Most of us, share a part wall with our neighbour and few property development areas cause upset and dispute, than those arising from works to these shared walls.
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Party Walls, Party Structures and Party Fences are all deemed to be jointly owned and The Party Wall etc..Act exists to protect the building integrity and thereby the two owners: the Building Owner who is carrying out the works and the Adjoining Owner too.
What is a party wall?
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (Click to read act) exists to protect shared walls when works are carried out. The Act enables the Adjoining Owner (person who lives next door to proposed works) to appoint a Surveyor to inspect, document and scrutinise the propoesed works at the Building Owner's cost. The Building Owner being the person who wants to do the work.
The Act recognises two main types of party wall. These are referred to as a “party wall” or a “party fence wall”. A wall is a “party wall” if:
- It forms part of a building and stands astride the boundary of land belonging to two (or more) different owners (see diagram 1); or
- It separates buildings and it either
- stands astride the boundary of land belonging to two (or more) different owners (see diagram 2); or
- stands wholly on one owner’s land, but is used by two (or more) owners to separate their buildings. Where one person has built the wall in the first place, and another has butted their building up against it without constructing their own wall, only the part of the wall tbat does the separating is “party” – sections on either side or above are not “party” (see diagram 3).
A wall is a “party fence wall” if it is a wall, which is not part of a building, that stands aside the boundary line between lands of different owners and is used to separate those lands (for example a garden wall) – see diagram 4. This does not include such things as wooden fences.
The Act also uses the expression “party structure”. This is a wider term which could be a party wall or a floor partition or other structure separating buildings or parts of buildings approached by separate staircases or entrances (for example flat) – see diagram 5.
Typical works that should require party wall notification
- injecting a damp proof course into a shared wall
- tanking a shared wall
- installing a concrete lintel, steel girder or timber support into a shared wall
- underpinning a structure in close proximity to a shared wall
- building an extension near to a shared wall
- raising a party wall at roof level to enclose on it and build habitable space at roof level
- building a wall on the party line where the foundations may spread into the adjoning owner’s property
- opening up the floors between flats and altering joists, floor constructions etc..
- work on an existing wall or structure shared with another property (section 2 of the Act)
- building a free standing wall or a wall of a building up to or astride the boundary with a neighbouring property (section 1 of the Act)
- excavating near a neighbouring building (section 6 of the Act)
- undertake the duties of the Party Wall Surveyor
- carry out continuous inspections throughout the works
- arrange for the engagement where necessary of the second Surveyor
- arrange all the necessary negotiation or preparation of the Party Wall Award
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Building Surveying is about following knowing how buildings have been built over the years, the different materials that were available at the date of construction, what with hindsight we now know about such materials in order to follow the trail of suspicion and report on defects and remedies. Our role is to package this in clear, helpful advice..
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