OUR RENOVATION JOURNEY: PARTY WALL ACTS AND WHY WE NEED THEM

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The back of our New House. We needed a party wall act with both our neighbours (Even the one on the left).

The back of our New House. We needed a party wall act with both our neighbours (Even the one on the left).

If you’re thinking of submitting plans for an extension or have already submitted them, but have heard the term ‘Party Wall’ and don’t know if it applies to you, then this post is for YOU!

I found this area all quite mind boggling because I didn’t think Party Wall’s applied to detached houses, but it still does. And what you don’t want to do, is leave it to the last minute like I did.

So, today’s post is all about… you guessed it… Party Walls.

Why you need one, what they’re for and why they can be a massive headache if you don’t get it sorted before your building work starts, not to mention the extra cost which you might not have accounted for if you have to involve a party wall surveyor.

So, what is a party wall Act?

Sadly, it’s not a party of any kind. Boooo! And it doesn’t even have to involve a ‘Wall’ to be needed.

The Party Wall Act came into force on 1 July 1997 and applies throughout England and Wales. (The Act does not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland)

 The Act provides a framework for preventing or resolving disputes in relation to party walls, party structures, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings.

Basically, in a nutshell, it serves as a legal document between you and your neighbour to stop you from falling out when the digging and building work commences (although it can’t actually stop you from falling out). But it’s there to protect your lovely neighbour’s property. This could be from you hammering a massive steal into their walls for an extension, or it could be because you need to excavate near their foundations to dig your own foundations. It’s your way of politely serving notice that you will be whacking a great big steel into their neighbouring wall when building your extension or digging next to their foundations which you’ve now had planning permission for.  You’re politely letting them know in a legal document – aka serving notice.

And it’s there to cover the neighbour so that if you cause any damage, you will make good - aka resolve any disputes.

Who needs a party wall Act?

Anyone intending to carry out work (anywhere in England and Wales) of the kinds described in the Act must give Adjoining Owners notice of their intentions. The Act applies even to Crown, Government and Local Authority owned property.

What does the Act Cover?

  • Various work that is going to be carried out directly to an existing party wall or party structure – ie on a Mid terrace house – loft conversions between neighbouring properties, ground floor/ 1st floor extensions on Semi-detached houses.

  •    New building at or astride the boundary line between properties.

  • Excavation within 3 or 6 metres of a neighbouring building(s) or structure(s), depending on the depth of the hole or proposed foundations. So in a nutshell, if your property is within 3-6 meters of your neighbour’s property and you will be digging for foundation work, you will still need a Party Wall Act even if your walls aren’t adjoining.

The document

You can find generic documents online which will help as a guide when serving notice on your neighbour. Just make sure you amend the details to be yours and your neighbours. And in the foundation section, try and give as much information from your structural engineer as you possibly can. I.e.- will there be any special foundations?

Then attach a consent form for them to sign and return, and make sure you stipulate a date for which the building work will commence. You’re meant to give your neighbours TWO months’ notice – but if your neighbours are nice and understanding you can talk to them about bringing the start date forward.

I’ve linked templates below that you can adapt and use for this purpose. - Because sharing is caring…

DOWNLOAD A FREE PARTY WALL TEMPLATE LETTER

and

DOWNLOAD A FREE PARTY WALL CONSENT FORM


Can they refuse to sign it?

Yes, they can. But just remember that even if they do refuse to sign the free Party Wall Act, it doesn’t mean your building work can’t happen. It will just delay things until you have appointed a Party Wall surveyor and a Party Wall Award has been served to the neighbour.

What is a Party Wall Surveyor and What do they do?

This is where it gets a little complicated. If your neighbour refuses to sign the free document, they are entitled to have their own Party Wall Surveyor – at YOUR COST.

They are actually entitled to their own Party Wall Surveyor, in addition to one that will represent you. I.e. two different Party Wall Surveyors. They can even request a third to act as an adjudicator if they really want to be difficult and these will all be at YOUR COST.

But they can also choose to use one surveyor which will represent the two of you. This is the ideal option and will be the least expensive option to you. This is what YOU want.

The Surveyor will do an assessment of your neighbour’s property which will involve taking numerous photos of their internals, externals and their garden, noting any previous movement, cracks etc. In the long run this will help you if they say there’s been movement and your building work caused it etc.

Then once they have done the assessment, they will work on a schedule to ensure the excavation or structural work is done as safely and with least disruption as possible to the neighbouring property and then the Party Wall Award will be Served. This is where your structural engineer will come into play in a big way as they will be asked by the Party Wall Surveyor to go into more detail regarding foundations or joining walls/ steels etc. I’d also make sure you have this cost covered in your structural engineers initial quote, as you don’t want them asking for more money when you’ve already paid them and now have Surveyors to pay for as this cost can suddenly escalate quite rapidly.

Your structural engineer will produce a series of sketches like this for the Party wall Surveyor to show the relationship with the neighbouring property.

Your structural engineer will produce a series of sketches like this for the Party wall Surveyor to show the relationship with the neighbouring property.

How much will a Party Award cost?

You’re looking at between £700-£1500 (including VAT) per surveyor. It depends on the project size and where in the UK you are located.

Keep in mind that if you need a Party Wall surveyor award with each neighbour this could double or even triple in cost for you.

When Should I serve the Party Wall Act to my neighbours?

Do it as soon as possible. As I mentioned before you’re meant to give your neighbours two months’ notice before starting work, and you will need to have this in place before starting, otherwise you will only be able to do the work which is within 6m or more from their property.

You can even serve the notice to your neighbours at the same time as you submit your planning application. This way you can talk your neighbours through your plans and gauge their reaction to whether or not you think they will be happy to sign the free notice and if not start researching for a surveyor.

It’s a stressful time, but once you get over this part the building work is all GO GO GO.

Good luck with your build if you’re about to start one, or if your knee deep in one already send me the address and I’ll send the wine to help steady the nerves. Just kidding. I need ALL the wine right now for mine.