Party Wall Notices Prepared For You

The Plan Centre can review your proposed designs to determine the types of Party Wall notices required and the relevant parts of the Act that apply.  The notices are drafted and sent back to you for serving on your neighbour (adjoining owner).  This service can be provided from £50.  Please contact us for further information or click on the image for a Party Wall booklet

Loft Conversion Example

Loft conversions generally require a Party Structure Notice to be served on the adjoining owner two months before the proposed start.  The Notice is normally required to undertake the following works:

• Cutting into the party wall for pockets for steel beams
  
• Weatherproofing the join between the new work and the existing by cutting a lead flashing into the existing party wall
  
• Raising a party structure, such as a party parapet wall or party chimney stack
  
• Removing a chimney breast and/or chimney stack from the party wall.  
  

What Is The Party Wall Act

 This Act puts in place steps to safeguard the rights of those undertaking certain types of building work and the rights of their adjoining neighbours. The Party Wall Act works to protect the owner undertaking the works, through the party wall surveyors, by ensuring that the work is lawful, whilst also protecting their neighbour’s rights in the event of damage occurring.  Although the Party Wall Act in its present form is relatively recent, similar Acts have been in force within the London area for hundreds of years and they have now been extended to cover the entire country.

The basis of the Party Wall Act continues to define and affirm the rights of a person (referred to as the ‘building owner’) wishing to cut into a party wall or to excavate for new foundations within three metres of an adjoining structure. The neighbour(s) that either share ownership of the party wall or are within three metres of the new excavations are referred to as the ‘adjoining owner(s)’. Both parties may appoint a party wall surveyor if the building work is subject to the Party Wall Act.   Click on the image for a to view the Act on the Government portal.

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Party Wall Notices - So What's Required

Types of Notices

Party Structure Notice -  cover works notifiable under Section 2(2) (a) to (n). In general the works are significant alterations to the Party Wall itself and include work such as cutting in to the Party Wall for any purpose, e.g. inserting a damp course, removing a chimney breast, inserting beams etc.  This notice must be served two months prior to your proposed start.

Notices of Adjacent Excavation - relate to works notifiable under section 6 of the Party Wall Act and there are two types.

1. Excavation within a distance of three metres of a building or structure of an adjoining owner where any part of the proposed excavation will extend to a lower level than the level of the bottom of the foundations of the building or structure of the adjoining owner
   
2. Excavation within a distance of six metres of a building or structure of an adjoining owner where any part of the proposed excavation will meeet a plane drawn downwards at an angle of 45 degrees from the bottom of the foundations of a building or structure of the adjoining owner
   

A Line of Junction Notice - is served under Section 1 of the Act and covers two types of work:

1. The construction of a new wall adjacent to a boundary.
   
2. The construction of a new wall astride a boundary.
   

The notice period required is 1 month before the intended start date for the building works. The notice must state the desire to build and describe the intended wall.  If no response is received to a Section 1 notice, relating to the intention to build a new wall up to the boundary, the work can commence when the notice period has expired. The Building Owner may place below the level of the land of the adjoining owner such projecting footings and foundations as are necessary for the construction of the wall.  An adjoining owner may prevent the building of a new wall astride the boundary. If the adjoining owner does not respond in writing within 14 days the building owner will have to build the new wall entirely on his side of the boundary line. The Building Owner may place below the level of the land of the adjoining owner such projecting footings and foundations as are necessary for the construction of the wall.

Serving Notices

The Party Wall Act requires a written "party wall notice" to be served on adjoining neighbours affected by works under the Act. The Plan Centre can offer a quick service for preparing and sending professional party wall notices.  All we require are the details of your neighbour (or legal owner), a copy of the drawings and a description of the proposed works.  We will review the information to determine the Part Wall implications and draft the notices.  The notices are then sent or emailed back to you for serving to your neighbour with a copy of the project drawings.  Alternatively we are happy to serve the notices and drawings to your neighbour.

What Happens Next?

Once you have served a party wall notice upon your neighbour he/she has 14 days in which to respond in writing or using the provided acknowledgement form.  If your neighbour does not respond to you within the 14 days or disputes the proposed works then both you and your neighbour must appoint Party Wall Surveyors.  You can jointly agree upon a single party wall surveyor.  The Party Wall Surveyors will review the requirement of the proposed works and request further information if required.  The Surveyors will also provide a schedule of condition of the relevant parts of your neighbours property.  The project drawings and the schedule of condition are then combined with a Party Wall Award allowing the works to proceed.
The Building Owner who proposes to undertake the works is normally responsible for all reasonable costs in the preparation of the Award and Schedule of Conditions.  The appointment of a joint surveyor is normally the most cost effective way to proceed.

The Party Wall Award

The party wall surveyors will prepare a fair and impartial Party Wall Award which will deal with the right to execute the party wall works, the time and manner of executing any party wall work, and any other matter that arises between the parties connected to the party wall works. The Party Wall Surveyors will prepare a report, called a “schedule of condition”, of the neighbouring property before works start in order to protect the interests of both parties in the event of a later claim for damages. 

Consent to The Party Wall Notice

The Party Wall Notices include an option for your neighbour (adjoining owner) to consent to the works.  This option allows the building owner to get on with the works with no further action required or costs incurred. This also means that you do not have a schedule of condition drawn up of your neighbours property making any future claims for damages harder to dispute.  Once your neighbour consents to the works, signs the form and returns it to you; the works can proceed after two months unless an earlier date is agreed.