What is Party Wall?
If you or your neighbour are planning to undertake a kitchen extension, convert the loft space, reconfigure internal layouts or excavate a basement, the proposed works may well fall under the provisions of The Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
The Party Wall Act is an important piece of legislation in England and Wales. It is designed to help prevent construction related disagreements between neighbours before building work is started and provides a clear legal framework for resolving any disputes that may arise in relation to party walls and other party structures.
The Act broadly covers three distinct types of ‘notifiable’ work (more detail below):
- Alterations to party structures, such as walls separating terraced or semi-detached houses, which can in turn be divided into flats
- Excavation work within 3m that is lower than existing neighbouring foundations
- New walls constructed on boundary lines
Where work falls within the scope of the Act, it is necessary for a Building Owner to serve notice and obtain the Adjoining Owner’s consent. If consent is not given, the parties are deemed to be ‘in dispute’ under the Act and surveyors must be appointed to resolve the dispute by way of a Party Wall Award.
The process set out in the Act protects neighbours (Adjoining Owners) by determining the manner and timing of notifiable work whilst having the ability to offer compensation in the event that damage is caused. It also affords the property owner who is undertaking the work (Building Owner), certain rights such as access to neighbouring land for the purposes of completing that work.
TYPES OF WORK COVERED BY THE PARTY WALL ACT
Notifiable work under the Party Wall act falls into three distinct categories, each corresponding to a different Section of the Act:
SECTION 1: NEW BOUNDARY WALLS
The most common type of new building is the construction of a new wall up to (but not beyond) the boundary, which is technically referred to as a 1(5) wall. Adjoining Owners can incorrectly believe that any new walls need to be set slightly back from the boundary (typically because their architect told them this when they built their extension 20 years ago) but this is not the case. As long as all elements including roofs, gutters and fascias do not protrude, the wall can be built right up to the boundary and does not require the neighbour's consent.
A less common wall type is a 1(2) wall, which is built 50/50 on the boundary and does require the Adjoining Owners' consent. This is advantageous to the Building Owner as they gain a slightly larger extension, whilst the Adjoining Owner gets a party wall that they can then build off with their own extension in the future (unlike a 1(5) wall which they cannot).
SECTION 2: WORK TO A PARTY WALL
The Act lists 14 different work types that fall under Section 2, with the vast majority falling under only half a dozen sections. Below are the most common types of work to a party wall:
- 2(2)(a): Underpinning a party wall which is necessary for basement excavations but can also be required for extensions where existing foundations need strengthening. This also applies to the raising of party wall, most commonly where parapet walls are raised to accommodate a loft extension.
- 2(2)(b): Repairing or demolishing and rebuilding a party wall where such a repair is warranted.
- 2(2)(f): Cutting into a party wall for steel beams (loft conversion, removal of structural walls), joist hangers or waterproofing lead flashings.
- 2(2)(g) Cutting away from a party wall, typically in the case of chimney breasts or structural walls.
- 2(2)(l): Raising or demolishing and rebuilding a garden party wall and rebuilding to accommodate the flank wall of an extension.
- 2(2)(n): Exposing a party wall, subject to adequate weathering.
SECTION 3: EXCAVATIONS
This section of the Act applies to excavations for foundations that are within 3 metres of a neighbouring property and deeper than their existing foundations. The majority of London housing stock is either Victorian or built in the 1930s, and their foundations rarely exceed 30cm. However, proposed foundations will have to be a minimum of 1 metre deep to satisfy current Building Control requirements.
This section can also apply to shallower pad foundations or where entire sections of land are lowered.
The Party Wall Procedure
Service of Notices
Building Owners must notify all affected Adjoining Owners of proposed work that falls under Sections 1, 2 and 6 of the Act. Due to the complexity of the process, this is normally undertaken by an appointed surveyor but some homeowners choose to serve notice themselves. Sections 1 and 6 have notice periods of 1 month whilst for section 2 it is 2 months.
Response
Upon receipt of a notice, an Adjoining Owner can consent or dissent. Here, it is worth noting the unhelpfulness of the wording as Owners are not consenting or dissenting to the work taking place. They are simply confirming whether they wish to appoint surveyor(s) to represent their property interests.
The different responses are:
CONSENT
There is no surveyor involvement and work can proceed. That said, a consent can be caveated with the requirement of a Schedule of Condition which is a written and photographic record of their property.
DISSENT AND CONCUR IN APPOINTMENT OF AN AGREED SURVEYOR
Here, a singular surveyor (‘Agreed Surveyor’) will act for both the Building Owner and Adjoining Owner on an impartial and unbiased basis. This option is recommended where work is relatively straight forward in nature.
DISSENT AND APPOINT THEIR OWN SURVEYOR
Here, the Building Owner’s surveyor and Adjoining Owner’s surveyor work together, both acting impartially. Complex projects such as basement excavations and large-scale works tend to work better with two surveyors. One of their first tasks is to agree a third surveyor to be called upon in the event of non-agreement.
Schedule of Condition
This is a photographic and written record of the Adjoining Owner’s property before work starts, which allows the surveyor(s) to determine whether damage has or has not been caused.
Agreeing the Party Wall Award
The Award (often incorrectly called a Party Wall Agreement) sets out the parties involved and the notifiable work and determines the manner in which it is to be undertaken and its timings. Surveyor(s) may for example, require that cutting into the party wall for steel beams be undertaken with hand tools only, or that excavations close to the Adjoining Owner’s extension be dug in 1m sections rather than in one go.
Service
Once the content of the Award, including any relevant drawings, is concluded, the Award is then served on both owners. The Building Owner can now legally start work, subject to the passing or waiving of any notice periods.
Final Inspection upon Completion of Works
Here, the surveyor(s) check off the Schedule of Condition and, if all is well, close the file. If damage is noted, then the Adjoining Owner can either have the Building Owner’s contractor make the repair or receive a payment in lieu and instruct their own contractor.
About Us
At Peter Barry, we have a 12 strong team of experienced RICS party wall surveyors, assistant surveyors and specialist party wall administrators to help ensure that everything runs smoothly. We have offices across London in Kensington, Fulham, South Woodford, Winchmore Hill, Hendon and Greenwich.
We cover the whole of the inner M25 area from our network of London offices so if you are planning on undertaking work that falls within the scope of the Act or have received a notice informing you of proposed works that may affect your property you are very welcome to contact us for some advice.
