Party Wall Injunction

[edit] What is a "Party Wall Injunction"?

In the simplest of terms, a ‘Party Wall Injunction’ is an interim Court Order that instructs the recipient wrongdoer to carry out (Mandatory Injunction), or, refrain from carrying out (Prohibitory Injunction), a specific action pertaining to the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. (PWA)

As a ‘Party Wall injunction’ is a remedy for wrongdoing under the Act, a court must be satisfied that the issues before it are;

• of a serious nature, for example, trespass, risk of damage and/or unlawful interference with another owner/tenant’s rights;
• that damages would not adequately resolve the issues before the court, in other words, damages might not prevent a party from trespassing or unlawfully interfering with another person’s rights; and
• there is a balance of convenience to the parties, that is to say, that the factors of the case and the parties' rights are evenly balanced.

Thus, a court would be highly unlikely to grant an injunction to an adjoining neighbour whose actions in prohibiting access to a building owner who has served a Party Wall Notice and obtained a Party Wall Award, have caused unnecessary delay and expense to the building owner.

If, on the other hand, a building owner failed to serve a Party Wall Notice for notifiable works being carried out under the Act, a court would be more likely than not to grant an injunctive order.

[edit] When should Injunctive Relief be Sought?

Generally speaking, there are two situations in which an application to a court for the remedy of a ‘Party Wall Injunction’ is usually sought.

The first is when there has been a clear breach of the Act.

An example might be notifiable works that are being carried out in accordance with sections 1, 2 and 6 of the Act. A building owner, who proposes to carry out works under the above stated sections of the Act, has a statutory obligation to serve a Party Wall Notice on all or any adjoining owner(s) that will be affected by the proposed works. Failure to serve such a notice is a clear breach of the Act and any adjoining owner who believes they and/or their property may be at risk may apply to the court for injunctive relief. In this example, an adjoining owner would more than likely apply for a prohibitory injunction.

However, in certain circumstances a building owner also has the right to seek a mandatory injunction against an adjoining owner whose actions after having been served with a Party Wall Notice and/or Party Wall Award, are obstructing any works from commencing. Thus, unlawfully interfering with the building owner’s right to commence with the works together with a substantial risk of delay and further unnecessary costs.

The second way to seek an interim remedy and/or injunctive relief is by way of section 10(17) of the Act.
It is important to note that under this section of the Act, any party has the right to appeal a Party Wall Award. An appeal is not an application for injunctive relief, it is a party’s right to ask the court to make a declaration as to whether or not the Party Wall Award is valid. Within the appeal notice, a party may request a further order for injunctive relief.
For example,
if the court should find in favour of the appellant, the appellant would ask the court to make a declaration that the whole or part of the Party Wall Award is void, plus any further injunctive relief, such as an order for access to the land, or an order to stop all building works.

Please note that seeking injunctive relief for an outright breach of the Act, is different to applying to a court under section 10(17) of the Act, to appeal a Party Wall Award.

[edit] How to obtain a "Party Wall Injunction"?

In the simplest of terms, a Party Wall Injunction can only be obtained from a court. There are two ways in which to apply to the court for an injunction relating to the Party Wall Act.

Two Ways to Apply for an Injunction from Court:

• 1) Injunctive Relief under the Civil Procedure Rules, Part 25
• 2) Appeal to the Country Court Under Section 10(17)

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• 10(4) Party Wall Surveyor Appointments.
• Adjoining buildings definition.
• Adjoining owner.
• Construction covered by the Party Wall Act of 1996.
• Counter Notice.
• Disputes Resolution - Section 10 of the Party Wall Act
• Institute of party wall surveyors.
• Party structure notice.
• Party wall notice.
• Party wall surveyor.
• Security for expenses under the Party Wall Act.
• Three party wall notice responses.
• Who Pays for Party Wall Surveyor's Fees?