Three party wall notice responses

[edit] Introduction

Whenever a Party Wall Notice is served by a building owner to an adjoining owner, the adjoining owner has 14 days from the notice date to formally respond. A notice is legally deemed as received “in the ordinary course of post”; therefore, the recommended allowance is a further two days or a total of 16 days.

The adjoining owner has three specific response choices when served a Party Wall Notice:

1. Consent to the works.
2. Dissent to the works and appoint an agreed surveyor.
3. Dissent to the works and appoint their own Party Wall Surveyor.

[edit] Consent to works

This option means the building owner can proceed without any further surveying formalities or procedures being followed. It also preserves the securities the act affords an Adjoining Owner.

Consent preserves the Schedule of Condition (SOC) of Property Report which records the pre-construction condition of the adjoining owner’s property. This report is helpful if the works cause damage and proof is needed to show the damage was absent before the start of construction.

[edit] Dissent and appointment of an agreed surveyor

If the adjoining owner dissents to the works, an agreed surveyor can be appointed to act objectively on behalf of both parties. This option is often in the best interest of the building owner and can be more time and cost effective than using two surveyors. For instance, if damage occurs during development, an agreed surveyor will have all of the details associated with the pre-construction condition of the adjoining owner's property.

[edit] Dissent and appointment of respective surveyors

A dissenting adjoining owner can also appoint their own surveyor to work directly with the building owner's surveyor. This can result in cost implications.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Appointing consultants.
• Construction covered by the Party Wall Act of 1996.
• Counter Notice.
• Party wall act.
• Party wall notice.
• Party wall notice response options.
• Party wall surveyor.
• Schedule of condition of property.
• Who pays for party wall surveyor's fees?