Taylor Mitchell Blog

It’s the response that most worries owners notifying their neighbours of works falling under the Party Wall Act - not only a dissent but the appointment of a separate surveyor. I know of a couple of examples where a building owner has simply cancelled their works as a result, which seems extreme, but the loss of control really does seem to ... Read more >>

Where an adjoining owner dissents to a party wall notice they have two options; appoint a surveyor of their choice or concur with the building owner in the appointment of a single Agreed Surveyor. In terms of cost, the appointment of an agreed surveyor will generally be cheaper than having two separate surveyors (I say ‘generally’ as the ... Read more >>

The desired outcome for any owner serving party wall notices is a consent – it allows them to take advantage of the benefits of the Act, such as the right of access, without having to stump up for surveyors’ fees. However, adjoining owners consenting to party wall notices is still a relatively rare thing, I’ve not run the numbers but my ... Read more >>

There are many reasons why neighbours do not respond to party wall notices - they may have moved out of the property and not updated the Title Register, they may be on a long holiday or they may just be the type of person that doesn’t do paperwork (more than you might think). Whatever the reason, I would estimate that between 10 and 20% of party ... Read more >>

Being legal documents, party wall notices must be ‘served’ and the acceptable methods of service are set out is section 15 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Service by Hand Sometimes our clients prefer to hand deliver their party wall notices as it gives them an opportunity to add a personal touch to the legal process. However, the Act ... Read more >>

It’s essential that the time periods relating to party wall procedures are followed to the letter as they are taken directly from the Act and many of those time periods relate to the service of and response to notices. The first point to clarify is when the time periods run from as it’s not obvious. Regardless of the date that is entered on ... Read more >>

The next decision once you’ve confirmed the requirement to serve party wall notices is whether to employ the services of a surveyor or do it yourself. I am of course a surveyor that offers the service but I will attempt to provide an impartial view. There are various templates available online (including this one that I helped to design and ... Read more >>