Should a Party Wall Award Always be Complete?

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’) until after work has started on site.

These generally fall in to two categories:

Where the work being authorised in the award is in two distinct parts.

When renovating a residential property, an owner will often bite the bullet and do all their works in one go. That typically includes both a rear extension and a loft conversion. The works are still sequenced, loft conversion followed by the extension so that the scaffolding required is not obstructed, but as both are due to commence within 12 months, they are included on the same set of party wall notices.

Due to the complexities of our planning system (specifically the Permitted Development rules) the two elements of the works are often the subject of separate planning applications and therefore set out on separate sets of drawings.

As a result, the detailed drawings relating to the first phase of the works might be ready before the rest. There are two ways in which the party wall surveyors can approach this situation to avoid delays on site:

1. Authorise the works in 2 separate awards, agreed and served as and when sufficient information is available (there’s nothing in the Act which states that works which are notified together must be authorised in a single award). The second, or ‘further’ award can refer back to the first, or ‘‘principal’’ award rather than repeat the parts that are relevant to both phases of the works.
2. Authorise all of the works in a single award but reserve the unavailable information (related to the second phase of the works) for a later date. This is generally done by including a clause in the award, under the building owner’s obligations, requiring them to provide specific information to the appointed surveyors for review and not to proceed with the works until the detail has been approved.

My preference would be for 2 awards as owners, and especially builders, quickly forget about the party wall award once things get going on site. There should be little difference in the costs as the schedule of condition covering all the works can be recorded at the time of the original site visit.

Where it would be inconvenient for the building owner to provide all necessary information prior to the works commencing.

A classic example of this is where a building owner is required to excavate a trial pit to determine the design of a foundation to a party wall or adjoining structure. It’s difficult enough to get a builder to come to site to dig a trial pit ahead of works commencing but, if the owner resides at the property, and the trial pit would be within a habitable room, it’s also very inconvenient.

I would therefore agree to reserve the information provide by the trial pit until after works had commenced and the necessary demolition had been completed. I’d specifically draw the building owner’s attention to the reserved information in the cover letter to the award (or ask the building owner’s surveyor to do so if I were acting for the adjoining owner) to reduce the risk of it being forgotten.

If you require advice on any party wall related matter, you are welcome to contact us on 020 7183 2578 or via email.