06
Jun
Party Wall Act of 1996 – What is it and what are your obligations under it?
The Party Wall Act of 1996 may sound like an unnecessary hassle, but its objective are to prevent disputes arising between neighbours. It sets up a legal right and a framework to undertake certain works that might otherwise constitute trespass or nuisance. It is nothing to do with planning permission or building regulations but a totally separate bit of legislation.
You can understand neighbours not being overjoyed at the prospect of having their homes foundations undermined by builders in mini diggers, excavating alongside them or knocking into the party wall at loft level, and even potentially coming through the wall into the loft. The Party Wall Act is designed to assist both sides in negotiating this potentially challenging affect of building and restoration projects.
This article will be useful to anyone undertaking an extension or new build throughout England. If you are in North West of England, then we are a local architects firm who can provide specific hands on help with party walls. You can contact us here.
A Step by Step Guide
In order to obtain a Party Wall Award, you would need to follow these steps in the order their are set:
Is a Party Wall Award required?
The circumstance when its not required is when your project is based in a remote location and out of distance from surrounding building and is 6 meter distance away from the boundary, Furthermore,if you agree with any of the following statements then you will need an application:
Undertaking work to an existing Party Wall? Such as removing chimney breasts, working with foundations or increasing the height of a party wall.
Planning to build up to the boundary line with your proposed building? Such as extending or building up to the boundary, or changing the existing boundary.
or the proposed foundations are within 6m distance to our neighbour’s house foundations?
It is prudent to check your status and determine what type of Party Wall Agreement notice you need to send when you get to Step C.
Contact your Neighbour to show your plans
By doing this it will can sometime have positive impact on a quick agreement. Discuss your plan and note down any of their concerns to which may need to be addressed. However, if face to face meeting is not feasible then a letter or email contact is required to inform of your intentions. The benefits of obtaining early will reduce costs and delay if they agree to consent to the notice; thus the energy with task cannot be underestimated!!
Ensure the appropriate application is served
Please note, if you submit the wrong application not only will it cause a delay but will increase in cost thus, the right application going forward is vitally important. Also, on many occasions many of our past project have required more than one award simultaneously ? For example;
- The loft extension (Cyan) needed a Party Structures Notice.
- The garden wall (Green) needed a Line of Junction Notice.
- The rear extension (Blue) needed a 3m Notice of Adjacent Excavation.
- The side extension (Pink) needed a 6m Notice of Adjacent Excavation.
The important fact is to ensure the accurate type of notice is served for the project. The right type of notice to use will depend on the work you are planning to build and typically more than one type of notice will need to be issued. See following link to see example of free online Party Wall Notice Templates.
Adjacent Excavation Notices
TYPICAL EXAMPLE — ALTERATIONS TO AN EXISTING PARTY WALL
Some loft conversion examples could be:
- Cutting into a party wall to insert and support a new beam
- Building new firebreak party walls in the loft if there are none
- Building up the existing party walls above roof level to form new sides to a full-width dormer
For assistance, use an Expert: A Party Wall Surveyor
If your confused or encounter a problem with the other party whom don’t agree with the plans as they not sure or even just because they have forgotten to sign the notice in time (they have 2 weeks). or do not fundamentally agree with the Notice?then is recommended to use independent expert . Not only will they help you to resolve the dispute amicably but will minimize your stress.
When this happen it it best to appoint an independent Party Wall Surveyor to draw up and make a fair Party Wall Award for the work. However , if this is not possible both parties can appoint their own Party Wall Surveyor to resolve the matter, If it does reach this stage, it will be expensive and your programme of work will be delayed thus it is critical you maintain good communication before the start of your project and use the approach in Step B to reach an agreement.
As part of any agreement ensure a Schedule of Condition is included.
This document provide transparency and builds trust between both parties as it clarifies the conditions agreed and safeguards both parties involved from further disputes. It will stipulate to avoid future claims of damage by series of conditions, ie, recording written statement and taking photos at every stage of the works. Once finalised the copy will be signed by both parties at end of the works to confirm their acceptance ,
Programme this activity at the start of your project so Party Wall Application fit within your plans
If this is not considered from the outright it will could possibly derail your project significantly as The Party Wall Act sets out a notice period of 2 months to complete this activity, thus resulting in delay of the work to commence on site as the work should not be started on site for 2 months after the notice is agreed, or a party wall award is made. To avoid this, your neighbour will need to agree in writing to waive the notice period, so that works can start straight away after the agreement. Please note the award is valid for one year and give copies to all of your operatives, especially the Planning Supervisor, Contractor and Building Control Officer.
Are you confused? Don’t know what to do to get a Party Wall Awards for your project?
By providing a simple plan for obtaining Party Wall Award it will assist your build project to run peacefully on site. If you have any questions Contact Us and we’ll be ready to advise the right way forward. For greater detail, you could look at this Guide to Party Walls on the Gov.UK website.