Party Wall Agreement issues tackled by building surveyor Brighton

Posted by Brian Miller on February 1st, 2016

The one document that every building surveyor Brighton should refer to is the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. For a surveyor Brighton, it is very important to be clear about the terms and conditions of this Act and explain it clearly to their clients in case such an issue arises. If there are any construction and excavation which is in proximity to a building or shares party walls with adjoining buildings, the building owner should give a notice of the proposed work to the adjoining owners. There are several kinds of notices to be served, which we will discuss on details. Then there is the question of party Wall Award to be considered. There are chances of getting into a dispute and there are ways to sort these issues as well.

Party Wall Award
If the proposed construction or renovation affects the adjoining owners’ buildings then it may require you to prepare and serve a Party Wall Award with the help of building surveyor Brighton. This has been designed to protect the rights of the owners of shared party structures. This is required for both major and minor works. In some cases, the Award can be high in proportion to the shared structure. The cost is decided in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Party Wall Act. Accordingly a joint building surveyor Brighton is appointed to take care of shared structure cases.

Notices served
There are three kinds of notices served to adjoining building owners in case of shared structures or where construction or excavation may affect the neighbouring building owners. This is usually prepared and sent by the surveyor Brighton. Party Structure Notice needs to be served two months in advance in case the proposed works directly affect the adjoining owner’s wall. A Three Metre Notice requires a month’s time and is served when excavation is done within three metres of neighbouring building and the depth of the excavation is more than what the foundation depth of the neighbouring building is. A month’s notice needs to be served for Line of Junction and it is required when a wall needs to be constructed astride the boundary of the neighbouring building. The third type of notice is not very common. In this case, if there is no response within fourteen days, the construction is continued as planned.

Dispute settlement
After a notice is served, the adjoining owner is given a period of fourteen days to respond to the notice. If there is no response then the case is taken to be ‘in dispute’. The joint surveyor Brighton then acts as a Party Wall Surveyor who communicates on behalf of both the parties. He then prepares the Schedules of Condition and Party Walls Award.

If you are a prospective client who is expecting to get involved in such a situation you can take the help of a qualified and professional building surveyor Brighton and get out of any tricky case related to Party Walls. Your surveyor Brighton will explain all the above points in person and assist you in resolving any disputes that may arise in the process of Party Wall construction or excavation.

For Party Wall agreement related issues hire an expert building surveyor Brighton who can perform the functions of a joint surveyor Brighton.