Our Services
Notices
To find out more about what a notice is and why they are so important, take a look at our Party Wall & You and our Party Wall Process page.
You’ll see that the format, wording and content of a notice has to be exactly right to be valid, and that mistakes can be costly.
For that reason, we can draft and serve notices on your behalf, handle responses and guide you to a written Agreement or an Award.
First, we review your building work and assess any plans and drawings.
We will identify the type of Notice your work requires under the Party Wall Act. In some cases, you will need to serve multiple notices.
This is typical when adjacent properties have joint owners, have been divided into flats, or when proposed work is covered by more than one section of the Act.
Next, we need to verify current contact details for each recipient. It’s not always obvious, for instance, when non-resident Freeholders are involved.
Finally, valid notices are drafted and served to the relevant parties.
Once served, we manage responses to the notices and talk you through what needs to happen next. We hope for Agreement, but prepare for Dissent.
If they agree, we can draft a formal written Agreement document if required. Should they dissent, we can initiate the surveyor process on your behalf.
Either way, we will keep your project on track and deliver a lawful, timely and cost effective outcome whilst maintaining good neighbourly relations.
Party Wall Surveyors
We always hope to avoid appointing surveyors, but if necessary, we have the expertise to ensure an Award or agreement is reached as quickly and amicably as possible.
If you are the building owner, and an adjoining owner dissents to your notice, either implicitly or by failing to respond, the parties are in dispute.
Section 10 of the Act requires dispute resolution through the 'party wall surveyor process', whereby a surveyor or surveyors collaborate to set out the terms of an Award.
Three types of Surveyor are involved in this process, and their role is defined by which party they are acting for.
If you are proposing work as a building owner and a neighbour dissents and appoints their own surveyor, Peerless can act as your surveyor, the Building Owner's Surveyor.
If you have received a notice and are worried about your property, Peerless can appoint an Adjoining Owners Surveyor. We will represent you as the neighbour and ensure risks to your home and disruption caused by the work are minimised.
Finally, we can act for both parties as the single Agreed Surveyor, exerting the building owner's rights, whilst mitigating risk to the adjoining owner's property and disruption to their daily life once work starts.
This is usually the quickest and simplest way to proceed to an Award for both parties, and certainly the most cost effective for the building owner.
Schedule Of Condition
Curiously, a Schedule Of Condition, or Condition Report, is not required under the Party Wall Act. However, preparing one is strongly advised and considered a critical step by surveyors.
A SoC protects both the person proposing the works and the adjoining neighbour and should always be prepared, even if a neighbour has agreed to your works.
It is ‘snapshot’ of the condition of an adjoining property prior to the start of work for which Notice(s) have been served.
As such, one of our Party Wall Surveyors will visit the adjoining neighbour’s property and prepare a detailed Schedule of Condition for each.
This involves taking detailed photographs, video and recording a surveyor's commentary, all of which are compiled into the SoC and signed by both parties.
A correctly prepared Schedule avoids disputes about damage ‘caused’ by your works and prevents adjoining neighbours making erroneous claims.
Equally, it holds the works owner to account for any legitimate damage.
Remember that as the owner of the works you are liable for the cost of repairs if you can’t prove they were pre-existing.
As the adjoining owner, a Schedule is the best protection for you and your property and ensures timely, dispute free repairs in the event of a claim.
Get In Touch With Us For Your Free Consultation
We offer free phone consultations. If you're planning building work and are unsure of your obligations, this is right up your street. No pun, just friendly advice intended.
Equally, if you have received a notice and are worried about your home, or if you just need some advice, we are here to guide and support you, starting with a friendly chat .
Email us at: peerlesspartywall@gmail.com
