The Party Wall Act EXPLAINED
For any outstanding questions, or if you would simply prefer to speak to a surveyor over the phone, please do call our office for some FREE initial advice on 020 3514 3869
Purpose of Act
The Party Wall Etc. Act 1996 ("the Act") was conceived as a piece of legislation designed to enable building works to progress, whilst offering protection to neighbouring owners and occupiers referred to in the Act as 'Adjoining Owners/Occupiers'. The Act provides a framework for resolving disputes should these arise between neighbours when certain building work is proposed.
When does the Party Wall Act apply?
I.e. When do I need to serve notice on my neighbour(s)
The Party Wall Act governs proposed building work to a Party Wall (a wall separating two properties, or built astride the boundary) and can also apply when undertaking excavation within 3/6m of a neighbouring structure and when building new walls along a shared boundary.
​
Examples of common elements of building work that would require a notice to be served under the terms of the Party Wall Act (note the below list is not exhaustive, please make contact with us if you have specific queries relating to your building work for some free initial advice):
​
Work on Party Wall
- Cutting into the Party Wall to install new steel beams on pad stone/bearing plates.
- Removal of chimney breasts along a Party Wall.
- Raising the Party Wall, or raising a new wall against the Party Wall (e.g. when forming a loft extension).
- Underpinning the Party Wall.
- Exposing the Party Wall to the elements temporarily (e.g. when removing existing roof coverings to form a loft extension, or carrying out demolition works adjacent to the Party Wall).
- Repair & maintenance work to a Party Wall and/or Party Fence Wall (e.g. Installation of new weathering flashings, repointing, rebuilding a defective garden wall, brick stitching etc.).
​
Adjacent Excavation
- Excavating for new foundations will often require a notice to be served where neighbouring structures exist within 3m (e.g. buildings, garden wall, outhouses etc.) that are historic and therefore built off a relatively shallow foundation.
- Excavating to form additional underground habitable space.
- Excavating when installing new services, e.g. underground drainage.
- Deep excavation for pile foundations. Note: where deep excavation is required you may be required to notify adjoining neighbours within 6m of your intended zone of excavation.
​
Building on the boundary/Line of Junction
- Building a new wall along a shared boundary (referred to as the Line of Junction in the Act) either wholly on your land or astride the boundary as a Party Wall. The Act requires a notice to be served on the affected neighbour(s) in both cases and permits a right of access on/over neighbouring land where necessary to build a new wall on a shared boundary.
What is a Party Wall?
+ other definitions
Below is a brief list of terms and definition that commonly crop up in Party Wall proceedings:
​
Party Wall: A wall that forms part of a building and stands on the land of different owners, or a wall separating buildings owned by different owners.
​
Party Fence Wall: A wall (not being part of a building, e.g. stand alone garden/boundary wall) which stands on land of different owners.
​
Party Structure: A party wall and also a floor partition or other structure separating buildings or parts of buildings approached solely by separate staircases or separate entrances.
​
Building Owner: An owner of property/land who wishes to undertake works permitted by the Party Wall Etc. Act 1996.
​
Adjoining Owner: Adjoining Owner and Adjoining Occupier respectively means any owner and any occupier of land, buildings, storeys or rooms adjoining those of the building owner and for the purposes only of section 6 of the Act (relating to adjacent excavation) within the distances specified in that section (i.e within 3m or 6m).
​
Schedule of Condition: A detailed written & photographic record of specific parts of a property, noting existing cracks, damp or any other existing defects judged to be relevant by the surveyor carrying out the survey. In the context of the Party Wall Act a Schedule of Condition of affected neighbouring properties is usually undertaken prior to building works commencing next door. This detailed report helps surveyors & owners identify new damage to their property should this be suspected.
Purpose of a Party Wall Award
A Party Wall Award is a legally binding document that sets out what building work an owner has the right to undertake to the shared Party Wall based on the terms of the Party Wall Etc. Act 1996. This legislation not only governs work to the Party Wall, but also other work (hence the 'Etc.') such as adjacent excavation and building along a shared boundary, which could also impact the neighbouring owners and/or occupiers.
​
An Award will go on to outline the time an manner in which the work that is relevant to the Party Wall Act shall be executed on site, with the objective being to permit these works to progress in such a way that minimises the risk of damage and avoids unnecessary disruption/inconvenience to the affected neighbouring owners/occupiers.
​
Where possible it is good practice for the surveyor/surveyors appointed to agree the Party Wall Award to append a Schedule of Condition of the neighbours property to the Award, along with other documents and drawings that might be relevant to the building work permitted by the Award.
An Award seeks to resolve matters in dispute between neighbouring owners, although often there is no specific dispute as such and the parties involved simply wish to have an Award prepared by a surveyor/surveyors for peace of mind.
On simple domestic projects we encourage neighbours in this situation to consider consenting to works progressing subject to a prior Schedule of Condition being prepared by a qualified surveyor to document the condition of the relevant parts of the neighbours property, thus avoiding the need for an Award.
Role of the Surveyor
A surveyor appointed under the terms of the Act may be required to perform many roles on a typical building project and here are a few of the most common duties:
​
- Preparing/reviewing notices to ensure they comply with the terms of the Act.
- Visiting site to carry out a Schedule of Condition of the neighbours property prior to commencement of building work.
- Reviewing design drawings (both Architectural and engineering drawings) and advising/liaising with the design team as necessary to ensure the design adopted complies with the parameters set in the Party Wall Act and does not adversely impact either owners ability to carry out future building work.
- Reviewing and agreeing proposed methods of work to ensure that the method of work adopted on site is most suitable in terms of progressing works expeditiously on site whilst reducing the risk of damage and unnecessary inconvenience to neighbouring properties/owners/occupiers as far as practically possible.
- Preparing and agreeing Party Wall Awards to resolve matters in dispute between neighbours (e.g. disputes over the right to carry out certain work, rights of access on/over neighbouring land, permitted working hours etc.).
- Inspecting damage caused to a neighbouring property and providing guidance where necessary on the required remedial action or suitable payments in lieu of making good.
​
​
Limitations
The Party Wall Act has its limitations and a surveyor appointed under the terms of the Act should NOT become involved in the following matters:
- We do not have the authority to agree/determine boundaries. properties.
- We do not have the authority (or desire) to stop or unreasonably delay building works from progressing.
- We have no influence over planning matters. Whilst we may become involved in reviewing specific design details for elements of work on the Party Wall and/or shared boundary, we have no influence over the design as a whole. Concerns relating to more general design issues (e.g. the proposed height/length of a neighbours extension) should be raised under the planning process, which is entirely separate to Party Wall proceedings.