Flat Living is all about getting along with other home owners. Typically, you have neighbours to the left and to the right, above and below. Your walls are also your neighbours’ walls; your floor can be just inches from someone’s ceiling and your ceiling the same distance from someone’s floor. So it helps a lot if everyone can get along!

Thankfully, most flat dwellers behave with consideration for their neighbours in terms of everyday noise and so on. But when it comes to making alterations to a flat that may affect neighbouring properties or even neighbours above or below, there is statutory legislation in place to anticipate and resolve any issues or concerns. This is the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.

The term Party Wall refers to a wall shared by buildings or flats belonging to different owners. A Party Fence Wall is a shared boundary wall between gardens and a Party Structure can mean a floor between flats or a partition wall between flats on the same floor.

Notifiable under the Act

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 sets out many types of work that are ‘notifiable’ under the Act. It requires building owners to send a Party Wall notice to all ‘adjoining owners’ who are notifiable under the act.

Examples of work that are ‘notifiable’ under the Act include removing chimney breasts, building rear, side and basement extensions, doing an attic conversion, inserting beams or padstones into a Party Wall, injected damp proof courses, and doing works to floors between flats.

It is important to bear in mind that most blocks have a Freeholder (or Landlord) as well as a number of Leaseholders, while any neighbouring blocks are likely to have a similar arrangement, which can make the whole process that bit more complicated.

The Lease

Depending on the terms of the Lease, the leaseholder undertaking works may also require a Licence to Alter (formal consent) from their Landlord. This is a separate process to that required under the Party Wall Act. The Licence to Alter does not supersede the requirements of the Party Wall Act, although the terms of any Licence may have regard to the requirements of the Party Wall Act. The Landlord may agree that a separate Party Wall Award is not required on the basis that the requirements of the Party Wall Act can be included in the Licence.

A Party Wall Award may however be required for other leaseholders who may be “adjoin owners” under the Act.

Who is notifiable?

If you are proposing works that are notifiable under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, you first have to work out who the adjoining owners are. This is a statutory requirement. Legally, the ‘adjoining owners’ own or occupy, with an interest greater than a one year tenancy, a building neighbouring the building owner’s property. These will naturally include the Freeholder, but may also include one or more Leaseholders, depending on the works and whether you live next door to a building divided into flats. The land registry – although not always up to date – should indicate who the legal owners are.

Depending on the particular works, a surveyor will be able to advise which of the three different types of notices is required: a Line of Junction Notice, a 3m or 6m Notice or a Party Structure Notice. A surveyor is also well placed to prepare and serve the Party Wall Notices because it is important to understand the proposed works, determine the notifiable works and identify the adjoining owner correctly.

Where possible, it is a good idea for the building owner to raise the prospect of undertaking the work informally with the neighbour, before asking a surveyor to serve official notice. Template notices are available, but there is no guarantee that they will cover everything relevant to the particular circumstances, so professional assistance is very much recommended.

In addition to the statutory requirements of the Party Wall etc. Act, you may find that you are require a Licence to Alter or permission from the Freeholder to do works to your flat.

Starting the surveyor process

The surveyor will begin the process by reviewing the plans and identifying any potential problems before quoting a fee. The ‘building owner’ (the owner carrying out the work) then formally appoints the surveyor by letter. The surveyor will check the land registry to ensure they have the correct owner’s name for the adjoining property and send them a notice of the proposed works. Once they have received a notice, the adjoining owner can ‘consent’ or ‘dissent’ to the works. ‘Consent’ means allowing the work to go ahead surveyors being involved, so ‘dissent’ does not necessarily mean objecting in principle, but simply appointing a surveyor to oversee the process, whether this is their neighbour’s surveyor or one of their own. Equally, ‘consent’ does not mean agreeing to defective works and the Act can be used at a later date to resolve any dispute.

If the owner of the adjoining building formally dissents but is happy to let the work go ahead under the supervision of an expert professional, they can agree to accept the first surveyor as an ‘agreed surveyor’, but they also have the right to appoint a surveyor of their own. If the two parties appoint different surveyors and then cannot agree on any particular matter, a Third Surveyor adjudicates.

Except in very exceptional circumstances, the surveyors’ fees are paid by the building owner. These vary widely depending on the job, but typically surveyors appointed by the building owner will quote a fixed fee, while the adjoining owner’s surveyor charges by the hour.

Schedule of Condition

Once surveyors have been appointed, the surveyors will prepare a schedule of condition of the adjoining owner’s property – essentially this is a detailed record of the state of the property, noting any damage or significant wear and tear. An accurate schedule is essential so that it can be shown that any subsequent damage to the property is a result of the work and not pre-existing factors. If there are two surveyors, the adjoining owner’s surveyor will review and sign off the schedule to say they agree it is accurate.

Once a schedule of condition of the adjoining owner’s property has been prepared, the surveyors or agreed surveyor prepare a document called a ‘Party Wall Award’. This sets out exactly how the work should proceed and the rights and responsibilities of each party. The award also covers things like access for the surveyor, as well as working hours (how early it can begin and how late it can go on if there is likely to be noise or other disruption) and what happens in case of damage. When all this is agreed by the two surveyors and the award has been served on all owners, the work can begin.

Finally!

Once the work is concluded, there is no need for the surveyor to get involved unless there is any damage to the adjoining property. If this is the case, the Party Wall surveyors will refer back to the award and determine how the damage should be dealt with, whether through financial compensation or repair.

Clearly the process is far from straightforward, but a good building surveyor will have the expertise and experience to make it look that way. If the process is conducted professionally, it does save a lot of potential conflict and discord in the long run. If good fences make good neighbours, the same goes for Party Wall matters!

Ruth Haynes is a Chartered Engineer and heads up the Party Walls team at Earl Kendrick Associates.