by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
Are there any rights to install piled foundations (circa 6m deep) on the party line (the existing garden wall is to be knocked down and rebuilt as part of the extension).
In order to ensure the build runs smoother and we maintain a relationship with our neighbours we have compromised on design (will need amendment back into planning). This compromise will be detailed within the consent letter that the neighbours send back. Would we still be liable for the cost of a surveyor if they appointed one at a later date?
Answer
As the existing garden wall is being knocked down and replaced with the exterior wall of your extension it must be either a shared wall or in your ownership – either way you can place new foundations, piled or otherwise, on the boundary and project them on to the neighbour’s land if that is necessary.
Yes, if your neighbour has reason to appoint a surveyor at a later stage you will be responsible for that surveyor’s reasonable fee. The right to appoint surveyors after an initial consent was established in a recent court case. You can read a summary here - http://www.building.co.uk/legal/party-wall-act-good-news-for-good-neighbours/3118763.article
Follow-up
I was under the impression that I needed his consent to put ‘special foundations’ astride the line of junction; mu foundations are potentially 8m deep piles (likely reinforced).
Answer
Yes, special foundations below a party wall do require the Adjoining Owner’s consent. You should ask you neighbour to sign a letter of consent along these lines:
As owners of the above property we hereby consent to the construction of special (reinforced) foundations below the party wall between address/address in accordance with Section 7(4) of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
We bought a terraced cottage with planning permission for a single and two storey extension in November and immediately issued a Party Wall Notice to the neighbours on either side. One side replied immediately, and said they were happy with the proposed plans but would like to appoint their own surveyor.
I agreed to this, and finally tracked down the other neighbour to ask if they were happy to use the same surveyor. They said yes, but made it difficult for us to gain access to their cottage for the inspection, claiming that not only would they be at the cottage infrequently, but no neighbours held keys and they were unwilling to send their keys to the appointed surveyor.
Finally one date was set, but cancelled by the tricky neighbour a few days before. Finally a second date was set, and I scheduled the surveyor to come again. On the specified date the tricky neighbour, predictably, wasn’t at his house so only an external inspection could be made for the Schedule of Condition. Three days later I received an email from said neighbour claiming an emergency had prevented him from getting to the cottage.
He is now getting a quote from another surveyor (whom we suspect may be a friend of his). Given that we gave him ample opportunities to use our initial surveyor (which he had consented to in writing), are we now legally obliged to pay for the appointment of this additional surveyor? It does seem that this neighbour is using any tactic to slow down our progress.
Answer
If your neighbour has formally appointed a surveyor (i.e. in writing) that appointment cannot be rescinded (see Section 10(2) of the Act).
It will be up to the appointed surveyor (I’m assuming he is acting as the Agreed Surveyor) to decide whether the Adjoining Owner has been given ample opportunity to provide access for a schedule to be recorded. If he considers that it has he should complete the Award on the basis of the external schedule that was taken.
by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
We currently live in an Edwardian detached flat – we occupy the upstairs and the stairway – the neighbours occupy the downstairs flat.
We are building a new 1 bed separate flat in the loft space. The only impact we think this will have is a stairwell being put in – which would lay on our floor (does this need party wall notice?) and then we will need to erect scaffolding around the whole building, including on their private land.
Please can you let me know what party wall issues are included in this and what points I must give notice and get consent for?
Also do I need this before Planning Permission is given or can I do this after – and if so – is it 2 months or 14 days prior to work commencing.
Answer
Unless the construction of the staircase involves cutting in to a party structure (wall or floor) between the 2 properties the work will not be notifiable to the downstairs neighbour under the Party Wall Act.
Presumably you have a Freeholder? It is likely that you will have to obtain a license to alter from the Freeholder and part of that process will usually involve ensuring that the downstairs neighbour does not suffer unnecessary inconvenience and that a record of the condition of their property is recorded in case of damage – check the details of your lease.
by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
Our neighbours have already started work on a side extension (single storey), foundations have been laid. The foundations come very close to/abut the boundary line. This is approx. 1.4m from the side of our house.
- We received notification that building was due to start the day before the builders arrived.
- We have not received any details regarding the nature of the work other than that which was submitted for planning permission which the council planning department informed us of, not the neighbours themselves (council say it is a ‘permitted structure’ and doesn’t require planning permission).
- Neither the neighbours or the builders have told us how long the work is continued to go on for.
Are we correct in our understanding that the work in progress falls under the jurisdiction of the Party Wall Act and as such they are in breach of the Act?
Answer
If the new structure is ‘close’ to the boundary but not on the boundary then it is only the excavation work that may be notifiable – that will depend on whether they have dug down deeper than the base of your existing foundations. If they have they should have served notice under Section 6 of the Act (known as a ‘3 Metre Notice’) at least a month before commencing.
As the potentially notifiable part of the work has already been completed (the foundations) it is now too late to serve notice.
Your neighbour will still be responsible for any damage caused by their works although it will be dealt with under common law rather than the dispute resolution procedures within the Party Wall Act.
Follow-up
Unfortunately the neighbours have failed to tell us what work they intend to carry out but we believe that they intend to build close to the boundary so that the eaves and guttering abut the boundary line (therefore the wall will be in the order of 6 inches (I guess) from the boundary. i.e. as close to the boundary as they can possibly get without being on or over it. Would this be notifiable?
