Not every work requires a Party Wall Agreement. It depends on the complexity of the work. For example work like plastering the wall, drilling the wall of your house internally won’t require any party wall agreement. At the same time minor repairing work would not require any Party Wall Agreement. So, when do you need a Party Wall Agreement? You’d need a Party Wall Agreement if you:
- Do Loft Conversion which affects the Party Wall.
- Do Extension which affects the Party Wall.
- Make any changes to the Party Wall with your proposed work between Terraced or Semi-Detached houses.
- Change the size or height of the Party Wall.
- Construct a second-floor extension above a shared wall.
For further information and your next project Get a quote today!
What Happens if Your Neighbors don’t Consent to the Proposed Work?
It is better to talk to your neighbors first before sending them a Party Wall Notice, which is a legal notice of the work that you are going to do. It must be sent to the concerned neighbors between 2 months – 1year in advance of the work starting. Talking to the neighbors first would result in a positive situation for both the parties; cause sometimes the lawyers who are specialized in this filed would ask the concerned owners to not agree to the Party Wall notice even when the neighbor doesn’t have any problem with the work proposed. This is due to the fact that the consenting neighbor would be responsible for paying the surveyor’s fee if they needed to hire one to defend their position in the event that they did not consent.
If the neighbors are okay with the work, then you can go ahead and start the construction. If they are not, then you would need a Party Wall surveyor. Both the parties in this dispute can hire the same Party Wall Surveyor or hire their own individually. The Party wall Surveyor would then provide both the parties with a Party Wall Award, which is a legal document, containing how the work would be done, the hours and who would bear the costs including the fees of the surveyors.
Do you Need a Party Wall Surveyor for Party Wall Agreement?
Party Wall Surveyor would only be needed if the neighbours do not consent to the proposed work. The Party wall Surveyor would then provide both the parties with a Party Wall Award, which is a necessity in such cases.
In any case, you are still liable for making sure that any damage caused by the work is fixed. Before work begins, inspect the wall with your neighbour and take and share photos of the wall to avoid future arguments over issues like cracks or other damages. In order to reduce the likelihood of disagreements, some people decide to hire a surveyor to conduct a condition survey at this point.
Looking for Party Wall Agreement?
At Xline Architecture, we make sure you do not need to worry about all the legalities of the Party Wall Agreement. We take care of that for you. We make sure your Loft Conversion or Extension goes smoothly without any obstacles. Call us at 02080509695 today to inquire if you need a Party Wall Agreement.
Share:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
On Key
