The Party Wall Act

The Act enables a building owner to attempt work within the scope of the Act and unless an adjoining owner consents to the works, the act sets out a procedure whereby the problem is referred to surveyors for determination by Award. The Party Wall Act 1996 is intended to supply a framework for preventing and resolving disputes with regards to party walls, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings.

The Act provides a fair solution to the issues that are frequently encountered when building on or adjacent boundaries or in confined areas. The Act also covers "party structures" such as walls, floors or other partitions between parts of a building in separate ownership.

Does the Act affect the ownership of a celebration Wall? No, but in many cases the Act will prevent disputes arising in the first place.

Party Wall Surveys Goddington  provides a building owner, who wishes to carry out various sorts of work to a preexisting party wall, with additional rights going beyond ordinary common law rights. The Act also provides a building owner should never cause unnecessary inconvenience. Even though Act contains no enforcement procedures, starting work without serving a notice could mean your neighbour could seek a court injunction or other legal redress. An adjoining owner cannot stop someone from exercising their rights directed at them by the Act, but might be able to influence how and at what times work is undertaken. Adjoining owners should remember that the primary purpose of the Act is to facilitate development.

Beneath the Act, notice should be served and if agreement cannot be reached, surveyors may be appointed.

If agreement cannot be reached between neighbouring parties, the procedure is as follows: A Surveyor or Surveyors is/are appointed to find out a good and impartial Award, either: An 'Agreed Surveyor' (someone acceptable to all parties), or two surveyors representing both property owners. Both surveyors will nominate a third surveyor who would be called in only if both surveyors cannot agree. In  Additional resources , surveyors appointed under the dispute resolution procedure of the Act to draft an award must behave impartially and think about the interests of both neighbours.

The surveyor (or surveyors) will prepare an "award" (also referred to as a "party wall award"). It is a document which: sets out the task that will be carried out, says when and how the work is to be carried out (for instance, not at weekends if the buildings are domestic properties), records the condition of next door prior to the work begins (in order that any damage can be properly attributed and made good), allows access for the surveyors to inspect the works while they are going on (to see that they are relative to the award). The surveyor (or surveyors) will decide who pays the fees for drawing up the award and for checking that the task has been completed relative to the award.

The owner undertaking the construction is manufactured legally responsible for putting right any damage caused by undertaking the works, even though the damage is caused by his contractor. Although minor works on a celebration wall are usually regarded as too trivial to come beneath the remit of the Act, the main element point to be looked at is whether any planned work could have consequences for the structural strength and support functions of the party wall.