Faulkners Surveyors provide a range of structure surveying services specialising in Party Wall Provider.
We pride ourselves on our flexibility and individual participation towards our customers requirements. Faulkners Surveyors are a broadening team of property surveyors with a wealth of competence, skill and experience. If you are trying to find a professional yet flexible approach to all your property matters then call Faulkners Surveyors for a helpful chat.
Our surveyors are regulated by the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors and carry expert indemnity insurance to cover their work.
Party Wall (WikiPedia)
A party wall (sometimes parti-wall or parting wall, also referred to as usual wall surface or as a demising wall surface) is a separating partition between 2 adjoining structures that is shared by the residents of each home or company. Normally, the home builder lays the wall along a property line splitting 2 terraced residences, to ensure that one fifty percent of the wall’s density lies on each side. This kind of wall is normally structural. Celebration wall surfaces can additionally be created by 2 abutting walls developed at various times. The term can be additionally made use of to explain a division in between separate systems within a multi-unit house facility. Extremely frequently the wall in this case is non-structural but developed to satisfy well-known requirements for sound and/or fire defense, i.e. a firewall.
The Party Wall Act 1996
as it impacts the garden
At first sight, it is easy to believe that the 1996 Party Wall Act does not affect garden construction, however it does affect the construction of limit walls even if not part of buildings and can likewise applies to deep excavations.
The Party Wall Act 1996 entered into force in 1997, so it is now law and offers you rights and responsibilities whichever the side of the ‘wall’ you are on i.e. whether you are planning/doing work on an appropriate structure or if your neighbour is.
The Party Wall Act does not apply to border fences.
The Party Wall Act does not affect any requirement for Planning Authorization for any work carried out. Having Preparation Approval does not negate the requirements under the Party Wall Act.
The Party Wall Act enters impact if somebody is planning to do work on an appropriate structure, for the functions of the Act ‘party wall’ does not simply indicate the wall between 2 semi-detached properties, as far as gardeners are concerned it covers:
- A garden wall, where the wall is astride the limit line (or butts up against it) and is used to separate the residential or commercial properties but is not part of any building.
- Excavation close to a neighbouring property.
For details of how the Party Wall Act affects structure work in basic, take a look at this page.
As with all work impacting neighbours, it is constantly better to reach a friendly arrangement rather than turn to any law. Even where the work needs a notification to be served, it is much better to informally go over the designated work, consider the neighbours comments, and modify your strategies (if suitable) prior to serving the notice.
What garden work needs a notice and authorization.
The general concept of the Party Wall Act is that all work which might have an impact upon the structural strength or assistance function of the party wall or may trigger damage to the neighbouring side of the wall need to be informed. Suggestions must be looked for from a regional Building Control Office or expert surveyor/architect if in doubt.
Work 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 thickness of a party border wall.
- Excavations within 3 metres of a neighbouring building where the excavation will go listed below the bottom of the structures of the neighbouring structure.
- Excavations within 6 metres of a neighbouring building where the excavation will go below a line drawn 45 ° downwards from the bottom of the structures of the neighbouring building.
Boundary walls
A notice needs to be released to all affected neighbouring parties if the planned work on a border wall falls under the Party Wall Act. The notification needs to consist of (see sample letters in Part 5 of the Party Wall leaflet):.
- The owners of the property undertaking the work.
- The address of the residential or commercial property.
- A full description of the proposed work (this will usually be simply a single sentence outlining 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 includes excavations, a drawing revealing the depth, position and so on
If the prepared work is a new border wall approximately or astride the limit line the process of serving a notice under the Party Wall Act is as follows:.
- The person intending to carry out the work should serve a written notice a minimum of one months prior to the desired start of the work to every neighbouring party providing information of the work to be carried out.
- Each neighbouring party ought to react in composing providing permission or registering dissent – if a neighbouring party not does anything within 14 days of receiving the notification, the impact is to put the notification into disagreement. No formal contract is needed for a wall up to the border line, the neighbour just requires not to object in writing.
- No work may commence on a wall astride the limit line till all neighbouring parties have actually agreed in writing to the notice (or a revised notice).
See listed below regarding what happens 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 notice requires to be served a minimum of one month prior to the planned start day of the work. Neighbouring parties should offer written arrangement within 14 days or a dispute is deemed to have occurred.
See listed below regarding what happens in case of a dispute/objection.
If a dispute occurs, what happens.
If contract can not be reached in between neighbouring parties, the procedure is as follows:.
- A Property surveyor or Surveyors is/are selected to determine a neutral and reasonable Award, either:.
- A single ‘Concurred Surveyor’ (somebody acceptable to all celebrations).
or. - Each party selects their own Surveyor to represent the individual parties.
The person who is performing the work will generally 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 Surveyor. Nevertheless it should be noted that any Surveyor should act within their statutory obligations and propose a fair and impartial Award.
- A single ‘Concurred Surveyor’ (somebody acceptable to all celebrations).
- The Agreed Property surveyor, or the private Surveyors collectively, will produce an Award which must be impartial and reasonable to all celebrations.
- Once an Award has actually been made, all parties have 14 days to interest a County Court versus the Award.
As soon as you have contract.
All work needs to comply with the notice when you have contract. All the agreements need to be maintained to guarantee that a record of the granted permission is kept; a subsequent purchaser of the property might want to establish that the work was performed in accordance with the Party Wall Act requirements.
Remember:
- We have actually only provided a quick overview of the Party Wall Act here as it impacts garden work but take a look at the Neighborhoods and Local Government site for a more detailed explanatory booklet consisting of example letters for actions and notifications.
- If a notification arrives unexpectedly, talking about intended work with neighbours is totally free and can avoid misconception which may emerge.
- Your regional Structure Control Office may have the ability to give complimentary advice concerning the Party Wall Act and how it applies to specific scenarios.
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