The wall of the party, etc. The 1996 Act applies only to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland rely on common law rather than laws to settle disputes over the party wall. Neighboring owners can negotiate to continue the work – and access can be enforced by the courts if necessary. Find out everything you need to know, from compliance with the law to compliance with the law to publishing a written notice and how to find a surveyor, with our practical guide to party wall agreements. Party wall agreements are something you need to know about planning an extension or renovation next to an adjacent property in England or Wales. The Party Wall Act 1996 is designed to help you do some work – access to neighbouring properties – while protecting the interests of your neighbours. You`ll have to wait for a response – your neighbour should let you know in writing within 14 days if they agree. The best scenario is that they accept all the work in writing, which means you don`t need a party wall agreement, which saves costs. A party wall agreement is required if you want to carry out construction work near or on a party wall.
You need to inform your neighbors, provide them with a party wall notice, and write a party wall agreement in writing. Even if you receive oral consent at that time, you must send the notice and obtain written consent. To be helpful, there`s no reason why you can`t write a consent form that your neighbor can simply sign, but you need to make sure your neighbor understands what you`re doing and what they`re signing – if your neighbor is a 102-year-old frail widow and is giving consent without consulting anyone, you could be blamed, having taken advantage of your position when your 25-year-old grandson, aged 32, finds out what made you sign. In such cases, you may find it helpful to employ a surveyor just so that if disputes arise later, you can prove that you did not take advantage of your neighbor`s ignorance. Courts tend to misunderstand failure to serve a party wall notice, and you may be asked to pay for repairs that may not actually be your responsibility. In addition, your neighbors could file a civil action against you and have an injunction issued to prevent further work until a party wall agreement is finalized. This delays the project and could increase costs. A party wall is not simply an adjacent wall separating two semi-detached houses where some confusion can arise. A party wall can be a number of things, including: As a party planning the work, you have full control over who the surveyor names you and what they calculate. You agree to either a fixed rate or an hourly rate. The same is not true for your neighbour`s surveyor (if you cannot agree on an agreed surveyor), as he is selected by your neighbour and does not have to indicate his fees until shortly before the publication of the price.
If you or your surveyor believe that the fees charged are unreasonable, they must be referred to the “third-party surveyor” for review, although this will incur additional costs and will still take weeks. The third surveyor is selected by the two surveyors designated at the beginning of the process to resolve disputes. The Party Wall Act 1996 does not apply to Scotland and Northern Ireland, where the common law is used to deal with party wall issues. You must write to all adjacent owners and include your name and address, a full description of the work, including the address and start date of the property, as well as a statement that this is a party wall notice in accordance with the provisions of the law. They can write to you and issue a counter-notification, request certain changes to the work, or set conditions such as working hours. If you reach an agreement, record the conditions in writing and exchange letters, the work can begin. You will need an agreement on the party wall if you are doing work on a common border and the work has been agreed with your neighbor. You can use this HomeOwners Alliance party wall template template to send it to your neighbors. Works that require agreement are those that demolish or rebuild the party wall, increase the height or thickness of a party wall, cut it into the party wall, or underlie it. Your neighbors can claim compensation if they can prove that they suffered damage as a result of the work, and this may even require the work to be removed. The same applies if you have a party wall agreement with your neighbors, but do not respect the agreed terms. Not all work on party walls requires agreement on party walls.
This includes small jobs such as drilling into the wall inside to accommodate kitchen units or shelves. Plastering the wall or adding or replacing electrical wiring or electrical outlets also does not require agreement. If the construction work affects a party structure, you must cancel at least two months before the start of the work. In the case of searches, you must give at least one month`s notice. Work can begin as soon as an agreement has been reached. If you can`t reach an agreement, you`ll need to appoint a surveyor to organize a party wall price that will determine the details of the work. Hopefully your neighbor will agree to use the same surveyor as you – an “agreed surveyor” so that only one set of fees applies. .