Party wall

sam_280729

We are working on the party wall agreement for the last 15 months with our neighbor and they are keep coming up with new things and not agreeing on anything. Now they have raised the boundary dispute after a year into this process. we are not sure how long it is going to take to sort this boundary matter.  We can't go to a third surveyor as this is a boundary dispute. The AO's surveyor already billed us around 6000 pounds so far without the PW award and chasing us to pay. Not sure, if we can challenge this bill as we are in the middle of the process. If yes, how can we challenge this and what is the impact of this on the party wall award? 

Doozergirl

It's not for your neighbours to decide on anything.   The PWS is there to agree everything totally impartially.  It isn't a negotiation, it's an assessment that the proposed works are safe.  There's no way it should be taking 15 months.  

You're not using the same PWS?  What does your say about this ridiculous timeline? 

What work are you carrying out? 

I'm not a PWS, but I thought that  there were timelines laid down on the Act to stop this sort thing happening.  The Act is there to facilitate building work that you are legally entitled to do, not allow your neighbours to frustrate it! 

You can appoint a third surveyor but this doesn't help with costs.  It might help to speak to another one to get some advice on what is reasonable.  A boundary dispute has nothing to do with the PWS as far as I know, it should be dealt with separately.   It shouldn't be coming up after a year.  

Are the surveyors registered with RICS? Perhaps they can offer some advice where you're unhappy with their conduct. 

Legal protection with your home insurance that might help defend any boundary claim? 

Any way around the Act at all for you?  

mug2007

We didn’t pay or receive the AO bill until after the PW award was issued. I think you can challenge unreasonable costs.  

This sounds like a total nightmare, 15 months is a ridiculous time and £6000 in AO costs is eye watering. I am so sorry this has happened to you.  I don’t think you should pay an enormous bill just because you have objectionable neighbours. 

You need to find out what the bill breakdown from the Party wall surveyor and question it if it seems unreasonable.  It sounds like if you can’t sort it out through your surveyor then you it can be looked at by a third surveyor incurring even more fees.  What a joke!!

The party wall act needs reform, the fees for building owners can be unfair, disproportionate and unnecessary. I would complain to RICs and your MP.  

See this link

https://insideconveyancing.co.uk/legal-talk/judicial-guidance-on-challenging-the-fee-of-a-party-wall-act-surveyor/

‘First the fees in question must be reasonable, see s 10(13). The building owner need not pay the adjoining owner’s surveyor’s fees where they are unreasonable in amount because, for example, the surveyor has sought to charge too high an hourly rate, or has charged for unnecessary work, or has taken an unreasonable amount of time to do the work that he has done.

Secondly, the building owner will not be required to pay the adjoining owner’s surveyor’s costs when these have resulted from unreasonable conduct either on the part of the adjoining owner or the surveyor. The adjoining owner must act reasonably.’

Rdwill

Blimey, you've had a worse experience than me, search back my threads if you want to see the detail.

Are these clowns charlatans surveyors in the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors (FPWS) or Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)?

If FPWS then they so have a code of conduct and a complaints procedure

https://fpws.org.uk/fpws-code-conduct/

https://fpws.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-09-23-005-Guide-to-Code-of-Conduct.pdf

RICS also have a complaints procedure 

https://www.rics.org/uk/footer/contact-us/concerns/

https://www.rics.org/globalassets/rics-website/media/upholding-professional-standards/sector-standards/building-surveying/party-wall-legislation-and-procedure-rics.pdf

I'd be using both of these if I were you, but I think the RICS one has more teeth from my understanding.

From the FPWS code of conduct 

With respect to acting ‘expeditiously’, the following should also be noted:

(i) The Act’s processes are clearly intended to be implemented efficiently and in a timely manner. The various timescales within the Act are indicative of such. As a general guide, the majority of awards should be completed within a matter of a few weeks at most, particularly those involving relatively straightforward works within a residential setting. Larger, commercial developments or complex residential proposals may often require longer time scales due the complexity of the works and/or the number of adjoining owners.

You never stated whether this was a simple residential build, or are you planning a shopping center?