Party Wall Appointment
Cricklewood, London NW2
(London Borough of Barnet)
Close to Willesden, Neasden and Hampstead. Within the catchment area of our Finchley office.
Background: The works required excavation for foundations within 3 m of the adjoining owner's property and below the level of the adjoining owner's foundations. The building owner also wanted to erect a new right flank wall on the line of juncture and a left flank wall straddling the line of juncture.
We were appointed by the building owner. The adjoining owner did not wish to appoint the building owner's Surveyor as Agreed Surveyor and instead appointed his own Surveyor. Both adjoining owners appointed the same Surveyor to represent them.
There were two adjoining owners to the works.
The works involved the erection of a ground floor rear and side extension to the back of the house.
Conclusion:
Each adjoining owner could have appointed their own Surveyor, resulting in three Surveyors being appointed i.e., a building owner's Surveyor and two adjoining owners' Surveyors, all three at the expense of the building owner.
We always try to assist the building owner to avoid such excessive Surveyor costs by presenting the adjoining owners with the option of either appointing one Surveyor as the Agreed Surveyor, or alternatively by agreeing to appoint one additional Surveyor on behalf of both adjoining owners. In this case, the adjoining owners decided on the latter option.
The two Surveyors determined that the flank wall of the neighbour's existing extension (pictured) was a Party Wall, such that the building owner was entitled to enclose on it subject to making a payment to the adjoining owner for the use of the wall.
When one neighbour erects a party wall which the other neighbour subsequently makes use of, the Award will typically require that a 50% payment of costs be made to the neighbour who originally paid for the wall to be erected. This is calculated on the basis that if the building owner will now save £x of costs by virtue of not having to erect the wall himself, the quantum of compensation to his neighbour should be half of that £x saving and that this amount be included within the Party Wall Award.
The building owner also wished to extend the Party Wall rearwards in line with the existing extension such that it would straddle the boundary line. Absent any permission from the adjoining owner the building owner would have had to extend the wall wholly on his own land, which would have resulted in the wall being kinked.
A template 'granting permission' letter to extend the wall in line with the existing wall was prepared. The adjoining owner anticipated that allowing the building owner to extend the wall in this manner would likely be to his own future benefit and signed the agreement which was subsequently included with the Award.