Party wall act - advice requested

[Andy Phillips]

Hello, We're planning to build a rear extension, incorporating kitchen and conservatory; the latter will be supported at one end by a new wall that will be built up against the neighbour's own rear extension. We've invoked the Party Wall Act, and the neighbours are more or less happy about things and have agreed to sign the paperwork. However, one question has arisen: assuming that our new foundations are approved by the Building Inspector and cause no immediate damage to the neighbour's property, who would be responsible for any possible later problems? For example, say in five years our extension collapsed and brought down the neighbour's, whom would the neighbours approach for compensation. Us, our builder, or the building inspector? Furthermore (and this is the Neighbour's worry) who would be responsible if we sold the house and moved on? Is this covered by the Party Wall regulations? Not as far as I can tell.

Many thanks,

Andy

[Brian G]

The simple answer Andy is... you!

You would then have to prove that the other parties were negligent in carrying out their duties before you could deny responsibility.

With regards to selling the house, not sure about that one, but I would presume that the new owners would be responsible for the repairs etc - with a possible claim against you, depending upon the legal niceties in force at the time.

With regards to being uncertain as to whether it is a party wall under the act, I believe that if the structure is wholly on your property and is NOT shared between you and your neighbour, then it is not a party wall - if you are unsure, why not contact your local building control officer and ask him? You have to apply to the town hall for the necessary permissions anyway, pary wall or not!

Be aware also, that during the construction, you are responsible for any damage to your neighbours property (including any footings of theirs that you may hit when installing your own) caused by your building works.

But surely, if the wall and foundations are built to current regulations, then they will last a lot longer than five years and are unlikely to suddenly collapse... aren't they?

Have a look at this link for further info - you will need the Adobe Acrobat reader to view it:

the full address

G

[Peter Crosland]

"For example, say in five years our extension collapsed and brought

It would be the responsibility of the owner at the time. The house insurance would cover it and they would try and recover it from whoever they felt was responsible.

Peter Crosland

[bigcat]

Makes you wonder just what hes planning to build!

NT

[Broadback]

An interesting article in today's Telegraph property supplement on party walls. Some people do get themselves into fixes!

[dg]

To be frank, you are worrying over nothing.

A domestic extension is very unlikely to collapse, and if your foundations are built to the approved plan and passed by the BCO there is no problem.

Even so, your work should be completely independant of the neighbouring structure, so if yours' fell down' it would not pull down the neighbours wall.

If after all this there is a collapse, then it is covered by your insurance.

But with regards to responibility then it's a bit of a minefield - your neighbour claims off you, you sue the builder, the builder claims againts the designer who sues the LA and builder and each blames each other. But in reality its negotiated via the insurers.

With regards the the PW Act, if you are really concerned, then get something written into the Award to define responsibility.

dg

[Andy Phillips]

Thanks for all the advice - I'm not personally concerned that the extension will collapse, but my neighbour is, and he's hesitating over signing the Party Wall agreement. I suspect that as our houses were built in the thirties and building regs have got much more stringent in the meantime, the extension will be more solidly built than the structure to which it's attached.

Cheers

Andy

[Brian G]

Andy,

IF it is a party wall and your neighbour is worried, he can obviously object to the works that are to be done on that wall, but you could make him aware that he is, under the Party Wall Regulations, able to engage a Party Wall Inspector of his own who will ensure that all the works are carried out to the relevant standard.

You can also do the same - and in theory and practice, it is then possible to have TWO inspectors overseeing the work on the Party Wall - although it is also possible for the two of you to share the same inspector - if you both agree that is!

With regards to your statement "the extension will be more solidly built than the structure to which it's attached" then be aware, that once you start your works, it will be your responsibilty to rectify all the problems that are caused to your neigbours property as a direct (and possibly indirect) result of the said works - so take out some insurance cover just in case :-)

Brian G

Brian G

[Andy Phillips]

Good point, thanks, I'll look into the possibility of insurance.

In fact, we're not working on a Party Wall as such, as we're building the supporting wall for the conservatory parallel to the existing neighbour's wall, and entirely on our land. The only contact between the two will be to seal the gap and prevent ingress of water etc. I had to invoke the Party Wall Act as this new wall is obviously within six meters of his foundations. I was hoping to avoid needing a surveyor's award but I guess it would be difficult to get insurance without a survey. Any idea how much such a survey might cost (in the South East)?

Andy

[Brian G]

Sorry Andy,

I wouldn't have a clue now, I retired early from the industry nearly five years ago.

Might be worth your while to contact your local Building Control officer and ask him if he has an approved list of surveyors and then contact some of them to give you a price for the works.

Brian G