Party Wall Surveys
Protecting the interests of all party wall owners
Keeping you on the right side of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996
Adding an extension or converting your loft is often a great way to give your family more living space, with the added benefit of increasing the value of your property. If your intended changes affect a party wall, then you need to make sure you’re complying with the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (We’ll just call it ‘the Act’ from this point on!) The Act is there to ensure your plans do not adversely affect your neighbour’s interests.
Before we go any further, it’s probably worth defining what a party wall is. A party wall is a wall that is shared by more than one ‘owner’. For example, if you’re in a semi-detached property, then the dividing wall between the two houses is a party wall. In a flat, floors between properties are ‘party structures’, and boundary walls are ‘party fence walls’.
You need to consider the Act when:
| Your planned work is of a structural nature (things like underpinning, adding strengthening for a loft conversion, or removing parts of the wall) | Any excavations close to another building or structure that is deeper than your neighbours’ foundations. | You’re altering a ‘party fence wall’. |
If your plans mean you need to comply with the Act, then there are specific procedures you need to follow, like giving sufficient notice to the neighbours of your intentions. If they’re happy with your plans, then get that in writing, and all is good. They do have the right to disagree with your plans. If they don’t respond at all, then the Act assumes they disagree, and you enter a statutory ‘dispute’ phase.
Where does the surveyor fit into all this? They act almost as an arbitrator. It’s a semi-judicial role working with all the owners – they help to resolve the ‘dispute’ to an amicable outcome. It can get a little more complicated at times because your neighbours can ask for a second surveyor to act on behalf of them. If this happens, we can guide you through the whole process.
The purpose of the Act is to enable the building work (the builder-owner gets what they want) while protecting the interests and property of all adjoining owners.
If you have any doubt about whether the changes you want to make to your property fall inside the scope of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, then please CONTACT US Now, and we’ll be happy to talk it through with you.
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