In this article, we are going to be looks at the ins and outs of an Agreed Surveyor appointment.
An Agreed Surveyor is a single party wall surveyor that will act on behalf of both the building owner and the adjoining owner, resolving the Act’s dispute.
This isn’t a dispute in the conventional meaning of the word, instead a dispute arises when an adjoining owner dissents to the Party Wall Notice that the building owner serves upon them.
In response to a Party Wall Notice, an adjoining owner has two different dissent options.
They can appoint their own Party Wall Surveyor, meaning that the building owner will need to do the same.
Alternatively, an Agreed Surveyor can be appointed to act on behalf of both respective owners.
WHICH CHOICE IS RIGHT FOR ME?
An adjoining owner can select either option. However, should do so free from any bias or pressure from the building owner.
We are going to take a quick look at the pros and cons of both options:
THE PROS
An Agreed Surveyor appointment is time effective, as it is going to be quicker for one surveyor to agree a Party Wall Award.
It is also cost effective as the building will only need to pay for a single party wall surveyor’s fees as opposed to two.
In the event of damage, it is also going to be a lot quicker for the adjoining owner to have resolution as they will gain the benefit of the time efficiency.
THE CONS
When there is an Agreed Surveyor appointment, there is naturally not going to be a third surveyor selected.
This means that the owners will not have a Party Wall Surveyor to be able to refer matters to in the event of a dispute.
There will only be one set of eyes looking at the procedures as opposed to two that you would get with two different surveyors.
WHAT DOES AN AGREED SURVEYOR DO?
An Agreed Surveyor will undertake all of the same activities and roles as two Party Wall Surveyors would, albeit in this case, a single surveyor will be acting on behalf of both respective owners.
WHAT’S OUR TAKE?
When an adjoining owner is served with a Party Wall Notice, we would advise that they speak to the Party Wall Surveyor who has served it.
If they are happy with that Surveyor’s approach, qualifications, experience and understanding of the Act, we would advise that they opt for an Agreed Surveyor appointment as in our opinion, the pros outweigh the cons.