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- Michael Grace
Partner - Head of Real Estate
Before doing any work on or near a party wall, you must serve notices under the Party Wall Act.
The Act is a powerful tool that can streamline the process of construction affecting shared walls, minimising the risk of disputes.
Collyer Bristow’s specialist party wall solicitors can advise developers and property owners on their rights and obligations under the Party Wall Act – and we can support you all the way through to court action if the work results in a property dispute.
The Party Wall Act 1996 was introduced with the aim of cutting down the number of party wall disputes taking place between neighbours. It applies whenever someone wants to make changes affecting a shared wall or boundary, for both residential and commercial property, such as:
The Act does a number of things. Its main thrust is to require the person carrying out the work to give neighbours a minimum of two months’ notice of their plans. Neighbours can approve the work in principle – with provisions for the payment of compensation, where relevant. Or, they can object to the renovations within 14 days.
The most common type of party wall dispute occurs when the neighbour refuses to give consent to the proposed work. In this situation, the Party Wall Act requires that an independent surveyor is appointed to review the work and make an award, setting out details of:
Sometimes, a developer may forge ahead and do the work anyway, without their neighbour’s permission. The remedy here is to ask the court for an injunction. An injunction will stop the works until the various Party Wall Act protocols have been successfully completed.
Acting for developers and adjacent owners, we offer a full end-to-end service for party wall disputes. Contact a solicitor for more information.
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Partner - Head of Real Estate
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