Notice periods & Deciding how to respond to Party Wall Notices
The statutory notice periods under the Act are as follows:
Section 1 – Building on the Line of Junction Notice period – 1 Month
Section 2 – Works affecting a Party Structure Notice period – 2 Months
Section 6 – Excavations within 3/6 metres Notice period – 1 Month
Deciding how to respond to Party Wall Notices
It is the statutory duty of the Building Owners to serve Party Wall notices on the Adjoining Owners before they start work.
Having received the notices, the Adjoining Owners have the following options:
- They may give consent to the works in writing, in which case no appointment of party wall surveyors is required.
or
- They may dissent to the notifiable works, and request that Party Wall surveyor/s be appointed to prepare and serve a Party Wall Award. The Adjoining Owners may agree in the appointment of an Agreed Surveyor, or they may choose to appoint their own surveyor.
Where the Adjoining Owners exercise their rights under the Act to choose to appoint their own surveyor, the Building Owners will be liable for the reasonable fees of that surveyor in addition to the fees of their own surveyor.