How do I respond to a party wall notice? If you have received a party wall notice, the following options are available to you:
1) Do nothing.
In this case a surveyor will be appointed to act on your behalf usually at no cost to you to safeguard your interests. By doing nothing, you will not be able to choose the surveyor.
2) Consent.
If you consent, no further action is undertaken by any surveyor and construction work proceeds subject to other statutory consent.
By consenting, you do not lose your right to appoint a surveyor at a later stage. Therefore, if damage occurs, a surveyor(s) could be appointed at that stage.
3) Dissent and appoint a surveyor.
By dissenting, you are not objecting to the works, you are appointing a surveyor to safeguard your interests.
a) An agreed surveyor can be appointed (just one surveyor) to impartially manage the whole process safeguarding the interests of both parties. An agreed surveyor does not have to be the surveyor that served the original notice.
b) You can appoint your own surveyor. In this case two surveyors are appointed, one for the building owner undertaking the works and one for the adjoining owner.
In both of the above cases, the building owner undertaking the works usually pays the surveyor(s)’ fees.
What do we say?
Property is usually a person’s greatest financial asset, why would you not seek to safeguard it and appoint a surveyor?
See also https://www.robertturnerassociates.co.uk/chelmsford-party-wall-surveyor/
For further general advice see: https://fpws.org.uk/
For detailed information and free advice on ‘How do I respond to a party wall notice’, call us for an informal discussion on 01245 493 020.
