What is the Party Wall Act?
If you or your neighbour are planning to undertake a kitchen extension, convert the loft space, reconfigure internal layouts or excavate a basement, the proposed works may well fall under the provisions of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
The Party Wall Act is an important piece of legislation in England and Wales. It is designed to facilitate development while protecting adjoining properties from damage and their occupants from unnecessary inconvenience. The Act provides a clear legal framework for resolving any disputes that may arise in relation to party walls and other party structures.
The Act broadly covers three distinct types of ‘notifiable’ work (more detail below):
Alterations to party structures, such as walls separating terraced or semi-detached houses, which can in turn be divided into flats
Excavation work within 3.00m of an adjoining or shared structure and to a greater depth than the foundations of that structure
New walls constructed up to or astride a boundary line
Where work falls within the scope of the Act, it is necessary for a building owner to serve notice and obtain the adjoining owner’s consent. If consent is not given, the parties are deemed to be ‘in dispute’ under the Act and each party must appoint a surveyor to resolve the dispute by agreeing and serving a party wall award.
The Act confirms that neighbours (adjoining owners) must not suffer unnecessary inconvenience as a result of the works and must be compensated for any loss or damage suffered. It also affords the owner who is undertaking the work (the building owner), certain rights such as a right of access to neighbouring land where that is necessary to undertake the notified works.
