Taylor Mitchell Blog

Where an adjoining owner suffers damage as a result of works notified under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 they will generally have a choice between allowing the building owner or, in reality, the building owner’s contractor to make good and receiving compensation. In my experience, adjoining owners prefer to receive a payment then let the ... Read more >>

Surveyors appointed under the Act have an obligation to reduce the risk of damage to the adjoining owner’s property as far as reasonably possible but adjoining owners must also take reasonable steps to mitigate damage. If both play their part, any claims should be kept to a minimum. The surveyors’ obligation is set out in Section 7(1): A ... Read more >>

Owners living next door to building works pay more attention to the condition of their property and may assume that those works are the cause of any cracks they find. That’s why it is so important to take a record of the condition prior to works commencing. If surveyors are appointed, they will prepare a schedule of condition but, even if an ... Read more >>

Where an adjoining owner suffers loss or damage as a result of works falling within the scope of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (the Act), and the statutory procedures have been followed, the Act provides a framework for how that damage should be made good or compensated for. Let me first explain why I included that “…and the statutory ... Read more >>

I’ve said many times during this series of posts covering party wall procedures that the Award is the document that resolves the dispute which arose when the notice(s) were dissented to so, as far as the surveyors are concerned, should that not be the end of the matter? Not always. Section 10 of the Act, the Section that deals with the ... Read more >>

Owners wishing to extend or alter their home often see the Party Wall Act as a bit of a headache or an opportunity for the neighbours to interfere with their plans.  The Act is actually designed to facilitate building works by conveying rights on owners allowing them execute certain works but sometimes it doesn't feel like that to an owner who ... Read more >>

If you’re familiar with party wall procedures you’ll know that the award is the document produced by the surveyor(s) to resolve the dispute which arose when an adjoining owner dissented to the notice(s) but that's not always the end of the story. The 6th Edition of the RICS template award included a clause stating that the surveyors ... Read more >>