Home Extensions and Alterations
As anyone who is considering building an extension will have realised, neighbours have an important role to play in many aspects of the planning process.
They will experience some of the pain of the work without enjoying the benefits, so it is crucial to keep them informed and on side. It is also a point of law that you must give them notice before starting work close to the boundary with their property. Getting this wrong could delay your build and make your project more costly. Getting it right will provide the foundations for a smooth build.
If you are carrying out works governed by the Party Wall Act, you need to serve a party wall notice on your neighbours. This must be done at least two months before the notifiable works begin, and at least one month before the “notifiable” excavation works begin. “Notifiable” work is either building work which affects a party wall or boundary line, or excavations within three or six metres of a neighbouring property (depending on the depth of the foundations you are making). This will include most extensions and basement and loft conversions.
You need to serve notice on all the owners of every neighbouring property affected by the works, both Freeholders and Leaseholders. You don’t need planning permission for your plans to serve notice, and once you’ve done so you can take up to a year to start work.
If your plans change slightly after you’ve served notice – for example, if you decide to increase the depth of your extension – you should be able to submit revised drawings to your neighbour without having to serve a new notice.
There is “realistic potential” for damage when undertaking party wall works, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Failure to comply with the Act could result in your neighbour taking you to court and obtaining – at your expense – an injunction to prevent you from continuing with the work…. And that’s not the worst of it. “If you haven’t adhered to the Act and you cause major damage to your neighbour’s property, the Judge can award compensation for any loss or damage resulting from the works, including legal costs”.
If, on the other hand, you correctly serve notice on your neighbours and damage occurs, “any disputes over that damage will be dealt with by Surveyors rather than at common law.”
The Party Wall Process
Once you have served notice, your neighbours, known as “the adjoining owners”, have 14 days to respond. Work can go ahead immediately if they agree in writing. If they dissent or fail to reply the matter goes into dispute, and this is when it can become expensive.
You should give your adjoining owners at least 10 days to decide whether one surveyor can act for both of you or whether two Surveyors should be involved in drawing up a party wall award, which lays out the rules your builder must adhere to while carrying out the party wall works. Your neighbour’s property will also be surveyed both before and after the works are carried out to see if any damage has occurred, which you’ll need to repair.
You could save at least £500-£1,000 if you can agree with your neighbour on the appointment of a single Surveyor, known as the “agreed Surveyor”. For this reason it’s a good idea to talk to your neighbours before you formally serve notice and ask them if they are planning to dissent. “If so, ask them whether there is a surveyor they’d like to use “That way you can appoint one surveyor from the start that you can both agree on, and save yourself time and a second surveyor’s fees.”
The term “surveyor” is defined in the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 as any person who is not a party to the works…. we are well placed to assist Homeowners in achieving the right outcome and keeping costs to a minimum.