Party Wall - astride boundary - what's possible with an Award?

riderjules

Rdwill said:

One further comment, do you have a shared  garden wall and want to re-build it as a party wall which is a right provided by section 2(2)(l) of the Act

(l) to raise a party fence wall, or to raise such a wall for use as a party wall, and to demolish a party fence wall and rebuild it as a party fence wall or as a party wall;

Hmm this is interesting - I don't know if the existing fence on the right side is a party wall fence.. or who owns it. The property on the right hand side to us is owned by the local authority.  Will try to find out, thank you! (On the left side, I know it's the neighbours)

Rdwill

Just be aware of the definition of a Party Fence Wall, it is a wall (not a fence) that stands astride the boundary, but does not form part of a building.

riderjules

edgex said:

Is that extra 50cm an external measurement? If so, you'll be getting less than 20cm extra on the internal dimension once the wall is built.
Is that length for a specific/fixed reason?

We'd be adding 50cm internally by extending the length of the party wall with left hand neighbour (because the wall would take up some space wherever it is). We only have the ground floor of the flat (the neighbour has the whole house), so every bit of space counts.  Also, it's not on the diagram here (I left it out for simplicity), but we have an existing rear extension that actually goes to the length that we are proposing. The current rear extension sits entirely within our boundary lines. We are wanting to knock that and rebuild, and extend it to the party walls. 

FaceHead

In summary, your surveyor is right, you need party wall consent or awards with both sides. Have you sounded out the neighbours? A box of chocolates for the neighbour, and a letter downloaded from the many templates online is usually cheaper than a surveyor. 

rach_k

I love the misunderstanding about horizontal!

I can't see if anybody has mentioned it, but I think if you're making use of a party wall that a neighbour has built and paid for, you are supposed to pay them 50% of the cost of building the wall, at today's rates.  That might help convince the neighbour with the extension as they really can't stop you but they'll get some money!

Rdwill

rach_k said:

I love the misunderstanding about horizontal!

I can't see if anybody has mentioned it, but I think if you're making use of a party wall that a neighbour has built and paid for, you are supposed to pay them 50% of the cost of building the wall, at today's rates.  That might help convince the neighbour with the extension as they really can't stop you but they'll get some money!

That was probably the intention of the left hand owner when 

a. He built it, and
b. The previous owner of your house agreed to it.

He may not be so keen on the extra 500mm. What's he going to gain, he's not going to built that small bit and you will take some of his aspect.

You may struggle a bit more with the right hand owner, you will need to sell the potential of him (or a future owner) having a built wall they can use (for a reasonable sum) and being able to maximise the size of their extension.

Ectophile

riderjules said:

@Ectophile we are not  planning to build any new walls HORIZONTALLY within 3m, which is what I thought the 3m rule applies to? Horiztonally, not diagonally

Your new wall will be butted right up against the existing walls.  The distance is zero.

Newuser1987

You only have the right to build astride the boundary if your neighbours consent to this. If they dissent then you can only build up to the boundary line.

This even applies to the small addition of wall to extend the existing party wall. Its unlikely that the neighbour would dissent to that but you never know.

As previously mentioned you will need to pay your neighbour 50% of the cost to build that wall. This will be at the cost of todays rate not what they paid at the time.

As others have said S.6 notice also applies in your situation. Also S.2 notice will likely apply to the party wall you are enclosing upon as you will need to insert flashinings or there may be other work.