If someone is about to start construction on or around a Party Wall, a Party Wall Notice needs to be served to the affected neighbours. This is a legal process to avoid any Party Wall Act Dispute in litigation at a later date.

In this article, we will learn how you can you serve a Party Wall Notice and when it’s too late to obtain a Party Wall Award.

How to send a Party Wall Notice?

A written Party Wall Notice is required to be sent by the neighbour who is to proceed with the construction work on a Party Wall or other affected works covered under the Act. The recipient party, if they agree to the works without any objections then consent to the notices in writing, only then the construction works can proceed. Otherwise, a Party Wall Act Dispute has been deemed to occur

When to send a Party Wall Notice?

A Party Wall Notice needs to be sent one-two month before the construction work are planned to start. In the case of excavation, a Party Wall Notice is required to be sent to the neighbouring party, elaborating the work to proceed with relevant detail drawings.

When is it too late to send a Party Wall Notice?

The Party Wall Notice needs to be sent one-two months before the construction work begins

If the neighbour(s) does not respond then the matter will have to be settled by appointing Surveyors, one for each party as a Party Wall Act Dispute has deemed to occur. They will survey both the buildings and draw up a Party Wall Agreement.

If anyone forgets to serve the Party Wall Notice and they commence construction without either consent or a Party Wall Award in place, they may be liable for litigation costs under the  Party Wall Act Compensation. In some cases when the construction work has progressed considerably it can result in the responsibility of proving damage was pre-existing from the Adjoining Owner to the Building Owner.

How Long It Will Take To Prepare Party Wall Agreement?

After providing all the information regarding the construction and some essential details about both of the parties, the processing for Party Wall Agreement can begin. It takes three to six weeks to prepare the Party Wall Agreement. Sometimes, the procedure can take up to two months if the necessary details have not been produced. After the Award is served, both parties has 14 days to appeal at the county court. To avoid any Party Wall Agreement Dispute,a person should hire a reliable Surveyor who can serve formal party wall notices to the neighbours in the first instance.

Not familiar with when to obtain a Party Wall Award? Do you need help or advice about a Party Wall Act Dispute? Do you want to know about the Party Wall Agreement? Get some free advice from the Surveyors at Seven One Associates. They can provide reliable Surveyor and can solve all the problems related to Party Wall construction and help you get Party Wall Act Compensation as well.