We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
Neighbour building works & Party Wall Act

itm2
Posts: 1,398 Forumite



Our next door neighbours are planning major building work on their house, and we've just been solicited by a chartered surveyor advising us that the works fall under the Party Wall Act 1996, and offering their services.
The neighbour's house is adjoined to ours. Both are 3-storey townhouses, built around 1970. Our house has a ground floor extension at the back, with a roof terrace on top. The neighbours are planning to build a similar extension and roof terrace at the back, and also to dramatically remodel the front of the house. The plan is for a more period look, with sash windows all round and a completely new bay window on the ground floor. Our house has a more conventional modern townhouse look, with a garage on the ground floor.
The neighbours moved in a couple of years ago. and we get on well with them. Although they hadn't shared any of the detail of the current plans, we were aware that they were keen on building an extension similar to ours. We don't have any objection to the plans (although we're obviously not looking forward to living on a building site for months while it is in progress), I guess we need to be cautious about any negative impact that the works may have on us, as well as ensuring that we don't end up with any costs as a result.
Coincidentally, we have also been contact by neighbours on the other side regarding other works - amongst their planned work is this:
"To excavate to a depth of around 1.0m below ground level for underpinning existing perimeter wall to construction site and for new connected floor structure, reducing the founding depth of such wall by around 0.6m; to underpin existing perimeter wall to construction site in a controlled and sequential manner to suitably mitigate risk of ground movement. It is NOT proposed to underpin or otherwise strengthen or safeguard the foundations of your building/structures."
We have also been contacted by their building company requesting an agree or dissent decision within 14 days.
We have no experience of this sort of thing, and have no idea whether it is a good idea to engage a chartered surveyor. I was wondering if anyone here had any experience in this area and could offer any useful tips?
The neighbour's house is adjoined to ours. Both are 3-storey townhouses, built around 1970. Our house has a ground floor extension at the back, with a roof terrace on top. The neighbours are planning to build a similar extension and roof terrace at the back, and also to dramatically remodel the front of the house. The plan is for a more period look, with sash windows all round and a completely new bay window on the ground floor. Our house has a more conventional modern townhouse look, with a garage on the ground floor.
The neighbours moved in a couple of years ago. and we get on well with them. Although they hadn't shared any of the detail of the current plans, we were aware that they were keen on building an extension similar to ours. We don't have any objection to the plans (although we're obviously not looking forward to living on a building site for months while it is in progress), I guess we need to be cautious about any negative impact that the works may have on us, as well as ensuring that we don't end up with any costs as a result.
Coincidentally, we have also been contact by neighbours on the other side regarding other works - amongst their planned work is this:
"To excavate to a depth of around 1.0m below ground level for underpinning existing perimeter wall to construction site and for new connected floor structure, reducing the founding depth of such wall by around 0.6m; to underpin existing perimeter wall to construction site in a controlled and sequential manner to suitably mitigate risk of ground movement. It is NOT proposed to underpin or otherwise strengthen or safeguard the foundations of your building/structures."
We have also been contacted by their building company requesting an agree or dissent decision within 14 days.
We have no experience of this sort of thing, and have no idea whether it is a good idea to engage a chartered surveyor. I was wondering if anyone here had any experience in this area and could offer any useful tips?
0
Comments
-
How did the surveyor know there was work being done? Does that firm/individual have any connection to those working on your neighbours house? (sorry but I have a suspicious nature) Basically you need to have someone who is neutral to assess things as they affect you, not how your neighbour's builders want to present things.
As for neighbour 2 - I really have little idea of what that means. But once you know you have a tame surveyor working for you I'd suggest you tell/ask N2 to pay for a survey to be done to see how this will affect your property. This of course may take time and so the initial reply might be "we don't agree at this time but are happy to discuss further once an independent survey is done to see how this affects our property". Don't bow to time pressure.
I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Debt Free Wannabe and Old Style Money Saving boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
"Never retract, never explain, never apologise; get things done and let them howl.” Nellie McClung1 -
I have a Planning Application in currently and I have received dozens of letters from building touting to do the work. I'm assuming builders and surveyors just write out when they see a planning application like ambulance chasers.30+ years working in banking1
-
>we've just been solicited< No doubt scours through planning applications and then acts like an ambulance chaser.
It is the building owner that is carrying out the works and instigating the party wall process (by the serving of notices) who must pay for the Party Wall Surveyor if you dissent or do not respond to the notice.
>We have also been contacted by their building company requesting an agree or dissent decision within 14 days.<
If you dissent or do nothing which triggers automatic dissent after 14 days, then you can appoint a Party Wall Surveyor to act on your behalf and they pick-up the bill. NB they can dispute the fees, but very rarely is this successful.
