Party Wall Consent or Surveyor

carmijoon

Hi, my neighbour has got planning permission and would like to have two storey extension plus loft extension. He suggested to have a party wall so we can also use it if we decide to extend in the future.

He said that having a party wall is more beneficial for me than him as we are going to use the same wall for any future extensions in our side. When I said that they will also benefit by saving some space, he said that few centimetre is not important for him at all and this is more beneficial for us. Which I did not like the fact he is pushing to say he doesn't care about party wall and is mainly a favour to us.

The neighbour said he will send notice and documents soon and will need me to give him consent so he can go ahead with his plan. I am happy for him to go ahead with his extension plan and I do not want to stop him, however I am not confident to give him a consent without having any professional involved to supervise the extension.

I have read that I need to refuse the consent and ask for dispute to get a surveyor involved. But what should I do in my case where I am happy for them to go ahead but I want to have all the agreements to be official and not by signing documents that have been prepared by him?

Thank you!

Doozergirl

It's not a dispute, it's called dissent.

You can use the same surveyor to save money.

But let me tell you, they will agree methods in advance and do a schedule of condition of your house, but they won't be supervising the works and there is no formal sign off at the end. It's something you do at the beginning. It is always the builder's responsibility to get things right.

If it is a simply dig and build, and you want an easy ride from your neighbour in future then it might be an idea to go without the PWS. When you do build, the party wall elements will be more involved and you'll be having to produce more drawings than they will, so it will be more expensive.

Their PWS will also tell them very quickly that you'll have to pay half the cost of building that wall when you do build.

Don't get personal about who is benefitting. Your neighbour wants you to agree so he's going to sell the benefits to you. The simple fact is that it benefits both of you, even if you don't build, but he is right that you will benefit most in future as if he builds to the boundary rather than astride it, you will be obliged to leave a decent gap for maintenance, then lose another 30cm in the building of the second, paralell wall. The person who builds first can gain only gain 15cm from building astride the boundary. The second owner to build can be heavily disadvantaged if it isn't a party wall.

teneighty

Just say you will give consent on the condition that he instructs an independent party wall surveyor to draw up a full party wall agreement.

carmijoon

Doozergirl wrote: »

It's not a dispute, it's called dissent.

You can use the same surveyor to save money.

But let me tell you, they will agree methods in advance and do a schedule of condition of your house, but they won't be supervising the works and there is no formal sign off at the end. It's something you do at the beginning. It is always the builder's responsibility to get things right.

If it is a simply dig and build, and you want an easy ride from your neighbour in future then it might be an idea to go without the PWS. When you do build, the party wall elements will be more involved and you'll be having to produce more drawings than they will, so it will be more expensive.

Their PWS will also tell them very quickly that you'll have to pay half the cost of building that wall when you do build.

Don't get personal about who is benefitting. Your neighbour wants you to agree so he's going to sell the benefits to you. The simple fact is that it benefits both of you, even if you don't build, but he is right that you will benefit most in future as if he builds to the boundary rather than astride it, you will be obliged to leave a decent gap for maintenance, then lose another 30cm in the building of the second, paralell wall. The person who builds first can gain only gain 15cm from building astride the boundary. The second owner to build can be heavily disadvantaged if it isn't a party wall.

Thank you! He also mentioned that he will let me use the party wall for free when I want to build. So I assume the offer is on the table if we don't go through PWS. I also want to sort this out with the most friendliest way. I also prefer if he can save money to go without WPS.

However, If I give him consent to build without using PWS, I am worried that:

1- If I go without PWS and give him a consent, I am still protected under party wall act?

2- If I want to sell in the future, potential buyers will prefer to see a wall party agreement that has been drawn up by an independent PWS rather than us. Is that right?

3- I am not sure if they build the wall exactly as they should do. How much they should use my space and gap in between etc. Will PWS help with where the wall should be exactly build up? As I am not expert and this is worrying me.

4- If I take it easy and go without PWS, there is not guaranteed that he will take it easy with me in the future when I want to build and he will probably ask for PWS etc.

5- Can I involve a PWS without dissent? So the PWS just draw up the agreement and charge him less?

6- What other people normally do? Give consent without involving PWS?

Thank you again,

zaqxsw

Well you have a lot of questions which I will briefly answer:

1- If I go without PWS and give him a consent, I am still protected under party wall act?

Yes. If for example, damage were to occur, and you couldn’t resolve it amicably, you could appoint a surveyor to adjudicate. You are only consenting to allowing the work to proceed - not any other issue / dispute that may arise.

2- If I want to sell in the future, potential buyers will prefer to see a wall party agreement that has been drawn up by an independent PWS rather than us. Is that right?

Not really. I have to say, most party wall agreements are not very interesting.

3- I am not sure if they build the wall exactly as they should do. How much they should use my space and gap in between etc. Will PWS help with where the wall should be exactly build up? As I am not expert and this is worrying me.

Yes - a party wall surveyor can help by getting you more information on the proposed build. In the first instance, you could agree the position of the new wall by agreeing it with your neighbour, directly, perhaps by using a piece of string / marker. A party wall surveyor will probably not set the boundary for you. If you do not consent to the wall being partly on your land, your neighbour will have to retreat to his own land.

4- If I take it easy and go without PWS, there is not guaranteed that he will take it easy with me in the future when I want to build and he will probably ask for PWS etc.

Neighbours often reciprocate. The other to use the wall for free at a future date may also be withdrawn to recoup costs associated with surveyors fees.

5- Can I involve a PWS without dissent? So the PWS just draw up the agreement and charge him less?

Yes - but I doubt you would save much. It would also be hard to find a surveyor who would do this.

6- What other people normally do? Give consent without involving PWS?

There is no normal. As a surveyor I send out hundreds of notices and neighbours respond by consenting / dissenting in equal measure. You need to think solely about your own circumstances and primarily what is right for you.

Good luck!