1. KEEP YOUR NEIGHBOURS INFORMED OF YOUR PLANS
'Always keep your neighbour in the loop regarding your intended project before serving a formal party wall notice.' says Paul When that’s done, you can issue them with the official notice of the work. Bear in mind, different projects have slightly different paperwork – the details for a kitchen extension are different to what’s needed for a basement extension, for instance.'
2. KEEP AWARE OF VARIOUS TIMING SCHEDULES
'When you first issue the notice, there’s a 14-day waiting period. If you don’t receive a response within that window, it’s categorised as dissent. In this case, you’ll need to negotiate what’s known as an ‘Award’ – more on this later.'
3. GET THE RIGHT DOCUMENTATION IN PLACE
'It is possible to serve the party wall notice yourself – but you’ll need to be sure you’re submitting the right forms, as they are project specific. If you submit the wrong thing, you could end up in a situation where you don’t have the right documentation in place.'
4. ENSURE YOUR NEIGHBOUR SIGNS A PARTY WALL AGREEMENT
'Once the formal notice has been issued, if your neighbour is fine with it they can simply sign the form and send it back so you can get on with the job. This creates a legal document known as a ‘Party Wall Agreement’. However, it might be that they agree with the works in principle but want a different document in place – a ‘Party Wall Award’.
5. CONSIDER USING A PARTY WALL SURVEYOR
'If you’re having an Award drawn up, a party wall surveyor will look after this for you. To get things moving, they’ll need a clear idea of what the work involves. Usually, this means having your structural engineer’s drawings to hand and a clear idea of how the scheme will progress.' explains Paul.
6. EXPECT TO PAY FOR YOUR NEIGHBOUR'S SURVEYOR
'Every party wall surveyor is meant to work within the spirit of the act. In theory, this means you could have the same individual looking after the interests of neighbours on both sides of the wall. But it’s not unusual for your neighbour to want their own surveyor, for which you’d be liable for the costs (as you’re the person benefitting from the new extension!)'