How to have a Party Wall Dispute
A dispute in the Party Wall sense needn’t be much of a dispute at all, even if the Act says it is. According to the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, if an adjoining owner doesn’t consent within 14 days of receiving notice of the proposed works then the parties are deemed to be “in dispute”. In reality this simply means that Party Wall Surveyors will have to draw up a Party Wall Agreement. Party Wall Surveyors have a duty to be impartial so any disagreement which arises will usually stem from one of the parties not understanding the Act.
Even if the adjoining owner decides to concur with their neighbour’s choice of surveyor as “agreed surveyor” (normally a good decision for minor works) there is still a “dispute”.
In effect, what an adjoining owner is saying when they instigate a dispute is that they would like to have their interests protected by a person who understands construction matters and is familiar with the processes of the Party Wall Act.
It could not be easier for an adjoining owner to instigate a dispute; they need do nothing at all. All of the standard notices served under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 contain the following section of the Act:
Under section 6(7), if you do not consent to the works within 14 days you are deemed to have dissented and a dispute is deemed to have arisen. In such cases section 10 of the Act requires that both parties should concur in the appointment of a surveyor or should each appoint one surveyor
The adjoining owner may appoint a surveyor (or concur in the appointment of an agreed surveyor) within the 14 day period but they needn’t rush their decision. Once the 14 days have elapsed they will receive a follow-up letter asking them to appoint a Party Wall Surveyor within 10 days or risk one being appointed on their behalf by the building owner (the party planning the work). If it does reach the stage where the building owner appoints a surveyor on behalf of the adjoining owner this does not mean them forcing their surveyor upon the adjoining owner as “agreed” but rather selecting a separate person who is qualified to fulfill the role.
During the process both the building owner and the adjoining owner change from being “clients” to “appointing owners”. A surveyor can serve notice on behalf of their client because at that stage it is not known whether the adjoining owner will consent or not. If they consent there will be no award and no need for a party wall surveyor. As soon as a dispute arises the parties switch from being clients to appointing owners. The term re-enforces the surveyor’s duty to be impartial.
If you need to prepare a party wall notice try our Party Wall Notice Generator Tool.
If you are planning to have a party wall dispute and require advice you are welcome to contact the author of this article, Justin Burns MRICS