Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, a third party wall surveyor is selected by the two surveyors representing the respective owners whom are a party to the party wall dispute.
In other words, the building owner’s party wall surveyor and the adjoining owner’s party wall surveyor will select the third surveyor.
WHAT DOES THE THIRD SURVEYOR DO?
It’s important to note that in the first instance, the third surveyor is only selected. The key take away from this point is that they are selected as opposed to appointed.
In other words, all the two surveyors do is select a surveyor that can be called upon and appointed in the event of a dispute further down the line.
WHAT IS THE THIRD SURVEYOR’S ROLE?
If a dispute doesn’t arise, the third surveyor will not have any role in the party wall surveying procedures other than being named as the selected third surveyor within the party wall award.
However, if any form of dispute does arise between;
1 – The two surveyors (the building owner’s party wall surveyor and the adjoining owner’s party wall surveyor).
2 – The owners (the building owner and the adjoining owner).
3 – Any combination of these parties.
At that point, the third surveyor’s role converts from a selection to an appointment, whereby they will be formally called upon to settle the dispute via a referral made by any other of the above parties.
WHEN IS A THIRD SURVEYOR REQUIRED?
For every party wall matter that has both a building owner’s party wall surveyor and adjoining owner’s party wall surveyor, it is a legal requirement for the two surveyors to make a third surveyor selection.
The Act’s take on this, is that there has to be a resolution procedure in place by way of the third surveyor’s selection.
Without this, if the two surveyors were to hit some form of dispute, the procedures would quickly grind to a halt.
HOW IS THE THIRD SURVEYOR SELECTION MADE?
AGREEMENT BETWEEN SURVEYORS:
In all conventional scenarios, the two surveyors will agree on a third surveyor as the first agreement point after the adjoining owner has dissented to the party wall notice and appointed their own surveyor.
This is usually via an exchange of a list of surveyor names, with one of the names being selected.
The two surveyors also have a duty to advise their appointing owners (the building owner and adjoining owner) of the selected third surveyor’s name and contact details.
NO AGREEMENT BETWEEN SURVEYORS:
While rare, the two surveyors can often hit a stale mate when it comes to third surveyor selection.
If the surveyors can’t agree on who to select, they can write to the local authority to request they make the selection on their behalf.
This is rare, as in most cases the delays and added admin time in following up on the local authority to make the appointment will lead the surveyors away from relying on this selection process.
WHO PAYS FOR THE THIRD SURVEYOR?
As set out above, a third surveyor is only ever appointed if a dispute arises.
If there isn’t a matter in dispute, the third surveyor will not have a role, meaning there aren’t any applicable fees or costs.
In the event that a referral is made to the third surveyor, as part of the surveyor’s resolution they will confirm which party is liable for the costs.
This means that; the building owner, the adjoining owner, the building owner’s party wall surveyor or the adjoining owner’s party wall surveyor may find themselves liable for all of, or part of the fees.
The third surveyor’s award will not only confirm their opinion on the matter in dispute along with the resolution, it will also confirm who is responsible for the costs in making that award.
ARE THIRD SURVEYOR REFERRALS COMMON?
No, in all normal circumstance referrals are not a common procedure for owners or Party Wall Surveyors alike.
If there is a dispute, the parties should do all they can to actively avoid referral as they carry both delay and cost, not to mention can have a strain on neighbourly relations.