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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures
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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures
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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures
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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures
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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures
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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures
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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures
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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures
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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures
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 >>
Categories: Party Wall Procedures