal with a pertinent structure or if your neighbour is.
The Party Wall Act does not apply to boundary fences.
The Party Wall Act does not affect any requirement for Preparation Consent for any work undertaken. Similarly, having Planning Authorization does not negate the requirements under the Party Wall Act.
The Party Wall Act enters into effect if somebody is preparing to do work on an appropriate structure, for the purposes of the Act ‘party wall’ does not simply mean the wall in between 2 semi-detached properties, as far as garden enthusiasts are worried it covers:
- A garden wall, where the wall is astride the border line (or butts up against it) and is utilized to separate the homes however is not part of any building.
- Excavation near to a neighbouring home.
For details of how the Party Wall Act impacts building operate in general, take a look at this page.
Similar to all work impacting neighbours, it is always much better to reach a friendly contract rather than turn to any law. Even where the work requires a notice to be served, it is better to informally go over the designated work, consider the neighbours remarks, and modify your strategies (if proper) before serving the notice.
What garden work requires a notice and consent.
The basic concept of the Party Wall Act is that all work which might have an impact upon the structural strength or support function of the party wall or might trigger damage to the neighbouring side of the wall should be alerted. If in doubt, suggestions should be sought from a regional Building Control Office or expert surveyor/architect.
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 limit wall.
- Excavations within 3 metres of a neighbouring structure where the excavation will go listed below the bottom of the foundations 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 building.
Boundary walls
If the prepared deal with a limit wall falls under the Party Wall Act, a notice must be provided to all affected neighbouring celebrations. The notice must include (see sample letters in Part 5 of the Party Wall brochure):.
- The owners of the residential or commercial property undertaking the work.
- The address of the residential or commercial property.
- A complete 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 notice is being served under The Party Wall etc Act 1996.
- The date the notice is being served.
- If the work involves excavations, a drawing showing the depth, position etc
If the planned work is a new boundary wall as much as or astride the border line the procedure of serving a notice under the Party Wall Act is as follows:.
- The person meaning to carry out the work needs to serve a composed notification a minimum of one months prior to the designated start of the work to every neighbouring party giving information of the work to be carried out.
- Each neighbouring party needs to react in composing providing approval or registering dissent – if a neighbouring party does nothing within 14 days of receiving the notification, the result is to put the notice into disagreement. No formal agreement is required for a wall up to the limit line, the neighbour just needs not to object in composing.
- No work may start on a wall astride the boundary line up until all neighbouring parties have actually agreed in writing to the notification (or a modified notification).
See below concerning what occurs in case 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 at least one month before the planned start day of the work. Neighbouring parties need to give written agreement within 2 week or a conflict is considered to have happened.
See listed below concerning what happens in case of a dispute/objection.
If a dispute emerges, what happens.
If arrangement can not be reached between neighbouring celebrations, the procedure is as follows:.
- A Property surveyor or Surveyors is/are designated to figure out a neutral and reasonable Award, either:.
- A single ‘Agreed Property surveyor’ (someone appropriate to all parties).
or. - Each party designates their own Surveyor to represent the individual celebrations.
The person who is carrying out the work will typically have 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 Surveyor. It needs to be noted that any Surveyor needs to act within their statutory responsibilities and propose a objective and fair Award.
- A single ‘Agreed Property surveyor’ (someone appropriate to all parties).
- The Agreed Property surveyor, or the private Surveyors jointly, will produce an Award which must be objective and reasonable to all parties.
- Once an Award has been made, all celebrations have 2 week to interest a County Court against the Award.
When you have contract.
All work should comply with the notice as soon as you have contract. All the arrangements must be retained to ensure that a record of the granted permission is kept; a subsequent purchaser of the residential or commercial property may want to establish that the work was performed in accordance with the Party Wall Act requirements.
Remember:
- We’ve only given a brief summary of the Party Wall Act here as it affects garden work however take a look at the Communities and Local Government website for a more extensive explanatory brochure including example letters for notices and responses.
- Discussing designated work with neighbours is totally free and can avoid misunderstanding which may occur if a notice gets here unexpectedly.
- Your local Building Control Workplace might be able to provide free advice regarding the Party Wall Act and how it applies to specific situations.
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