LATEST BLOG POSTS
Welcome to Peter Barry’s blog posts. You’ll find a range of topics focussing on issues that are important to our clients where we try to answer the questions that we regularly get asked.
Should a Party Wall Award Always be Complete?
Monday, 27th October 2025 | by: Peter Barry
Works that are the subject of a dispute under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (the ‘Act’) should not commence until they have been authorised in a party wall award (the document which is agreed between the appointed surveyors to resolve the dispute). However, there are sometimes good reasons to defer some aspects of the dispute (specifically relating to the ‘time and manner of the works’) ...
Works that are the subject of a dispute under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (the ‘Act’) should not commence until they ...
Video Schedules of Condition
Friday, 26th September 2025 | by: Peter Barry
Advances in technology often affect how we carry out our work and this is particularly true for recording schedules of ...
Practice Changing Party Wall Case Law – Power & Kyson v Shah [2023]
Saturday, 23rd August 2025 | by: Peter Barry
This is part of our series on court judgements that significantly changed the way that surveyors administer the Act. The ...
Are Foundations Getting Deeper? A Look at Modern Building Practice and Party Wall Implications
Monday, 28th July 2025 | by: Matthew Price
At Peter Barry Surveyors, we have to consider how the foundations of a client's kitchen extension interact with neighbouring ...
What the Public Really Thinks of Surveyors
Tuesday, 22nd July 2025 | by: Peter Barry
I recently stumbled across a discussion on social media about a man who bought a house in Melbourne and only found out that ...
License to Alter options for Share of Freeholders
Wednesday, 25th June 2025 | by: Matthew Price
At Peter Barry Surveyors, we regularly hear from flat owners looking to carry out works at their property—typically ...
Practice Changing Party Wall Case Law – Kaye v Lawrence (2010)
Monday, 16th June 2025 | by: Peter Barry
This is part of our series on court judgements that significantly changed the way that surveyors administer the Act. The Background Mr Matthew Lawrence (the ‘building owner’), owner of a site known as 124 Panorama Road, Sandbanks, Poole, served notice on the owner of 126 Panorama Road, Mr Geoffrey Kaye (the adjoining owner), under sections 6(1) & 6(2) of the Act in relation to a ...
This is part of our series on court judgements that significantly changed the way that surveyors administer the Act. The ...
Are the Old Party Wall Ways Always the Best?
Wednesday, 21st May 2025 | by: Peter Barry
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is a relatively thin document and provides limited guidance on the practicalities of how ...
How Far Can Party Wall Surveyors Go To Protect Adjoining Owners (Part 2)?
Saturday, 19th April 2025 | by: Peter Barry
This is a follow up to a post I uploaded last week analysing the main concerns expressed by adjoining owners who have ...
How Far Can Party Wall Surveyors Go to Protect Adjoining Owners?
Saturday, 12th April 2025 | by: Peter Barry
Section 7(1) of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is clear, adjoining owners and occupiers should not suffer unnecessary ...
