Party Wall Surveyors

Adjoining Owner

This is the person or company who is the freeholder or leaseholder of the adjoining property. Also for the purposes of section 6 of the Act, a property shall be deemed to be adjoining if it is within the relevant distance even if it is not actually adjoining.

Award

An Award is a legal document prepared by the surveyor(s) and basically has four parts.

1. The sections of the Act that are applicable and the names and addresses of all the parties concerned. 2. The description of the works to be undertaken. 3. The duties and rights of the two owners. 4. The conclusion with signatures and dates.

An Award should confine itself to the work relating to the Notices but may include matters arising out of or incidental to the dispute. For example if the Notice relates to section 6 of the Act which only relates to excavation work then such matters as the wall that is built upon the foundations are irrelevant.

It should not include matters relating to any easements, covenants or restrictions, personal matters between the parties or anything unrelated to the intended works.

Building Control Body

Local authority or approved inspector

Building Owner

This is the person or company that is proposing to undertake the works and is either the freeholder or has a lease for longer than one year.

Line of Junction

This is simply another name for boundary. It is the meeting point or junction of land or properties in different ownerships.

Notices

A Notice is simply the Building Owner informing the Adjoining Owner the works he proposes to undertake. There are some guidance Notices in Part V of this booklet that may be used together with guidance replies. However a Notice may be in the form of a simple letter but for a Notice to be valid it needs to contain the following:

1. The name and address of the Building Owner.
2. A description of the proposed works.
3. The date when the works will start.

Section 1 of the Act concerning works on the Line of Junction requires a notice period of one month.

Section 2 of the Act concerning works to a Party Wall requires two months notice.

Section 6 of the Act concerning excavating near to the Adjoining Owner’s property requires one month’s notice.

The Act says that it is the duty of the Building Owner to serve the Notice but very often this is done by a surveyor acting on his behalf, providing that he has been given written authority by the Building Owner to do so.

When a Notice is served the Adjoining Owner is expected to reply within 14 days, and if he does not do so then it is taken that he dissents to the work and Party Wall Surveyors are appointed to resolve the dispute.

However it must be noted that the Building Owner and Adjoining Owner may come to any agreement they so choose at any stage and this is to be accepted by the surveyors.

Party Structure

This is a wider term, which could be a wall or partition or other structure separating buildings or parts of buildings approached by separate staircases or entrances such as flats. See diagram 5.

Party Fence Wall

This is a dividing wall between the two properties that is not part of a building such as a garden wall, but it does not include a timber fence. See diagram 3.

Party Wall

This is a wall that is commonly shared between Owners. See diagrams 1, 2 and 4.

Party Wall Surveyor

This is the person that is appointed by the Building Owner or Adjoining Owner to resolve the dispute between the parties. (The parties being the Building Owner and Adjoining Owner)

Anyone may be a party wall surveyor except either of the owners who are not allowed to act for themselves. It is however usual to appoint surveyors who are experienced in the workings of the Act, and professional bodies that deal with this are given in part 6 of this guide. They will give you names of party wall surveyors in your area.

Each party may appoint their own chosen surveyor or each party may agree to use the same surveyor. In such a case the surveyor is simply known as the ‘Agreed Surveyor’.

Schedule of Condition

This is simply taking a record of the condition of the Adjoining Owner’s property before the work starts. It is usually done by describing the walls, floors and ceilings, or indeed any other parts that may be affected by the works such as the garden fence or planting, in writing. These notes are usually supported by photographs. Recording a Schedule of Condition is not a requirement of the Act but it is most prudent to do so and Party Wall Surveyors would advise this.

If however an Adjoining Owner does not wish this to be done then an Award may be drawn up without it, but in the event that damage occurs it may be difficult to prove that the damage is attributable to the works. It is therefore highly advised that such a record is made.

Special foundations

These are foundations in which an assemblage of beams or rods is employed for the purpose of distributing any load.