Party Wall Agreement - Wasted Adjoining Owners Surveyor fees

homeowner_100

Hi,

We own a terraced house in London and last June we started the process of renewing our roof. The works fell under the party wall act and so we asked our neighbours to sign a party wall agreement. We already had a surveyor appointed along with a roofer and builder. We provided our neighbours with details of the works from our surveyor.

After asking us to modify our party wall agreement and delaying the signing of the document for a number of weeks, our neighbour finally decided that they wouldn't sign our agreement but would instead appoint an independent surveyor at our expense. The Adjoining Owners (AOs) surveyor charged us £2,500 for 10 hours work. Along with the additional fees our surveyor charged us to liaise with the AO's surveyor, we've had to pay over £5,000 in surveyor fees on top of what we already paid our surveyor for our original survey.

After completing the works and informing the AOs surveyor, and multiple attempts by the AOs surveyor to contact the AOs over a 3 month period, we were finally informed that the AOs were ready for an inspection. As an aside, the AOs were at home during this whole period and so there seems no clear reason why they should delay the final inspection other than waiting for the October rain. It's also worth mentioning that the neighbours also had an old roof and had very recently complained about leaks before we started our works.

In the email to the surveyor, the AOs stated that they had a leak and some damage on their side due to our works and were now ready to arrange a final inspection and sign-off. The next day, before even being to agree on an inspection date, the neighbour put scaffolding up outside their house and then the following day started work on replacing their roof, rafters and all. They also work on the same party wall fixing a crack in their loft.

So, after refusing to sign our party wall agreement and appointing a second surveyor at our expense costing us over £5k, and then delaying final sign-off and accusing us of damage, the AOs put up scaffolding and replaced their roof and did work on the same party wall without even notifying us. No party wall agreement, no surveyor, no nothing.

We are aware that we will unlikely be liable for any damage on their side due to them doing works on their side before final inspection, but we’ve thrown £5k away on unnecessary surveyor fees.

Does anyone know if we can take any legal action and have the AOs compensate us for wasted time and money?

Thanks

grumbler

I wouldn't be surprised if your surveyor advised his colleague to contact your neighbours and suggest them hiring him at your expense and inflate the fees you pay.

If you did some research you'd see that it's mafia of vultures exploiting one of many stupid laws in UK.

The best solution was to suggest your neighbours to hire a common surveyor at your expense.

And, if their work didn't cause any damage to your property, I think you cannot claim anything. Also, I think, you could refuse to pay anything extra to your surveyor and "liaise with the AO's surveyor" yourself.

Rdwill

Welcome to the crooked world of the Party Wall Act. Illiterate thugs demanding money with menaces is a compliment. 

homeowner_100

This is unbelievable! 

I would have thought that at a minimum I could make a complaint to RICS or is this also a waste of time? 

Doozergirl

I'm not sure what the point of a complaint to RICS would be.  The point is that they didn't hire a surveyor so you don't have a complaint against surveyors.  

The Party Wall Act is a largely toothless piece of legislation when it comes to minor works because your only route to stop work without an award is to seek an injunction to stop relevant works whilst they're being carried out. 

Now that might work if someone is digging out a basement for an office block next door, but a terraced roof could take a day to replace and that's it.  Job done, nothing that you can do other than claim against them if damage is caused. 

I really sympathise with you.  It's dirty tricks, double standards and the height of hypocrisy by your neighbours but I don't think there's anything you can do. 

Most people in most parts of the country would just get on and change the roof.   It seems to be a London thing that people get surveyors involved immediately for nothing.  

There is no sign-off procedure under the Party Wall Act, by the way.  You seem to be unaware.  

Bendy_House

Hellish.

Reading your thread, I was going to suggest that you do the same to them when the opportunity arises. Reading further, it looks like it's been and gone.

The PWA was presumably well intentioned, but is rarely needed, and easy to exploit. 

Hellish.

homeowner_100

Doesn't the AOs surveyor have some responsibility for ensuring good communication between the 2 parties and completion of the party wall process (i.e. arranging for sign-off), or is his duty of care to simply take my money and then let the chips fall where they may?

Surely having failed to maintain contact and communication with the neighbours he has failed in his duty and is at least partly responsible?

Rdwill

As a complaint your only recourse is to bring in a 3rd crook, and he's on double what the other two incompetents are on, and a member of the same lodge / faculty.

A totally abhorrent system that needs to be outlawed.