In a recent case the High Court has ordered a building owner to provide security to his neighbour against any potential damage to that neighbour's property even though the building works planned were going to be at least 3 metres away from the neighbour's property.
This rather surprising result emphasises the importance of complying with the Party Wall Act 1996 if you are considering carrying out building work which involves:
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Working on an existing wall or structure shared with another property,
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or, building a free standing wall or a wall of a building up to or astride the boundary with a neighbouring property,
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or, excavating near a neighbouring building.
The Party Wall Act is a complicated piece of legislation that is frequently misunderstood. However, if used properly it is very effective at preventing and resolving disputes in relation to party walls, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings. It can be of great help both to the building owner who wants to carry out the building work and the neighbour who thinks he might be affected by the building work.
The Party Wall Act can't be used for resolving a dispute about the position of a boundary. Those sorts of disputes have to be resolved through the Courts or by using an alternative dispute resolution process. Neither does the Act change who owns any wall nor the position of any boundary.
Some work that you might be planning to do on a shared wall is so minor that you don't have to bother with the provisions of the Party Wall Act for example putting up some shelves or cutting into a wall for wiring purposes. The important point is whether the work which is planned might have consequences for the structural strength and support functions of the wall or whether it might damage the neighbouring owner's side of the wall.
If you have any concerns about building work being planned by your neighbour that might affect your property or if you are planning to do some work that might have an impact on your neighbour's property and want to know where you stand, please contact Nick Lambert on 0114 266 6660 or email [email protected] for further information.