Either way, I think the OP needs to start speaking to local surveyors to sound them out about acting at the Party Wall Surveyor on their behalf on the two jobs.0 -
Hi itm2.That surveyor will likely have picked up on the proposed work from the council website, or a contact there. They can be termed, with a considerable degree of accuracy, as 'ambulance chasers'.You already have an extension, and the neighbour wants something of a similar size? This should be straight-forward, and they should have submitted their plans to Building Control. In which case, these should outline how they will handle attaching to your existing extension - shared wall, roof join, etc.It's a shame they haven't come round to discuss this with you, as they should be able to put your mind at rest on this - these are the detailed plans, this is the Archi we used, and we are planning to use this builder, who has a great reputation... sort of thing. Then you can discuss anything that may concern you - 'How will the two roofs join?'. 'How deep will you need to dig the founds along our wall?' If this has all been catered for, then I personally, and provided I liked and trusted the neighbour, would be 'happy' with the fact that BuildControl will (should) be checking these major steps. If you agree to not employing a PWA surveyor, you'll have saved them £1k-upwards, and they should be grateful.Bear in mind that if their builder messes up, then you are still covered. PWA surveyors are mainly useful if there's a lack of trust between the parties, or the 'party' parts of the work are really involved - say sliding steel joists into party walls, and stuff like that. They are rarely needed.The other neighbour is potentially more tricky, in that they seemingly need to dig down deep in order to underpin their founds? It really comes down to how close they are to your house. Same rules apply - they should have a detailed description of the proposed work, almost certainly backed by a Structural Engineer, and a reputable builder lined up. I'd take it from there...0
-
Yes my first thought was that they were ambulance chasers, working off planning applications on the council website.
Re. the 2nd neighbour (who is requiring an answer within 14 days): If we engage our own surveyor, but the building owner is liable for the associated cost, what is to stop us from hiring the most expensive surveyors in the country to do the work?0 -
ThisIsWeird said:The other neighbour is potentially more tricky, in that they seemingly need to dig down deep in order to underpin their founds? It really comes down to how close they are to your house. Same rules apply - they should have a detailed description of the proposed work, almost certainly backed by a Structural Engineer, and a reputable builder lined up. I'd take it from there...0
-
>what is to stop us from hiring the most expensive surveyors in the country to do the work?<
If the instigator of the building work feels the PWA surveyors fees are not reasonable, there is a right to refer the matter to the Third Surveyor or appeal the award in the County Court (within 14 days of the award being served).
0 -
itm2 said:Yes my first thought was that they were ambulance chasers, working off planning applications on the council website.
Re. the 2nd neighbour (who is requiring an answer within 14 days): If we engage our own surveyor, but the building owner is liable for the associated cost, what is to stop us from hiring the most expensive surveyors in the country to do the work?Party wall surveyors are not like solicitors. You don't need one to act for each party. A party wall surveyor references the act and ensures that the work complies. They don't look after people's interests. So, if you feel that a party wall surveyor is needed, do your neighbours a favour and just have one surveyor between you, paid for by them.There is no need for two on what, in the grand scheme, is a very simple
project.Your attached next door neighbours may not even need to contact you under the act. I think it's a bit unfair of anyone to expect them to have contacted you already when they are probably only just going through planning and are at the start of the process themselves. The PWA stuff comes later, so they've done nothing wrong.Can you see the plans yourself on the planning portal? We can probably tell you if the act applies at all, if you could post a picture? Those ambulance chasers will send letters for anything, they're not examining the plans in detail.Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
1 -
Yes I have access to the plans - there are 12 diagrams.
The rear extension is the dining/kitchen area in this diagram (our house is to the right):
https://imgur.com/faaVpuD
The proposed front is here (our house is on the left):
https://imgur.com/nZX20A8
I suppose the biggest concern that we have is what is the worst case situation if there is damage done to our property, and how can we mitigate against it?
0 -
itm2 said:Yes I have access to the plans - there are 12 diagrams.
The rear extension is the dining/kitchen area in this diagram (our house is to the right):
https://imgur.com/faaVpuD
The proposed front is here (our house is on the left):
https://imgur.com/nZX20A8
I suppose the biggest concern that we have is what is the worst case situation if there is damage done to our property, and how can we mitigate against it?The rear extension appears to be built by extending the party wall. The act does apply here. Sometimes people get a bit precious because they feel that the neighbour is taking their land, but it by far the best way to build when your houses are attached. Because the new party wall straddles the boundary (just like the existing party wall inside your house) it means it will be yours to extend and attach onto in future. It means that both houses gain the maximum size of extension possible and there will be no horrible gap for dirt and debris to get into and cause damp problems for you both.The rainwater system should be designed so it isn't at your side of their extension. I'm sure the architect will have designed it correctly.The only other place the act applies is if their new foundations are deeper than yours. Remember that their house is the same building as your house, they will be looking after their own interests too.If this were my neighbour I wouldn't be too concerned with surveyors, it's a very simple 'bread and butter' task for a builder. I would like to know who the builder is and ask what due diligence my neighbours had done on them, are they members of the federation of master builders, for example, and are your neighbours following due process and obtaining building control approval with inspections during the build.Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
2
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 348.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.1K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.3K Spending & Discounts
- 240.7K Work, Benefits & Business
- 617K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.6K Life & Family
- 253.9K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards