If you’re looking to find out about party wall rules for extensions you’ve come to the right place. This blog will take you through everything you need to know; from understanding when you need to send a party wall letter to neighbours (known as a party wall notice) and when you need to appoint a chartered surveyor. If you’re looking for RICs chartered surveyors in London, Essex or beyond, Taylor can help with all your party wall extension agreement needs.
What is a Party Wall?
A party wall divides the buildings of two different owners. It sits directly on the boundary of land between the two. A good example of a party wall is the walls that are shared by semi-detached and terraced houses.
What is the Party Wall Act and how does it affect my extension plans?
If you’re planning work that will affect a shared wall, the Party Wall Act will come into play. You’ve got to appreciate that building works could generate noise, cause damage to your neighbour’s buildings, inconvenience, and interruptions. Therefore, you must serve your neighbour notice of any work on or near a boundary at least two months prior to starting. The neighbour can consent to the work, refuse consent or can counter-notice.
If your neighbour agrees and signs the consent, that’s the end of it. The neighbour may consent but may still want a party wall agreement put in place as a backup. You will need a surveyor to draw this up and they will need a surveyor too. They can use your appointed surveyor, or they can choose one of their own. It’s better for you if they use your surveyor otherwise you’ll incur double the cost. Furthermore, if you have different surveyors, they may disagree on the terms and so a third-party surveyor will have to be employed to make the final decision. That’s then going to cost you three times as much! You could save costs by finding out which surveyor your neighbour intends to use and then appoint them yourselves.
Your neighbour may counter-notice and you may then be required to carry out additional work such as underpinning or strengthening the foundations for instance. If your neighbour disputes your request and you fail to come to an agreement, it is frustrating, but it doesn’t mean that your extension can’t go ahead. It is then up to the surveyor as a professional and impartial party to decide if the extension can proceed, what the details of the job are and how it can be built. Once the surveyor makes a decision, this is known as the party wall award.
What if I don’t hear back from my neighbour after serving a party wall notice?
The adjoining owner has 14 days to respond to your party wall notice. If they don’t then the final notice is served and they have a further 10 days to respond to this. If there is again no response, you are considered to be ‘in dispute.’ A surveyor can be appointed on behalf of them to allow the party wall matter to go ahead. This allows the building to progress, but the adjoining owner still has legal protection.
It’s interesting to note that you may still need a party wall agreement even if you have a detached house. It depends on how close your house is to your neighbours, as any work may cause potential disruption to foundations. Also, note that the party wall notice is different from planning permission and building regulations and must be served separately.
Can I build an extension without a party wall agreement?
You can build an extension without a party wall agreement but not having one is a big risk as you will not be protected against fraudulent claims from the other owner. This could cause a lot of stress. Some people aren’t aware they need to serve notice to their neighbours so sometimes surveyors can become involved in party wall disputes retrospectively. It’s difficult to authorise work under the Act when this happens. Whilst not usual, legal involvement and costs can occur, stopping the party wall works for an indefinite period. Your neighbour can apply to the court for an injunction. This is extreme but you need to be aware that it could happen! You’d have to cover the legal fees if they take you to court and you may still have to pay the builder even if they’re unable to work because of the injunction.
With the agreement, you’ll have a Schedule of Condition which is an independent report created by a surveyor that outlines the state of repair and condition of the neighbour’s property. Without an agreement, if there’s any damage during the build, you won’t be able to compare conditions before and after. Your neighbour could then claim pre-existing defects were caused by your extension even if they weren’t! You’re then obliged to put right and pay for any damage they claim your extension caused.
Without serving notice, you may also cause bad blood with your neighbour – you don’t want to live next door to someone you don’t get on with! It can also put your project way back on the timeline too if you haven’t got the agreement in place and your neighbour then contests it.
If you plan to carry out work that affects your neighbour, it’s always wise to err on the side of caution and appoint a party wall surveyor to get a party wall agreement. If you need t, Essex or the surrounding areas, contact Taylor for all your party wall extension queries. We can talk you through the process, everything from sending a party wall letter to neighbours to settling disputes.