Answer
No, the wall, rather than any projections such as guttering, must be on the boundary for it to be notifiable.
by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
I have issued my neighbour with two Party Wall Notices for my planned single story kitchen extension which is 2.5 metres away from my neighbour’s property, first notice giving one months notice under section 1 – building up to the boundary line and second notice under section 6 excavating within 3 metres of a neighbouring building, as I’m unsure of the existing depth of my neighbours foundations (Houses built 25 years ago).
My neighbour has ignored all notices that I have sent him and hasn’t appointed or recommended any surveyor.
My local building control officer at the council has suggested a solution that the foundations could be built in sections to insure no movement in my neighbours existing foundations. If my neighbour continually ignores the notices that I send him and carries on delaying the project, can I start using the building control officer’s solution?
Answer
The section 1 notice does not require a reply and you are free to commence that part of the work once the statutory notice period has expired. If the Adjoining Owner has not replied to the Section 6 notice within 14 days then he is deemed to have dissented and must appoint a surveyor. You need to write to him again making him aware of that fact and giving him a further 10 days in which to make that appointment – if he fails to do that you can make the appointment on his behalf.
These timescales are in place to avoid your works from being delayed.
by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
We live in a terraced house. The houses either side of us have been divided into two flats each, with the freeholds being owned by a housing association. In this situation, do we need 4 party wall agreements to be drawn up because there are 4 properties, or only 2 because there are only 2 freeholds – or even only 1 because there is only one owner?
Answer
It is likely that 2 notices will be required, one each for the Freeholders on either side, even though it is the same Housing Association (you can post them in the same envelope but they should be separate notices).
The exception would be if the flats were in leasehold ownership and the leaseholder was someone other than the Housing Association – unlikely but you can check on the Land registry website http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/.
by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
I live in a converted house with a ground floor flat (which I own) and 1st floor flat (owned by my neighbour). We both own a share of the freehold. I would like to remove a chimney breast inside of my flat which lies on the Party Wall. The house next door is also a converted house. My next door neighbours own their flats but are Leaseholders (over 80 years on their leases) and both have the same Freeholder. The ground floor flat is rented on a rolling 6 week period.
I have already had some conversations and served a few Party Wall notices to my neighbours. So that I perfectly understand who to serve the notices to, do I serve
1. my neighbour in the 1st floor flat above my flat (which I have already done)
2. my next door neighbour who is renting the ground floor flat on a rolling 6 week period AND to the owner/ leaseholder of this flat
3. my next door neighbour who lives in the 1st floor flat and the owner/ Leaseholder of this flat (which I have already done)
4. AND to the Freeholder of the property in #2 and #3
Answer
You should serve notice on the leasehold owner of the corresponding flat next door and the Freeholder of that property.
The work would not be notifiable to the owner of the upper floor flat next door (unless that property is lower than yours and you therefore share a section of the party wall), the owner of the flat above yours/your joint Freeholder although it is likely that you will require a license to consent from them (check your lease).
by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
We have planning permission to build a side extension onto our property, which is currently approx 80cm away from the 2m high party/boundary wall with our neighbours’ garden. Their house is then approx 1.5m away from this boundary wall.
We are still discussing with our neighbours whether to use the party wall or build our own wall (our preference, for ease) for our extension and have a meeting this weekend to agree this with them. However the builder would like to demolish the wall to our house to get ready to do foundations, and our next door neighbours are on holiday until Friday – is this permitted despite the fact we haven’t agreed on a party wall/adjoining wall as yet?
Answer
Demolishing walls that are wholly in your ownership (i.e not party walls or shared boundary wall) is fine so long as they are not connected to the party wall.
by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
My neighbours are building a loft extension and as part of this have started to add to the Party Wall (currently an additional 4 bricks high, but I imagine will be more).
Should they have consulted me under the Party Wall Act before they started this work ?
Answer
You should have been served with a party wall notice 2 months before work commenced. It is likely that as well as raising the party wall they will be cutting pockets in it to insert beams.
You should ask them to cease work and serve the required notice.
by The Party Wall Surveyor
Question
I plan to build a single storey rear extension right up to my neighbour’s two storey extension side wall, which consists of a cavity wall (blocks on the inner wall, bricks on the outer) that has been built up to the party line.
I hope to construct using a single block wall sat on its own foundations, and use insulation between it and my neighbour’s cavity wall to address issues of soundproofing/heat conservation, rather than build my own double-skinned wall, which would seem pretty superfluous.
Given the final wall would consist of my neighbour’s existing cavity construction, a layer of insulation and then my new single skin of blockwork, to what extent would this count as me enclosing my neighbour’s wall, or constituting a Type B party wall? My question concerns whether there are other sections of the act that are relevant, beyond 1(5) and 2(2)(j) (because I will want to insert flashing), that I may need to be aware of when serving notice.
Answer
The general test that surveyors apply is if the neighbour demolished his extension in the future would the flank wall to your new extension remain stable and comply with current regulations. If your wall consists of just a single skin of blockwork (I’m assuming 100mm thick) then the answer will be ‘no’. Section 11(11) of the Act will therefore apply and you will be liable to pay enclosure expenses.
Section 1(5) will only apply if you are building on the boundary which hasn’t already been built on by your neighbour. Depending upon how deep your foundations are you may also need to serve notice under section 6(1).
