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Party Wall Agreement/Survey Questions
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Placitasgirl
Posts: 408 Forumite

My neighbours (semi detached, properties divided by a wall between us) told me two weeks ago they may convert their loft to a bedroom adding a dormer, around this time next year. He said he'd need to speak to me about this and wanted to set a date and time. I am away from home quite a bit at the moment and said I'd do it in due course as there was no rush. I'm aware of Party Wall Agreements and Surveys, the reasons for them and the timescales involved. I also told him that my house would be going on the market in either October or January and they've been aware for some time that I'm going to be moving away.
At the weekend my neighbour came to the house and said their builders "need to know what I want to do" as work may now start in July. I explained, as I had done previously that I wouldn't make a decision at the moment as surely if the house is sold, it would be for the new owners who'd be impacted by the work/protected by the survey/agreement who'd need to make the decision and not me.
So....
1) Do PW Surveys/Agreements "belong" to the owner of the property at the time they were signed, or do they transfer to new owners with the property upon sale?
2) I guess having a PWA/Survey in place on a property will potentially put some buyers off and be seen as a positive (opportunity to extend upwards) for others? We aren't in favour of the loft extension as we feel the house is already overbuilt (we live in a lovely, small cul de sac where none of the 20 properties have converted their lofts with dormers/velux windows, and they've already converted their attached garage to a kitchen, added a large rear extension, paved their front garden for parking and storage having lost the garage) but that's purely a personal thing and of course they don't need either our "blessing", support or planning permission to go ahead.
3) I'm inclined to tell them they'll have to wait and see how our plans to sell progress. Why is he so keen to rush me into telling them what I'll wish to do and formalising this now, when the agreement has to be signed 2 months before work commences?
I should add that I objected to a planning permission for a hideous, huge front porch (actually more of an extension) on the property a few years ago (as did the neighbour the other side) and this was not well received by the neighbours who are still unhappy they had to scale back their plans when permission was rejected and a smaller porch approved and eventually built.
I'd one grateful for any thoughts/advice on this as confused as to why the rush and pressure to proceed.
At the weekend my neighbour came to the house and said their builders "need to know what I want to do" as work may now start in July. I explained, as I had done previously that I wouldn't make a decision at the moment as surely if the house is sold, it would be for the new owners who'd be impacted by the work/protected by the survey/agreement who'd need to make the decision and not me.
So....
1) Do PW Surveys/Agreements "belong" to the owner of the property at the time they were signed, or do they transfer to new owners with the property upon sale?
2) I guess having a PWA/Survey in place on a property will potentially put some buyers off and be seen as a positive (opportunity to extend upwards) for others? We aren't in favour of the loft extension as we feel the house is already overbuilt (we live in a lovely, small cul de sac where none of the 20 properties have converted their lofts with dormers/velux windows, and they've already converted their attached garage to a kitchen, added a large rear extension, paved their front garden for parking and storage having lost the garage) but that's purely a personal thing and of course they don't need either our "blessing", support or planning permission to go ahead.
3) I'm inclined to tell them they'll have to wait and see how our plans to sell progress. Why is he so keen to rush me into telling them what I'll wish to do and formalising this now, when the agreement has to be signed 2 months before work commences?
I should add that I objected to a planning permission for a hideous, huge front porch (actually more of an extension) on the property a few years ago (as did the neighbour the other side) and this was not well received by the neighbours who are still unhappy they had to scale back their plans when permission was rejected and a smaller porch approved and eventually built.
I'd one grateful for any thoughts/advice on this as confused as to why the rush and pressure to proceed.
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Comments
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What specifically are they wanting from you?
Why not just wait and see what they do? If they start getting a PWA in place before you start selling, you'll simply have to deal with it.
If they posted here with their side of the query, i assume they'd simply be advised to progress with the PWA when they are ready to do so, and its up to the neighbour to deal with it.
Based on this, it looks like PWAs do not automatically move onto new owners.
"...there is no provision within the Party Wall Act for assigning and transferring the benefit of any rights derived by serving a Party Wall Notice or entering into a Party Wall Agreement or a Party Wall Award."
https://iconsurveyors.co.uk/does-a-party-wall-award-transfer-to-a-new-adjoining-owner/
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