Information on the Party Wall etc Act

Why have I been Issued a Party Wall Notice?

The law governing Party Walls is called the Party Wall etc Act 1996

In summary, it lists 3 areas where this Act is applicable, and follow each link for an example case:

Section 1 - Line of Junction: where a neighbour wants to build a new wall (including a garden wall) on the line between two pieces of land

Section 2 - Party Wall: where a neighbour wants to repair or alter the wall separating two buildings

Section 6 - Adjacent Excavation: where a neighbour is within 3 or 6 metres of your building and they wish to dig down to below the level of your building's foundations to construct new foundations or drainage

so...

if your neighbour is intending to carry out one or more of the above they need to let you know. This is usually done by a Party Wall Notice

Why Respond to a Party Wall Notice?

If your neighbour serves you with a Party Wall Notice they have probably appointed their own Party Wall Surveyor to issue it

When you receive the Notice you have three options:

Option 1 - agree to the neighbour carrying out the works

Option 2 - agree to your neighbour's Party Wall Surveyor acting for both sides. The Party Wall Surveyor then becomes know as the "Agreed Surveyor"

Option 3 - appoint your own Party Wall Surveyor. This surveyor then becomes know as the "Adjoining Owner's Surveyor"

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"very professional"

The first thing to remember is that the person serving the Notice normally has to pay the Agreed Surveyor's or the Adjoining Owner's Surveyor's fees

The role of the Agreed Surveyor or Adjoining Owner's Surveyor is to:

review the neighbour's design to ensure they only do what they are allowed to under the Act
review the neighbour's design and ensure any works will not affect your building
inspect your side of the Party Wall and agree a Schedule of Condition which is a written document and series of photos of your side of the Party Wall. After your neighbour's works are complete the Party Wall Surveyor will re-check the the Schedule of Condition and if any cracks or other damage has occured as a result of your neighbour's works, your neighbour wil have to pay to have them repaired

so in summary...

if your neighbour serves a Party Wall Notice, appointing your own surveyor will protect your interests and generally not cost you anything

What to do with a Notice

The important thing is not to ignore a notice. You generally have 14 days to respond to the notice before your neighbour can appoint a surveyor on your behalf

Phone CWC and/or email us the notice and we'll respond on your behalf. One we receive the notice we'll do the rest

Fees

In most cases, the person who serves the Party Wall Notice are responsible for paying all surveyors' fees

We charge from £725 per Award. (We don’t charge VAT)

Follow this link to see our services when appointed as Adjoining Owner's Surveyor

CWC PARTY WALLS chartered surveyors

18 Bladon Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 1TY email: PartyWallsWestLondon@gmail.com

Tel: 07432 848 438

CWC Party Walls is the trading name of CWC PW Ltd. Company No10412793