The Party Wall Act 1996 & Loft Conversions

Justin Burns MRICS

Amidst all the planning that goes in to a successful loft conversions one important piece of legislature often gets overlooked until the last minute; The Party Wall etc. Act 1996.

Most loft conversions require at least 2 steel beams to be inserted between the flank walls to support the new floor and roof structures. If you live in a semi-detached or terraced house this will involve cutting out a section of a shared wall and to do this you will need to serve your neighbour with a notice under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.

For loft conversions this will be a Party Structure Notice. Although there is not a prescribed form on which notice must be served it should contain certain information:

* Your name and address

* The full names of the legal owners of your neighbour’s property

* A brief description of the planned work

* The proposed start date of the works.

The notice period is 2 months although thankfully this can be shortened with your neighbour’s permission. You can find an example of a Party Structure Notice in the Government’s explanatory booklet.

Upon receipt of your notice your neighbour will have two choices: to consent to the works or to dissent and appoint a surveyor. Should they choose to consent no surveyors will be appointed and a Party Wall Agreement will not be drawn up although a recent court case has confirmed that your neighbour still retains the right to appoint a Party Wall Surveyor later if their property is damaged.

Should your neighbour choose to dissent they must appoint a surveyor. This can be either a surveyor of their choice or they can concur with you in the appointment of a single ‘Agreed’ surveyor. Whether it is 1 or 2 surveyors that are appointed you will be responsible for their fees under all normal circumstances.

Once the surveyor(s) are appointed they will proceed with drawing up the Party Wall Agreement (technically called an Award). The agreement sets out the rights and responsibilities of the respective owners and work cannot commence until it has been finalised and served on the owners. A typical Party Wall Agreement will contain the following parts:

* A series of clauses setting out the duties of the two owners

* A schedule of condition on the adjoining owner’s property often with supporting photographs

* The final drawings

The schedule of condition is an important part of the award as it records the condition of the adjoining property before the work starts. This will protect you from having pre-existing damage wrongly attributed to your work.

Items covered in the main part of the award include:

* What happens in the event of damage occurring

* Access to you neighbour’s property

* Working hours

* Contractor’s Public liability insurance

There is a 14 day appeal period following the serving of the final award. If either owner feels that the award has been improperly drawn up they may appeal to the local County Court during this period. Such appeals are very rare and in most instances the appeal period is not even observed as the contractor is pushing to get started.

Justin Burns MRICS
Peter Barry Party Wall Surveyors

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