Proposed Extension do I need Surveyor?

twang72

Hi my next door neighbour has put in a request for planning permission for a proposed house extension its yet to be approved by the council (am keeping tabs on it!) but I have received several Survey letters asking me to take on their services under the party wall act stating by law I must have a Surveyor and its my neighbour that must pay up the cost.

My neighbour has told the other neighbours to ignore the letters ! But when I discussed the matter they suggested similar saying nothing will happen and we can't pay such high cost, but I did tell them we will need to get further advise from council.

Quick check on Surveyor cost and its £800-£1250, so not surprised neighbours don't want to fork out so much cost !

My question is, to cover my property from damage should I choose a Surveyor for 100% sure ?

Also should I wait for planning to be approved, then take out the surveyor ? (in case its not approved)

Appreciate the advise since never been in this position, thanks.

booksurr

so rather than listen to tittle tattle, what research have you done yourself on why and when the party wall applies and how it operates?

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance

MrJB

Depending upon the scope of the work, they're foolish for not instructing a party wall surveyor - it's really in everyone's best interest to have instructed one and protects them as much as it protects you. The procedure basically records the condition of the properties prior to the work, and then if there is any damage after the work it enables the parties to seek recompense, no damage, no harm!

HouseBuyer77

As above you should consider instructing a party wall surveyor.

However choose one of your own, not one that pushes speculative leaflets through the door. A decent firm shouldn't need to engage in that sort of advertising.

AndyBSG

If their extension comes under the scope of the party wall act then you are legally entitled to get a party wall surveyor in which they must pay for.

However, if they commence and finish building the extension before you do this then the Party Wall Act becomes as much use as a chocolate teapot.

Our neighbour ignored the party wall act and then rushed the extension through as quickly as possible knowing full well once building was completed there was nothing we could do.

The second planning permission is granted I suggest you tell them that until they've paid for you to have a surveyor round you don't want to see any building work done or you'll apply for a cease and desist injunction.

Of course, whether you actually follow through with that threat is another matter as an injunction can backfire as shown in the link below but the threat will make your neighbour think twice and if they have any sense they'll comply with the Act and pay for your surveyor.

http://www.collier-stevens.co.uk/surveyors-blog/2014/careful-party-wall-injunction/#.VwJ-mZwrJoE

MrJB

AndyBSG wrote: »

If their extension comes under the scope of the party wall act then you are legally entitled to get a party wall surveyor in which they must pay for.

However, if they commence and finish building the extension before you do this then the Party Wall Act becomes as much use as a chocolate teapot.

Our neighbour ignored the party wall act and then rushed the extension through as quickly as possible knowing full well once building was completed there was nothing we could do.

The second planning permission is granted I suggest you tell them that until they've paid for you to have a surveyor round you don't want to see any building work done or you'll apply for a cease and desist injunction.

Of course, whether you actually follow through with that threat is another matter as an injunction can backfire as shown in the link below but the threat will make your neighbour think twice and if they have any sense they'll comply with the Act and pay for your surveyor.

http://www.collier-stevens.co.uk/surveyors-blog/2014/careful-party-wall-injunction/#.VwJ-mZwrJoE

Well if they've failed to instruct a party wall surveyor, and you suffer a loss through their failure, ie your property is damaged as a result of the works, then you would still have a civil claim against them and would probably win.

AndyBSG

MrJB wrote: »

Well if they've failed to instruct a party wall surveyor, and you suffer a loss through their failure, ie your property is damaged as a result of the works, then you would still have a civil claim against them and would probably win.

Yeah, but the whole point of the surveyor is to establish the condition your property was in prior to the work taking place.

If there was no surveyor you have to be able to prove that any damage was actually caused by their building work.

In our case since the building work was carried out we can now see lines of damp on our party wall which show the outline of where our pre existing breeze blocks are in cold weather, you can actually see dark lines through the paint that are damp to the touch showing the cement lines between the blocks.

Prior to their extension we never had this issue but the onus is now on us to prove this.

We've got to pay for a surveyor to come in at out own cost to prepare a report with evidence proving this then we have to decide if the risk and cost of taking them to court is worth it on the chance the evidence isn't strong enough for us to win the case and claim any costs and damages for remedial work or if we just bite the bullet and pay the cost for any remedial work we need to.

The Party Wall Act is seriously flawed because the penalties for ignoring it require court action which could fail and cost the victim

twang72

Much appreciated, yes I have googled and checked some information ie Act info and read through many of these surveyor letters and emailed them with general questions though some are iffy with replies and info.

I too believe its best to cover my backside approach and get the survey done, its not my cost and it protects my property after all. I am not surprised the neighbour insisted it was not required and to relax considering the £1250 price tag ! If this causes issues between us so be it really.

One surveyor has suggested I have to wait for planning to be approved before being appointed do you feel this is correct ?

G_M

On principle I never respond to ambulance chasers - whether speculative letter/phone calls/leaflets etc from no claim no fee solicitors, surveyors or anyone else.

But yes, you should get a surveyor involved - just one you find for yourself.

As soon as the PP is granted, have a chat with the neighbour (over tea and cake?) to discuss, so that you can manage the process as amicably as possible.

but follow up that chat with a friendly note: "Nice to see you yesterday, and to hear more of your plans. This is just to confirm that my surveyor for the Party Wall Agreeement will be xyz. Let me know who you'll be using and we can get them in touch with each other."

There is the option of using the same surveyor, which reduces the cost for your neighbour, and assuming you don't foresee any major disagreements this should be fine.

twang72

Would be lovely to get a surveyor myself but as said its cheaper for for both to use the same one, its the neighbour that has to pay that pricey bill after all.

But thanks yeah I assumed once PP is approved then you can really only go forward with the surveyor will wait a few weeks to find out if its approved or not.

Much appreciated all for the advise also.