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 | Party Walls and Notices? |
3 WHAT IS A PARTY WALL?
A wall is a "party wall" if:
(a) stands astride the boundary of land belonging to two (or more) different owners or
(b) stands wholly on one owner's land, but is used by two (or more) owners to separate their buildings. Where one person has built the wall in the first place, and another has butted their building up against it without constructing their own wall, only the part of the wall that does the separating is "party" - sections on either side or above are not "party". A wall is a "party fence wall" if it is a wall which is not part of a building, that stands astride the boundary line between lands of different owners and is used to separate those lands for example a garden wall). This does not include such things as simple fences. The Act also uses the expression "party structure". This is a wider term which could be a party wall, party chimney stack or a floor partition or other structure separating buildings or parts of buildings approached by separate staircases or entrances (for example flats). 4 WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS UNDER THE ACT IF I WANT TO DO WORK ON AN EXISTING PARTY WALL?
The Act provides a building owner, who wishes to carry out various types of work to an existing party wall, with additional rights to do so. These go beyond ordinary common law rights. Section 2 of the Act lists what work can be done. The most commonly used rights are:
5 WHAT ARE MY DUTIES UNDER THE ACT?
If you intend to carry out any of the works mentioned in section 4, you must inform all adjoining owners, as defined. You must not even cut into your own half of the wall without telling the next door neighbour of your intentions.Although the Act contains no enforcement procedures for failure to serve a notice, if you start work without having first given notice in the proper way, adjoining owners may seek to stop your work through a court injunction or seek other legal redress. A neighbour cannot stop someone from exercising the rights given to them by the Act, subject to the procedures being followed, but he can influence how and when the work is done.
6 WHAT ABOUT THINGS LIKE PUTTING UP SHELVES OR WALL UNITS, OR INSTALLING RECESSED ELECTRIC SOCKETS, OR REMOVING AND RENEWING PLASTER? Minor works on a party wall are usually considered to be too trivial to come under the Act. Examples of minor works may include:
The key point is whether your planned work might have consequences for the structural strength and support functions of the party wall, and whether it is possible that it might cause damage. If you are in doubt about whether your planned work requires a notice you should seek advice from a qualified building professional. In any event, discussions with your neighbour can go a long way to
Essentially, an adjoining owner is anyone with an interest greater than a tenancy from year to year in the adjoining property. If the next door property is occupied by a long term tenant or leaseholder it will be necessary to notify the landlord as well. Where there is more than one owner of the property, or more than one adjoining property, it is your duty to notify all of them. 7 WHO COUNTS AS AN "ADJOINING OWNER"?
Whilst there is no official form for giving notice under the Act, your notice must include the following details:
You may deliver the notice in person and hand it to the adjoining owner or send it by post. Where the neighbouring property is empty or the owner is not known, you may address the notice to "the owner" of the premises and fix it to a conspicuous part of the premises. You do not need to tell the local authority about your notice but it is
You do not need to appoint a professional adviser to serve the notice on your behalf but take care to serve a valid notice.
The Act also says that a building owner must not cause unnecessary inconvenience. The building owner may have to provide compensation for any damage caused and must provide temporary protection for buildings and property where necessary. | |
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