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You can only begin to have a grasp of the party wall job costs once the requisite notices have been served and the adjoining owners have responded. At that point, you’ll know how many of them (and their surveyors) you will need to deal with. The notices that you will need to serve include:
When you modify the party wall or boundary wall during a renovation or construction project, you must comply with the Party Wall Act of 1996. This legal statute obligates you to inform the owners of adjacent properties about your intended works so that they may take necessary precautions and prepare for possible impacts of your construction on their homes. The law stipulates that you give your neighbours written notice one or two months prior to the beginning of your project, depending on the nature of the works. These are designed to protect “adjoining owners” and their properties.
When the notice is issued, the owner next door has three options:
The final two alternatives necessitate a Schedule of Condition on the neighbour’s property, which is obtained before construction begins, so that any existing damage is recorded and can not be attributed to the works.
The schedule of condition is issued to both parties, who each get 14 days to dispute any of its contents or findings. Any damage shown to have resulted from the works will have to be compensated for.
Of course, it is not unusual for disputes to arise between the two surveyors, which is why a Third Surveyor is selected beforehand. If the two surveyors can not resolve a dispute, the Third Surveyor makes the final call.
A Schedule of Condition (SoC) is a report crafted within the built environment that primarily catalogues the defects of a building.
While the level of detail may vary depending on the requirements of the client and the instructions accompanying the schedule, a Schedule of Condition typically contains photographs that depict the condition of the area of concern and some amount of descriptive and/or explanatory text.
An SoC has a single purpose: to record the condition of the building (in part or whole), typically at the moment of entering a lease or before certain construction activities. An SoC is important because it provides the kind of baseline forensic data that can be used to establish, with a certain degree of confidence, whether or not damage occurred during the lease or construction phase.
Typically, the Schedule of Condition is executed by the Surveyor working for the Building Owner. They conduct the inspection in such a manner that they can examine the parts of the building or structure that are in close proximity to the works and assess their condition. They inspect all parts covered under their remit. The findings of the condition survey get written up in a table and this is cross-referenced with photographic evidence accompanying it.
The report that can be used and/or referenced in a court of law. It can serve as a reference tool to substantiate financial claims made by either party regarding payment to be made as agreed by the surveyors. On average, it takes 2-3 hours to produce the document, which involves travel to the site and an inspection of the premises in question. Typical prices for the document are around £500, and they may well be included in a lump sum if the surveyor and building owner have agreed on a fixed fee prior to the inspection. If not, the surveyor charges an hourly fee.
When a building owner’s surveyor has to pay the fees owed to an adjoining owner’s surveyor, the building owner’s surveyor will first look very closely at the other surveyor’s timesheet.
Is the other surveyor asking for too much money in respect of, say, travel? Are the hourly rates reasonable? Sometimes, it might be more appropriate for the building owner’s surveyor to accept a slightly higher fee to save time. If all else fails, the matter can be referred to the Third Surveyor, who can act as an adjudicator.
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!
