A Party Wall Award which is also referred to as the party wall agreement is the formal document that is prepared and agreed by the Party Wall Surveyor(s) once the Party Wall procedures are complete. Our Party Wall Surveyor in London can help guide you through the process with a free consultation.
The party wall award will commonly include the schedule of condition report which includes site inspection of the adjoining property, usually undertaken pre-construction works. The inspection will result in a thorough report which documents the condition of the adjoining property. This report is very important in the surveyor’s assessment of the property post works and importantly confirming if damage has been caused as a result of the party wall works.
The party wall award governs the time which the building owners’ contractor will be able to undertake the party wall element of the construction works on site. This may vary or differ to the local authority working hours.
The party wall specialist will include within the party wall award which will give the building owner or their contractor the legal right of access onto the adjoining owner’s property for works that are covered under the Act. The said access of the works would in normal circumstances be considered trespass and thus has to be undertaken under the provisions of the Party Wall Act, which is invoked by way of official valid Party Wall Notices and if require an Award. The award will carefully govern the access and ensure that any protections during the course of access are in place.
The party wall agreement also looks at the manner in which the works are undertaken. This can be anything from the use of certain types of tools to the way in which the works are undertaken on site. Importantly these will often be protective measures in an effort to bring the risk of damage to the adjoining owner’s property to a minimum.
When there is no party wall agreement, there isn’t any financial protection for the adjoining property in more high-risk works. The party wall award ensures that there is a sum of money held on account in case the building owner abandons or stops the works which will allow the adjoining owners to utilise the funds for protection/redress.
The party wall award will include clarification on the necessary steps to be taken should there be any damage to the property. The award ensures that in the event of dispute, the dispute will be passed to the surveyors who will be bound to resolve it. This means that the adjoining owner will not have to go to timely and costly civil procedures to recover the cost of repair.
The award is served commonly via royal mail post and the building owner will have obtained the legal right to commence the party works to their property.
What is a party wall agreement? Contact us to find out more and get help from our specialist party wall surveyor in London.