The focus of this article will be on the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and more specifically the Party Wall Notice procedures which forms part of the Act’s notification of works requirements.
WHAT IS THE PARTY WALL ACT?
The Party Wall Act is a framework that is in place to resolve disputes that arise as a result of construction works that are within close proximity to an adjoining property.
The Act was brought into law in 1997 to enable a building owner to proceed with their planned construction works, while also offering legal protection to those adjoining owners who are affected by the works.
In short, the Act sets out a process to follow which resolves any form of dispute relating to the building owner’s planned works.
If a building owner is planning to undertake works of the following nature, then they are legally required to serve a Party Wall Notice on all relevant adjoining owners.
PARTY WALL WORKS
SECTION 1 WORKS
If a building owner is planning to build a new wall up to or astride a boundary line then they are required to serve a Party Wall Notice under Section 1 of the Act.
SECTION 2 WORKS
If a building owner is intending to carry out works directly to a Party Wall, a Party Fence Wall (the Act’s legal referral for a shared garden wall) or a Party Structure (the Act’s legal referral for a shared floor or ceiling) then they are required to serve a Party Wall Notice under Section 2 of the Act.
Works of this nature often include the removal of chimney breasts or cutting into the Party Wall to insert steel beams, commonly to allow for loft conversions or internal refurbishment.
SECTION 6 WORKS
If a building owner is planning to undertake excavations within 3 metres of an adjoining owner, then they are required to serve a Party Wall Notice under Section 6 of the Act.
In some cases, this can be extended to 6 metres for particularly deep excavations. This is typically to accommodate piled foundations, basement extensions or lower ground floor works.
WHAT IS A PARTY WALL NOTICE?
A Party Wall Notice is a notification, usually in letter format from the building owner to the adjoining owner.
The Notice must be addressed to the legal owner of the relevant adjoining property and must state which Section of the Act the works fall within, while also giving a brief description of the planned works.
HOW TO RESPOND TO A PARTY WALL NOTICE?
Initially, the adjoining owner has a 14 calendar day period to respond to the Party Wall Notice with any of the three response options below:
CONSENT
This would allow the building owner to proceed with their proposed works and would conclude the Party Wall procedures.
DISSENT & APPOINT INDEPENDENT PARTY WALL SURVEYOR
If an adjoining owner dissents and appoints their own Party Wall Surveyor, the building owner will then have to to do the same.
The two Party Wall Surveyors will then carry out a Schedule of Condition Report (a pre works record of the adjoining owner’s property) and agree on a Party Wall Award (a legal document regularising the works).
DISSENT & APPOINT AN AGREED SURVEYOR
An adjoining owner can dissent and appoint an Agreed Party Wall Surveyor.
With this option, one Party Wall Surveyor will act impartially on behalf of both the building owner and the adjoining owner and carry out the same tasks as the previous response option.
WHAT IF ADJOINING OWNER DOESN’T RESPOND TO THE PARTY WALL NOTICE?
If there is no response to the Party Wall Notice within the 14 day period from the adjoining owner, the building owner is required to serve a further Notice under Section 10(4) of the Act. This Notice is referred to as a Section 10(4) Notice by Party Wall Surveyors.
This further Notice will provide the adjoining owner with a final 10 days to respond with any of the three options available to them as set out in the first, or original Notice.
Once the Section 10(4) Notice expires and there is still no response from the adjoining owner, a dispute as per the Act’s wording is automatically deemed to have arisen.
In this circumstance, the building owner is then able to appoint a Party Wall Surveyor on behalf of the non-responsive adjoining owner.
This surveyor would then carry out a Schedule of Condition Report with building owner’s Party Wall Surveyor and then agree a Party Wall Award. It’s worth noting that the Schedule of Condition Report is only likely to cover the external parts of the property as it is assumed that the Surveyors wouldn’t be given access to the adjoining owner’s property.
Ultimately, the Party Wall Act’s procedures provide a work enabling framework for building owners to proceed with their proposed works.
The Act’s procedures also account for scenarios when there is adjoining owner non-response to a Party Wall Noticer which would otherwise prevent the building owner to progress their planned works from being halted.