Latest blog posts

We’ve been hearing about building material shortages anecdotally for a few months now but more recently reports have filtered through to the national media. The cause of the shortages seems to be a combination of Brexit, the pandemic and the recent blockage in the Suez Canal.  The supply problems come at a time when there is strong demand for ... Read more >>

Of all the types of property extension the conversion of a loft space is one of the more affordable in comparison to side and/or rear extensions and they do of course, see you gain additional bedroom(s). So, what are the various types, are what do they typically cost? Simple Dormer Extension This is the most common and most affordable extension ... Read more >>

Over the last couple of years we’ve put on a series of lunchtime CPD sessions covering party wall procedures for Architects, engineers, housing associations and local authorities. We're now accepting requests to book sessions over the next few months. Originally the sessions were held at the organisations’ offices but over the last year, ... Read more >>

Completing the party wall awards is often the last part of the jigsaw required to allow work to commence on site and the process which leads up to that point can be delayed for any number of reasons; from technical queries relating to the proposed works to the appointed surveyors’ holiday arrangements. It’s therefore advisable to get started ... Read more >>

While the current social distance regulations remain in place, surveyors are under pressure to spend as little time inside occupied properties as possible. One way of doing that is to rely upon a photographic only schedule of condition instead of the traditional written record but can it ever be as useful? Prior to the pandemic the primary ... Read more >>

An amendment to the General Permitted Development Order which allows property owners to add up to 2 further storeys to their property without planning consent came in to force on 30th December 2020. So does this mean we’re going to see houses all over London being extended upwards despite how incongruous such an extension may look? A scan ... Read more >>

We get 2 or 3 calls most weeks from owners whose neighbour has gone ahead with work which comes within the scope of the Party Wall Act without serving notice. They are surprised to hear that there are no penalties for such behaviour and their only remedy is to apply to the court for an injunction. Gaining an injunction seems to most owners to ... Read more >>

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 has been with us for almost twenty-five years but it is still clear that the public has, at best, a tenuous grip on its details. I have outlined a few of the most common misunderstandings below: My extension will be on my own land so the Act does not apply. Section 6 of the Party Wall Act covers adjacent ... Read more >>

In an ideal world the appointed surveyors would have all the information they require available and be in a position to cover all aspects of the work in detail in the award but there are situations where that is either not possible or pragmatic. We refer to these as ‘reserved matters’ i.e. a matter where some additional information is required ... Read more >>

When a party wall award has been agreed it should be served on the owners without delay or ‘forthwith’ as the authors of the Act put it but how does that happen in practice? Until section 15 of the Act was amended by the Electronic Communications Act in 2016 all awards were generally served either by post or in person. The typical procedure ... Read more >>