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They need to serve you notice and it is your right to demand that they do so. However, before you request, you should ascertain whether the work in question is even notifiable under the Party Wall Act. If your neighbour is doing any of the following—excavating anywhere near the legal boundary (section 6), putting up a wall near the legal boundary (section 1), or cutting into a wall that straddles the legal boundary—it is likely notifiable.
Your neighbour is supposed to give notice. If they don’t, you can’t invoke the Act, and your only recourse is to obtain an injunction preventing the neighbour from proceeding with the work unless they have complied with the party wall process. Your surveyor and solicitor can work together on this.
If you can not organise a party wall award, the legal entanglement can vary in extent and cost and can lead to a series of court injunctions lasting for an indefinite period that prevent the party wall work from proceeding until the building owner gets into compliance with the Act.
It would seem wise, then, to build the party wall requirement into the project costs and to allow the time necessary to secure it into the overall project programme. In some cases, agreements can be reached quickly, particularly if the neighbour is in a good mood and consents to the party wall notice (in which case no Award is needed).
A handful of legal cases stemming from the 1996 Party Wall Act have involved notifiable work carried out without either consent or an Award being in place. The incidents documented in these cases tended to occur where things have gone wrong and no Party Wall Award was in place. It is our fear that the trend may continue and that an increasing number of property owners may end up liable.
If the property of the adjacent owner is damaged and compensation is sought, a surveyor or judge would not look kindly upon a building owner who disobeyed the Act. You can’t get out of it by simply doing the work without following proper notification and consent procedures.
It is still possible to bring in the surveyors once some or all of the work is underway, but it’s an awkward situation that could largely be avoided by doing things right ahead of time. If some of the work that was originally “notifiable” is still under construction, you can still give notice.
For instance, if notice to demolish or rebuild a party fence wall was not served and the work is already in progress, then notice can still be served for any excavation or new foundation work that is relevant to the project.
Next, appoint surveyors and quickly prepare a Schedule of Condition before any harm is done to the adjacent owner’s property.
According to the Party Wall Act, an excavation that is within 3 metres of an adjoining owner’s property (i.e., their foundations) is covered under the Act.
If you propose to dig to a depth lower than the depth of the adjoining owner’s foundations (which are also covered under the Act), you must give a section 6 notice to the other owner. You do this because the Act protects the other owner’s property rights from your excavation work.
When determining the appropriate foundation depth for a particular property, there is much for an experienced surveyor to consider. A party wall surveyor will take into account the year that a property was constructed and the approach used when making an educated determination about the likely depth of the adjacent owner’s foundation.
In some instances, the owner of the property who is facing the construction makes a request to dig a trial pit to verify the existing foundation’s dimensions.
The Full Building Survey report includes the following:
When it comes to the detail that the surveyor will go into concerning defects, repairs, and maintenance, the Homebuyer Survey is fairly standard. Full Building Surveys, however, are more refined and go into more detail about possible and likely defects. Repairs and maintenance are covered in more detail. The Survey cost depends on the age, size, and value of the property.
The analysis they undertake is a visual inspection. This means that, for the most part, the building components that can be seen will be looked at and assessed in accordance with the surveyor’s remit. The Home Survey Report will show you the visible defects and then go on to discuss the kinds of partially hidden or totally hidden defects that the surveyor thinks you should be aware of. It will also try to clarify what kinds of repair work need to be done and the nature of the repairs. The survey is effectively a way to consider “defects” and their potential impact on the building.
A Building Survey Report contains the most important information for understanding the condition of a property. The surveyors that undertake the work follow a set procedure. The first part of the report contains a general overview of the property and its surroundings. The second part details the major and minor problems with the property’s components, inside and out. These problems range from serious structural defects to issues with doors or windows that don’t close properly, and everything in between. The report is written in clear English, complemented by diagrams and photographs. If any of the problems found are what a surveyor might consider important, that’s what the report indicates—using clear and unambiguous language.
Surveyors usually use a tick box to indicate methods of repair when drafting a building survey report. They are also required to comment on the timescale of any repairs. A condition rating is typically included: what needs to be addressed immediately, what is in the process of deteriorating but is in reasonable condition, and what has not deteriorated at all.
A building surveyor is responsible for a variety of checks and tests during a building inspection. These could be checks or tests for damp and woodworm, or they could be visual inspections of the building’s structure. In building surveying, there are visual inspections of roofs – checking for tiles and slates (if applicable) and also checking for leadwork (if applicable) and looking at the junctions between roof and wall. If the wall structure has brick in it, the surveyor will visually check for any “spalling” (brick breaking apart visibly) and any bulging (brick failing to hold its place visibly), for example.
If defects need fixing immediately, then the options recommended for this survey specify what to repair and give some idea of how long the problem has existed. For the most part, this survey describes recommended repair approaches that are standard in the industry and that do not require excessive expenditure. Future maintenance is also discussed, including what to expect when the problem being surveyed is not repaired and what to expect with repairs that are made but with questionable methodology.
Your surveyor will explain some of the legal aspects of purchasing the building, covering—in as much or as little detail as you desire, and their implications, but this is subject to your solicitor verifying.
You might consider having a separate market valuation done to determine whether the property’s asking price is warranted. You’ll also need a reinstatement cost valuation for insurance reasons.
RICS’s industry guidelines suggest building surveys for properties that are large, very old, in some disrepair, or have unusual features. Building surveys are also recommended if you plan to do any significant renovations or extensions.
If you’re purchasing a relatively modern home that’s in decent shape and built to ordinary standards, then a Home Buyer Survey is an acceptable choice. If you want the assurance of an inspection and report that are pretty much guaranteed to turn up any issues that might be hidden or just hard to see, then you should go for a Full Building Survey instead.
The Full Building Survey is more detailed; it is more specifically tailored to the property your surveyor would be inspecting. It also comes with more advice on the visible defects found and on the potential hidden defects that they suspect may be present. Your surveyor will illustrate reports with photographs so that you can clearly see what has been discovered. Both the Home Buyer and Full Building Surveys describe the repairs needed, the order in which the repairs should be done, and the kind of “maintenance measures” that will be required to keep the property in good condition.
A HomeBuyer Report does include a market valuation as well as reinstatement costs. However, a Full Building Survey does not. The main reason for the differences in what is and isn’t included in the two types of reports is how focused the reports are on the condition of the property. The Full Building Survey is the most in-depth and comprehensive survey of a property that you can have done.
If you live in Notting Hill and are having a disagreement with a neighbour regarding a party wall, contact us for advice today. Your shared wall is, quite literally, a joint asset. You won’t be able to solve your disagreement without appointing a surveyor if there is a dispute, as it is required by the Party Wall Act 1996. The panel comprises Notting Hill party wall surveyors and we can help you understand this very important aspect of construction law.
Looking for a Chartered Surveyor? If you are buying a property, contact us for a building survey. Our panel of CIOB, RPSA and RICS surveyors will help you with the Level 2 or Level 3 property survey you need in Notting Hill. We can also assist you in Red Book Valuations, Party Wall Awards and other services. Reach out to us today for building surveyors, valuers and party wall surveyors in London!
