Notification can be delivered free of charge using the corresponding standard forms or for a flat fee by the surveyors in London. A confirmation letter is usually included for the neighbor to complete and return.
The owner must notify in writing two months in advance of any construction work involving a wall or boundary, or one month for excavation.
Party Wall notification delivery does not require planning permission and the owner has up to one year to start working after the notification is delivered.
Get approval
After the notification is delivered to neighbors, you have fourteen days to respond, after which there are three possible outcomes:
i) The neighbor gives his consent in writing, provided the owner corrects all problems
In these simple cases, it is not necessary to nominate a party wall appraiser or receive a party wall award.
The homeowner should take dated photos off the party wall and preferably make notes on anything the chaps have agreed to copies for both of them. Or a reviewer can be hired to assess and create a plan of conditions to minimize the risk of delaying your disputes. This should be done just before starting work.
Dissent
ii) If the neighbor disagrees (or does not respond within 14 days, in which case it will be considered to disagree), a Party Wall Award is required
In this case Both the owners and the neighbor can nominate ONE approved appraiser, usually within ten days, who can act impartially for both.
The agreed appraiser must be independent and NOT the same appraiser that the owner may use in his own work. Otherwise, the neighbor is unlikely to consider the evaluator neutral.
The approved appraiser will create an award detailing the proposed work and a condition plan including photos of the neighbor's house.
Rater prices range from £150 to £200.00 per hour and a party wall and appraiser prize is approximately £1000.00.
Some architects can also act as appraisers.
iii) Each owner nominates their own appraiser. However, this is expensive for the owner, who pays the neighboring surveyor's expenses as well as his own.
common mistakes
i) Do not inform in time
ii) Do not inform all affected neighbors. This includes the owner and anyone with a lease for more than one year. If you live in a row house, neighbors on both sides may be affected, depending on the type of work. A landlord who lives next door to an apartment may have to notify several people. Check the property through registration.
iii) Failure to describe the proposed work in sufficient detail or to provide sufficient information. For example, excavation notes must include all structural details.
iv) It is not the standard or incorrect form of notification. The form of notification for foundation excavation differs from a partition wall.
A construction project may require more than one type of notification for each affected neighbor.
