You must issue a Party Wall Notice for three specific types of property work:

Actions Affecting a Party Wall, Structure, or Party Fence Wall: Legal obligation exists to notify the adjacent owner with a Party Wall Notice at least two months before starting work that involves these elements.

Excavations within Three or Six Meters of Any Adjacent Structure: For this type of work, it’s necessary to issue a Party Wall Notice to the neighbouring owner at least one month before beginning the work. Additionally, for these excavations to fall under the Party Wall Act, they must be deeper than the existing foundations of the adjoining owner’s property.

Erecting New Walls: When building a new wall up to or across the boundary line, it’s mandatory to issue a Party Wall Notice to the adjacent owner at least one month prior to the commencement of construction. The Party Wall procedures are designed to protect the interests of both the building owner and the adjacent owners.

Indeed, a building owner is legally permitted to issue their own Party Wall Notice. Often, particularly when there is a positive relationship with neighbours, handling the Party Wall Notice process personally can be the most effective method.

If the adjoining owner does not respond to the Party Wall Notice, the building owner has to appoint a Party Wall Surveyor for the unresponsive neighbour. This surveyor assumes all responsibilities as if they were directly chosen by the neighbour. The goal is to secure a Party Wall Award, agreed upon by two appointed Party Wall Surveyors, which grants the building owner the legal authority to start their site work.

 A Schedule of Condition Report serves as a documented and photographic account of the adjoining owner’s property before the start of the building owner’s construction activities. Its purpose is to provide a reliable record in the event of any damage, or claimed damage, to the adjoining owner’s property caused by the building owner’s work. This ensures that Party Wall Surveyors have a concrete basis to ascertain whether the damage occurred due to the construction and to address it suitably.

The Party Wall Award is a legal document that typically comes into effect at the end of the party wall procedures. This Award not only regulates the proposed works of the building owner but also importantly outlines the types of protections available to the adjoining owner under the Act’s procedures.

The time frames at which Party Wall procedures take will very much depend on the overall work that is taking place, the quality of the information to hand, the Party Wall Surveyors themselves and any other matters relating to the Party Wall matters.

It is always a difficult time frame to give, as in the very first instance Part Wall procedures timings are out of the hands of the Party Wall Surveyors or the building owner, and are effectively in the hands of the adjoining owner while their Party Wall Notice response is awaited.

We would advise discussing the Party Wall procedural timings with your Party Wall Surveyor in advance of embarking on them to ensure that you are well aware of any potential delays to your construction plans.

Under the Party Wall etc Act 1996, it is the building owner, who is the owner undertaking the works, who is liable for the reasonable Party Wall Surveying costs.

These costs include, however are not limited to, the Surveyor’s costs, inspection costs, and the agreement of a Party Wall Award.

If the adjoining owner’s property is damaged due to the building owner’s construction work, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 mandates that the building owner must rectify the damage to the satisfaction of the Party Wall Surveyor. Typically, there are two ways to address this damage.

Repair by Building Owner’s Contractor: The contractor of the building owner will directly repair the damage to the adjoining owner’s property.

Compensation for Self-Repairs: The adjoining owner has the option to request a monetary compensation instead. This allows them to hire their own contractor at their convenience to repair the damage.

The choice of damage repair method rests solely with the adjoining owner and should be made independently of any influence or suggestions from the building owner or the Party Wall Surveyor.