Looking for a Party Wall Surveyor services in Northamptonshire? Members of the Northamptonshire Structural Network  can help you avoid or resolve any disputes or disagreements with your neighbours when carrying out renovations, alterations or making structural changes to your home

The Party Wall etc Act 1996 provides a framework for preventing and resolving disputes in relation to party walls in Northamptonshire, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings. A building owner proposing to start work covered by the Act must give adjoining owners notice of their intentions in the way set down in the Act. Adjoining owners can agree or disagree with what is proposed. Where they disagree, the Act provides a mechanism for resolving disputes.

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THE PARTY WALL PROCEDURE

SERVICE OF NOTICES
Building Owners must notify all affected Adjoining Owners of proposed work that falls under Sections 1, 2 and 6 of the Act. Due to the complexity of the process, this is normally undertaken by an appointed surveyor but some homeowners choose to serve notice themselves. Sections 1 and 6 have notice periods of 1 month whilst for section 2 it is 2 months.

RESPONSE
Upon receipt of a notice, an Adjoining Owner can consent or dissent. Here, it is worth noting the unhelpfulness of the wording as Owners are not consenting or dissenting to the work taking place. They are simply confirming whether they wish to appoint surveyor(s) to represent their property interests.

The different responses are:

• CONSENT
• DISSENT AND CONCUR IN APPOINTMENT OF AN AGREED SURVEYOR
• DISSENT AND APPOINT THEIR OWN SURVEYOR

SCHEDULE OF CONDITION
This is a photographic and written record of the Adjoining Owner’s property before work starts, which allows the surveyor(s) to determine whether damage has or has not been caused.

AGREEING THE PARTY WALL AWARD
The Award (often incorrectly called a Party Wall Agreement) sets out the parties involved and the notifiable work and determines the manner in which it is to be undertaken and its timings. Surveyor(s) may for example, require that cutting into the party wall for steel beams be undertaken with hand tools only, or that excavations close to the Adjoining Owner’s extension be dug in 1m sections rather than in one go.

SERVICE
Once the content of the Award, including any relevant drawings, is concluded, the Award is then served on both owners. The Building Owner can now legally start work, subject to the passing or waiving of any notice periods.

FINAL INSPECTION UPON COMPLETION OF WORKS
Here, the surveyor(s) check off the Schedule of Condition and, if all is well, close the file. If damage is noted, then the Adjoining Owner can either have the Building Owner’s contractor make the repair or receive a payment in lieu and instruct their own contractor.