Any works covered by the Party Wall Acts should not begin before you have reached an agreement with your neighbour (and make sure it’s in writing).
Typically, when consent is given during the process, the notice usually includes a phrase stating that the building owner can commence work straight away.
However, construction is delayed when there is dissent, in which the building owner should wait for an award to be served and for the notice period to expire.
Building work can start before a Party Wall is finalised, depending on whether the adjoining owners consent. If the owners have consented, the notice typically states that the building owner can start work immediately.
In the case of adjoining owners dissenting, the building owner is required to wait for the award to be served and for the notice period to expire, which is usually 1 month for section 1 and 6 works and 2 months for section 2 works. In cases where the award is severed before the notice period ends, the building owner is permitted to start work before the end if they have written consent from the neighbour.
The party wall process kicks off when the building owners serve the formal notice to the neighbours, and from here, the neighbours have 14 days to respond. If there are no disputes, the party wall process can be wrapped up nicely and swiftly, and once a surveyor issues an Award, the building owner will have to start work within one year of receiving it.
Suppose construction begins without a Party Wall Award or consent.
In that case, the building owner might be liable for litigation costs under the Party Wall Act Compensation, and the continuation of work might be halted or delayed.
On top of this, no Schedule of Condition would have likely been taken, so if construction work has progressed significantly, it will be up to the building owner to prove that the works caused no damage and that any damage was pre-existing.
As members of the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors, we offer a free, no obligation, 15-minute consultation to advise on the Party Wall etc Act (1996) and talk you through the process. Similarly, we’re available to discuss any other property-related query you may have.
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