Party Wall Consent is a legal requirement that has been in place since 1996.This law was designed to regulate building works whilst also protecting adjoining owners and occupiers during building projects. It is a separate requirement to Planning Permission and one does not have an impact on the other.
At Build Team, we can help with you with your Party Matters with our Fixed Fee Service that includes the serving of the notices and preparing a schedule of conditions.
The first step is to find out who you need to gain Party Wall Consent from. We can help you with this by identifying what neighbours will be affected. Under the Party Wall of 1996 any works that take place within 3 metres of any adjoining owner will be required to serve a Party Wall Notice. Usually with Side Return Extensions only one or two notices are required. However there can be many more and this is dependent on the set up of your neighbouring properties.
Once you know how many notices are required, our Surveyors will begin preparing the correct Party Wall Notice and serve these to your neighbours. Your neighbour then has two choices, consent or dissent. If your neighbour consents, they are agreeing to the works outlined in the notice. By consenting, they are agreeing that the level of detail detailed in the Schedule of Condition is of sufficient detail. Once they Consent to the Notice, the survey for the Schedule of Conditions can be booked in. Once this happens, Party Wall Consent has been gained.
If your neighbour dissents to the Party Wall Notice, a Party Wall Award is required. Your neighbours then have the right to appoint their own Party Wall Surveyors to act on their behalf. They are free to use your Surveyor if they are happy to but equally free to appoint another surveyor. You will be liable for the cost of that surveyor. The appointed surveyor(s) will then prepare a Party Wall Award that is fair to all parties involved. Once the Award has been issued, Party Wall Agreement is in place.
Once an agreement is in place, all building works must comply with the notice. All of the agreements should be retained to ensure that a record of the granted permission is kept. A Party Wall Agreement is valid for one year so it is important to get moving on your building works before it runs out!
