Party Wall Process | Peerless Party Wall

The Party Wall Process

The exact process of obtaining a Party Wall Agreement or Party Wall Award differs in minor details from one type of notice to another, but there are key similarities common to each.

The first step is to identify which notices require serving under the Act. If you ask Peerless to serve your notices we will review your project plans and drawings to ensure all required notices have been correctly identified.

As the person intending to undertake the works, you are defined by the Act as the ‘building owner’. The building owner can be a person, persons, company or (mysteriously) ‘other body’ that holds the freehold title, leasehold title (depending on lease terms), or anyone with the legal right to carry out the works.

The building owner is responsible for serving the notice, and can do so themselves or by appointing a third party such as Peerless to do so on their behalf.

The next step is to identify the recipients of the notice, defined as the ‘adjoining owner’. Like the building owner, this will include freeholders, leaseholders (with leases exceeding one year) and, in matters of access, occupiers.

If a neighbouring property has joint owners, such as a couple listed on the property deeds, each owner must be served an individual notice.

Service. According to Section 15 of the Act, notice can be served to an adjoining owner:

By hand, in person to the address
By posting it to their last known address
By fixing it to the property where it is likely to be seen, if the owner is unknown
By email

Obtaining a record of delivery or acknowledgement of receipt is recommended to avoid disputes. In practical terms this often makes email the preferred mode of service.

Email service as a permitted mode of service follows the 2016 Electronic Communications Order (ECO). According to the ECO, an electronic notice is only valid if:

The adjoining owner consents to electronic service in advance
The notice is sent to a specified email identified as belonging to the intended recipient
The consent has not been withdrawn prior to service

In practice, a 2018 Court of Appeal case, determined that an electronic notice was valid if it was received. Proof of receipt need only be a reply, or you could request a ‘read receipt’

Now we know which notices are required, who needs to receive them and how, so what format does a Party Wall Notice take?

Read on to find out more about the content, structure and timing of a valid notice, as well as what to expect once a notice has been served.

Notice Formats

The content of a notice varies by type, but all notices must include:

The name and address of the building owner
A clear, easily understood description of the proposed works
The proposed start date of the works
Instructions for replying to the notice

And in the case of excavation work and special foundations, the notice must:

State whether you propose to strengthen or safeguard the foundations of the Adjoining Owner’s building
Include plans and sections showing the depth and location of excavation or foundation
Include the location of any proposed building
Include construction details and proposed loadings for special foundations

Correct format, wording and layout of a notice is essential. Mistakes or missing information can render your notice invalid, leading to costly delays.

Remember too, that notice periods vary. As such:

Line of junction or adjacent excavation notices must be served at least one month before work can start
Party structure notices, at least 2 months before starting

You can serve notices further in advance than the statutory minimum, but bear in mind that notices are only valid for one year, after which they expire if ‘meaningful’ work hasn’t commenced.

Great, you’ve served notice. So what happens next?

What Should I Expect Next?

The adjoining owner has 14 days to respond to a Party Wall Notice. They may:

Consent (or agree) to your proposed works in writing. The most desirable outcome
Dissent (or object) in which case a Party Wall Award will be required, see below
Make no reply within 14 days, in which case dissent is by default and an Award is required

In The Event of Consent. It would be easy to get excited and forge ahead with your work if the adjoining owner consents. However, give serious thought to preparing a Schedule Of Condition, also known as a Condition Report.

Curiously, a Report is not required under the Party Wall Act even when an Award is required. However, it is strongly advised and considered a critical step by surveyors.

A Condition Report protects both sets of owner/s. It is a ‘snapshot’ of the condition of an adjoining property prior to the start of notifiable work, to identify pre-existing defects.

As such, you would need to visit the adjoining property to prepare a detailed Condition Report. This will usually involve photographs, video and an inspection commentary. Once compiled, both parties should sign the report to agree that the Schedule is fair and true.

Don’t be reluctant to prepare a Schedule. Far from showing a lack of trust, a correctly prepared Schedule avoids animosity and costly disputes about damage ‘caused’ by your work.

Remember that you are liable for the cost of repairs if you can’t prove they were pre-existing.

Peerless can prepare a professional Condition Report for you. Visit our Services page, call 07892 839667, or email via our Contact page.

The award is legally binding and both parties must comply with the terms it sets out.

Either party can appeal the award to county court within 14 days of the award being made.

Once an Award is in place, work can start according to the terms set out in the Award.

Congratulations! You've taken a vital, legal

step toward completing your project.

Peerless can act as the adjoining owner's surveyor as the building owner's surveyor, as the Agreed surveyor or as the third surveyor.

Visit our Services page, call 07892 839667, or email via our Contact page.

In The Case of Dissent. If an adjoining owner dissents, either by reply or by failing to respond, the parties are in dispute and must follow the party wall surveyor process set out in Section 10 of the Act. Accordingly, There are two options to proceed:

1. Appoint an Agreed Surveyor. The most desirable route if an award is required. Both parties agree to use a single surveyor. An Agreed Surveyor is usually the simplest, most cost and time efficient way to proceed to an award.

2. The adjoining owner can appoint their own surveyor. In this case, the building owner will also need to appoint a surveyor. These two surveyors then appoint a third surveyor to resolve potential deadlocks. In practice, the third ‘impartial’ surveyor is rarely called upon. The building owner is liable for the cost of all surveyors.

These surveyors need to agree upon an impartial Party Wall Award, setting out:

What work can be undertaken
How the work will be carried out (methodology, practices) and at what times
Rights and duration of access to the adjoining property if required
Whether a Condition Report is required
Who pays for what. Usually the building owner but costs may be shared, for instance, a new joint use wall

Can't I Just Risk It.....?

A quick word about the potential consequences of not serving a Party Wall Notice when required.

Intentionally or not, failure to serve a notice may result in:

Abatement and delay. The adjoining owner can obtain a court injunction to delay or halt works until the dispute is resolved, delaying your entire project
Compensation and repairs. You may be liable for losses incurred by the adjoining owner, or for the cost of repairs to their property if it is alleged that your work caused the damage, even if it isn't the case.
Demolition Orders. In extreme cases, you may have to reverse unauthorised works and make good, entirely at your own expense.

There Must Be An Easier Way...

And there is. Look through our Party Wall & You page, it has lots of useful advice to help you decide whether your project will require notice(s) to comply with the Party Wall Act.

Easier still, call us on 07892 839667 for a free, professional consultation and an assessment of your needs.

We will identify which, if any, notices are required, and, if you wish, draft and serve notices on your behalf.

If you've received a notice, we can take care of that for you, or simply advise accordingly: Contact Us

And whether you're the building owner or the neighbour, we can act as your surveyor or as the Agreed surveyor