Party wall advice - I'm the neighbour

[Hopper]

My neighbour, a developer from out of the area, has started work today on a side return extension which borders my property, right up to the boundary wall. While I heard from Southwark a while ago about planning permission, I've had no direct contact from him. I realise I'm being very slow but have just found out today - under the Party Wall Act - that he should have notified me two months ago.

I'm quite clueless as to what to do! All help/advice appreciated.

[Maribelle]

The loft company we're going with for our conversion mentioned that we need to notify our neighbours before any work starts via a party wall surveyor - they've suggested a co. called Vincent Brown... I haven't contacted them yet but their site was pretty helpful http://www.vincent-brown.co.uk/

[Azira]

I suspect a court injunction is your only way to go. Not cheap but get thee hence to a solicitor for initial advice if you're concerned. Otherwise you could contact the developer to discuss, but if he/she is not being helpful you'll lose the advantage of surprise with the injunction (and remember an injunction is going to be useless once the building is finished).

[peckham_ryu]

Before you even contemplate forking out on legal advice, you need to decide in your own mind what is it you wish to achieve. E.g. Work to be avoided on the day of a planned social event? Builders to not be allowed to hop onto your land during the work? Mitigating some structural risk to your own property?

What you do could range from nothing to writing a pointed letter to informing the developer of an "access fee" for un-notified trespass to getting an injunction to stop something which you are concerned will cause your house to collapse.

[chesterpuss81]

Hi, is the building work actually touching/attaching to your boundary wall or just up close to it?

[womanofdulwich]

Take lots of dated photos of your inside/ outside walls to record condition NOW, YES NOW IMMEDIATELY as a record in case it deteriorates afterwards.

[Azira]

Or, get some legal advice about what you should be doing, including what evidence will be admissable and what tort this evidence is supposed to support, assuming as I mentioned earlier that you are concerned about the building. There are plenty of places that do free legal advice clinics.

[alice]

sounds like you didnt object to the original planning permission - so why suprised now

[Sue]

womanofdulwich Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Take lots of dated photos of your inside/ outside

> walls to record condition NOW, YES NOW

> IMMEDIATELY as a record in case it deteriorates

> afterwards.

Absolutely agree with this.

The main issue is to protect yourself in the event of any damage to your property as a result of the work being carried out.

There are some threads on here already re party wall issues, if you do a search.

If it's like a loft conversion, your neighbour should pay for a party wall surveyor to do an initial survey of your side. Don't make the mistake I did and for convenience sake opt for a surveyor working for both sides (supposedly independently). I was very stupid. It was a nightmare.

[Hopper]

Thank you all. It is a side extension up against my boundary wall. I will get in touch with the developer, get a surveyor and get my camera out. I did object to the planning permission, mainly because it is a glass roof in a bedroom which I will beable to look right into! Nice! And also because it may make my house fall down.

[peckham_ryu]

Azira Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Or, get some legal advice about what you should be

> doing, including what evidence will be admissable

> and what tort this evidence is supposed to

> support, assuming as I mentioned earlier that you

> are concerned about the building. There are

> plenty of places that do free legal advice

> clinics.

...if your house insurance includes legal cover, then that's an ideal place for free (well, free that you are already paying for) legal advice

[Gadge]

There are specialist party wall surveyors that will approach your neighbour for you. The law in this area assists you in protecting your property from damage caused by a neighbours work without you being able to stop that work. The party wall agreement enables you to employ a surveyor to take pictures, monitor your side of the wall and log any damage caused (or dodgy practice that could lead to damage). Under the agreement your neighbour would have to pay for this. The PWS is able to stop work so the agreement can be put in action. However, if the key area of work affecting your property has passed, there is very little you can do in retrospect. Any damage caused would have to proven through legal channels.

[HelBel65]

Gadge Wrote

> employ a surveyor to take

> pictures, monitor your side of the wall and log

> any damage caused

This may soon affect me too. Out of curiosity, are the services of a surveyor actually required or would my own photos suffice (dated obviously)?

[richardelliot]

The Party Wall information booklet on the Gov UK website is quite good for a general overview of the act: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/393927/Party_Wall_etc__Act_1996_-_Explanatory_Booklet.pdf

From info you've given it sounds like you should have received a Party Wall Notice. The Party Wall Act does not give you any rights to prevent the work (planning permission gives your neighbour a right to go ahead), but it is there to make sure the work is done without damaging your property and you should be given a Party Wall Notice before anything starts.

Good advice on the thread already about deciding what you want to achieve and taking pictures of your property now. I'd speak to your neighbout directly if possible and ask why he didn't serve you a notice. I would also call a Party Wall surveyor. I'm sure they'd give you 5-10mins of advice down the phone in the hope of gaining a client.

[Pugwash]

29 years ago whilst feeding my baby in the bedroom at the back of our house, there was a mighty crash and I found a tractor/digger in my garden. They were developing a plot of land at the end of my garden and thought that the wall was part of a demolished property. I took a photo of the damaged wall with the tractor/digger in my garden. Got on to Southwark Planning who sent an enforcement officer around In the meantime I got a photocopy of my house deeds which clearly showed that this wall was mine. EO stopped the work for a few days as he was not happy. Made the developer rebuild my wall before allowed to resume work. Kept the photo and all paperwork for several years to show the new owners of the new build who had been informed that the end wall was theirs - after that no problems

[sue k]

hi

I had to have a party wall surveyor for the property next door to us..and thank goodness we did, as Mark was brilliant. contact him [email protected]

he helped with more things than I could have imagined, inc getting our windows cleaned, getting payment from next door when cracks appeared..etc etc..