Unlike the Tories, I haven’t attended any good parties lately and it’ll probably be some time before I can throw caution or facemask to the wind and let my hair down but in the meantime, I’ve a different kind of ‘party’ to contend with; the complex issue of party walls. Yes, walls not only have ears but they have parties too!
It’s very easy to forget when you’re wrapped up in your own personal DIY cocoon that there is a raft of building rules and regulations you need to comply with and one of these is the Party Wall etc Act 1996.
This piece of legislation was introduced to sort out punch ups between neighbours when building or repair work is being done either on a shared boundary or close to someone else’s house. In our case building an extension that might be within 3 to 6 metres of the house next door falls under the provisions of this Act.
How close is your building to next door?
The
provisions of the Act seem quite complex but simply, if you intend to build (or
repair) a wall/structure that is on or close to a common boundary or property
then your neighbours need to be informed and to consent to this work being
done. The legal owner of the property
where the work is being done has to send a written Party Wall Notice to the
legal owners of bordering properties that may be affected by the project.
Pah! Why should I bother telling the neighbours? After all, what I do on or with my property is my business and they never bothered to tell me when they smashed out their attic to create an extra bedroom. Well, apparently you have to according to this law. Not only are you required to inform your neighbours in advance, in writing but you must also give them a set period in which to give their blessing.
Failure to follow this procedure could land you in a whole heap of trouble once your project gets off the ground especially if the neighbours or legal owners in the case of rented properties object to the work you are carrying out.
I've served my Party Wall Notices to both my neighbour and their landlord as I’ve discovered their house is rented. Both parties now have until Monday to consent to my proposed building project. And here’s the interesting part in all this – if either party fails to respond by the given deadline, then under the Party Wall etc Act we’ll be deemed to be ‘in dispute’ and have to engage the services of approved surveyors to act on our behalf to resolve things. Sounds like a major headache if you ask me so fingers crossed they both give me the thumbs up.
Everything you need to know about Party Walls and how it applies to you can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-resolving-disputes-in-relation-to-party-walls
Anything else you need to know about parties, just email No 10.
No10's email: larry@catmail.com
1 comment:
Where is your kitty? Keep checking for pics. Señor Pringo XXX
Post a Comment