Latest blog posts

What happens when the owners in a party wall dispute appoint separate surveyors, but those surveyors fail to resolve the dispute? The answer is that they make a referral to the third surveyor. The role of the third surveyor is defined in section 10 of the Act so let’s look at the key points: 10(1)(b) confirms that “the two surveyors so ... Read more >>

In the previous post, we looked at the rights of access enjoyed by building owners where such was necessary to undertake works falling within the scope of the party wall act. Unsurprisingly, that access is subject to conditions and the most significant of those is the requirement to serve notice. The requirement is confirmed in Section 8 ... Read more >>

Building owners often complain about delays and additional expense caused by the party wall act but there are benefits and the most obvious is the right to access adjoining properties where such is necessary to undertake the works. The alternative would rely on the owners coming to an agreement and any surveyor that has been tasked with ... Read more >>

One of the more frustrating aspects of providing party wall advice is having to tell an adjoining owner whose neighbour has commenced work without serving notice that their only formal remedy is an interim injunction. The purpose of this post is therefore to provide some guidance to owners who find themselves in that situation and look at ways of ... Read more >>

I’ve previously written about owners’ concerns when their neighbour exercises their right to appoint a surveyor of their choice. As I explained in that post, the surveyor acting for the adjoining owner is not required to confirm their fee before they are appointed but must ensure that it is reasonable. In this post I will be looking at how ... Read more >>

Prior to undertaking works falling within the scope of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, owners have an obligation to formally notify the owners of affected adjoining properties and obtain their consent of go through the Act’s dispute resolution procedure. But what can an adjoining owner do if their neighbour fails to comply with that statutory ... Read more >>

I finished the penultimate post in this short series by explaining that, having assembled all the necessary supporting documentation, an adjoining owner should present the details of their damage claim to the building owner for consideration. I always recommend that the adjoining owner includes a date after which they will consider the claim to be ... Read more >>

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 >>