Party Wall Specialists for Building Owners in London

Party Wall Act - What is it and How We Can Help

If you wish to carry out any alterations to your home that affect a shared wall or boundary, you will need to follow the legislation set down in The Party Wall etc Act 1996. The process is fairly straightforward, but failure to comply can cause significant financial repercussions and delays to your project.

When does the Party Wall Act apply?

A party wall is considered to be any wall shared by two properties, such as the separating wall between two semi-detached or terraced homes. It can also refer to an outdoor wall built on the boundary line between gardens and, for the purposes of the act, the ground within a certain distance and depth of neighbouring buildings, even if they are physically separate.

The Act covers three types of work; building a new structure close to a boundary line, modifying an existing fence or wall and excavating within a certain distance of a neighbouring property. As such, projects commonly covered in the Act include loft conversions, the installation of damp-proof courses and digging foundations for home extensions.

What are the responsibilities of the Building Owner?

To ensure that your work stays within the law, as the Building Owner, you should:

1. Check whether the Party Wall etc Act 1996 applies to your project. Consult a professional surveyor if you aren’t sure – it’s better to be cautious.

2. Talk to your neighbours early, before serving Notice about your work. Keeping your Adjoining Owners informed and addressing their concerns will make it more likely that they will consent to your works once you do serve Notice.

3. Make sure your Notice is served properly, or else it will be invalid. Consider using a surveyor to ensure it is written and served according to the law, avoiding the risk of having to re-serve and delay your project.

4. Serve Notice with plenty of time. Putting pressure on neighbours to provide their consent quickly usually backfires, resulting in them hiring their own surveyor to help them understand the plans and raising a dispute if they are not happy. If this happens then your project is going to be delayed by several weeks, and you will have to foot the bill for their surveyor and yours.

5. Don’t be tempted to start work until you have an agreement (known as a Party Wall Award) in place. If you do, your neighbour can file an injunction against you that forces you to stop work – again, causing delays and escalating your costs.

Should a Party Wall Notice to the Leasehold and Freehold Owner?

According to the Party Wall etc Act 1996, a Notice must be served on ‘any owner and any occupier of land, buildings, storeys or rooms adjoining those of the building owner’. When it comes to leasehold property, this can leave some homeowners confused as to whether they must serve Notice on the neighbouring freeholder as well as the leaseholder.

The Act goes on to describe an “owner” as any person or tenant with an interest of at least a year in the property. This means that yes, Notice will need to be served on the property’s leaseholder and freeholder, as well as any tenants with an agreement for longer than twelve months.

In cases where the adjoining property consists of multiple dwellings (such as a block of flats or a converted townhouse), it’s recommended that you hire a surveyor to help you determine your legal responsibility. At Squarepoint, our experienced Party Wall surveyors can often liaise with multiple property owners and come to an agreement that protects the interests of the Building Owner and all Adjoining Owners.

Squarepoint are specialist Party Wall Surveyors and has helped many customers across London. If you would like professional party wall advice before serving Notice on your Adjoining Owners, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Call us on 0207 651 0000 or send an enquiry via our contact page.

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From the very first time I called Scott, he was very attentive to my requirements for a building survey. From the outset he noted down my areas of concern, updated me with progress prior to the survey and gave me a thorough debrief after the survey. The quality of his report was excellent, very easy to understand and, importantly, comprehensive.

I was extremely pleased with the excellent service provided by Scott Buchanan of Squarepoint Chartered Surveyors, and  I hope to contact yourselves in due course with a view to getting further advice.

Working with Adam Graham at Squarepoint was a very smooth and easy process. He was always clear and thorough in our communication and provided very detailed advice. I would highly recommend Squarepoint!”

The team at Squarepoint were very helpful, knowledgeable and understanding when dealing with my loft conversion and party wall agreement.”

We have used Squarepoint Chartered Surveyors at several of our Parishes and have found them to be very efficient in the production of reports on a variety of issues such as building condition surveys and PPM, defect investigations and Party Wall matters.”

Young, trustworthy, professionally competent and committed to delivering on time and on budget.”

Fast and friendly service with an extremely thorough survey. The Surveyor’s phone call to explain the findings of the report, before the official survey was sent, was invaluable.

I used Squarepoint for a party wall agreement. From my initial conversation with Eve through to Adam completing the party wall award, the process was smooth, professional and timely given the challenges of COVID lockdown. Thank you for your great service.

Really helpful team at Squarepoint, on hand to help with any queries and take you through the whole process clearly and at a pace guided by you. Our party wall surveyor, Adam, was great at communicating and efficient throughout  the whole process, could not ask for more.

I had been hunting for a simple job that required a surveyor’s expertise, but had been struggling to find trust throughout my enquiries, until I spoke to Adam.

The advice simply and honestly given by Adam on our first call was remarkable. His friendly but competent application and manner made it easy for me to hire him, and not only did he more than deliver on the required services, but his price was the most competitive I could find. Would highly recommend Eve and Adam at Squarepoint.”

 

I recently hired Adam to help with a party wall award required on both sides of my terraced house.

He was able to liaise with both parties to answer their initial questions/concerns, which led to them both appointing him as the agreed surveyor, which saved me time and money.

Adam prepared the final award comprehensively and quickly. I would thoroughly recommend him and his friendly Admin assistant Eve.