The Party Wall Act 1996
The Party Wall Act provides a system that attempts to prevent and resolve possible boundary disputes in relation to boundary walls, party walls and excavations dug closely to neighbouring buildings. The Act applies throughout England and Wales and came into use in July 1997. The Party Wall Act is separate from Planning or Building Regulations. You must remember that reaching an agreement with the adjoining owner or owners under the Act does not remove the possible need to apply for Planning Permission and/or to comply with Building Regulations. Conversely, gaining Planning Permission or complying with Building Regulations does not remove the need to comply with the Act where applicable, if you intend to carry out building work which involves one of the following categories:
Building a free standing wall, or a wall of a building up to, or astride the boundary line with a neighbouring property.
Work on an existing party wall or party structure, or building against such a party wall or party structure.
Excavation within 3 or 6 metres of a neighbouring building(s) or structure(s), depending on the depth of the hole or proposed foundations.
For further guidance and information please read: The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 explanatory booklet.
You need to find out whether the proposed work/s falls within the Act. If it does, you must notify all adjoining owners in writing by completing and submitting a Party Wall Notice to inform your neighbours of the intended work to be carried out.
A Party Wall Act Notice should be served a minimum of two months before you wish to commence construction work, or one month for new party walls or structures, and any excavation, unless you and your neighbours have agreed otherwise.
In an ideal world, once you have served your Party Wall Act Notice to your neighbours, they will agree to the work to be carried out, or ask for some slight amendments within 14 days of the notice being served. If the adjoining owner/s does not respond after 14 days of being served a notice, it would be considered that a dispute has arisen.
You may need to negotiate with your adjoining owner/s to reach an agreement over what changes could be made to make the proposal acceptable to all parties. This may include agreeing exactly when and how the work will be carried out and to agree to the level of making good (to your neighbours side) and agree any access on your neighbours land.
Where no written agreement can be reached, the Act provides a system for the resolution of ‘disputes’. Both owners need to agree on an ‘Agreed Surveyor’ to produce an ‘Award’. Alternatively, each owner can appoint a Surveyor to draw up an award together. A third Surveyor is selected in case the two appointed Surveyors cannot agree. The Surveyors appointed and selected must consider the interests and rights of both owners.
An ‘Award’ is a legal document that sets out the works to be carried out and how this is to be carried out. The Surveyor/s will decide who pays the costs in producing the Award and also any necessary checking that works have been carried out according to the Award. If work starts without a Notice being given the adjoining owner/s can seek to stop the work through a court injunction or seek other legal redress.
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
The CDM Act provides a system that attempts to improve and promote Health and Safety on building sites and to help prevent unnecessary accidents from happening. The Act applies throughout England and Wales and came into force in April 2015.
Health and Safety on domestic construction sites now require that the Designer, Client, Builder(s) and Trades to be more responsible, to ensure no work can commence on site until a Health and Safety file has been assembled and that all significant risks have been documented and highlighted by the design team.
The Health and Safety file is then passed onto the Builder/Contractor who also has a number of legal and moral responsibilities to ensure that the construction phase of the project is carried out as safe as possible.
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 is a law that applies to the whole construction process. All construction projects, from concept to completion and affects each duty holder involved in the project whom must comply with the law to ensure projects are carried out in a way that secures Health and Safety for all.
The CDM Regulations require all parties involved in the project, Client, Principal Designer and Contractor, other Designers, Subcontractors etc to be involved and take responsibility for all Health and Safety protocols according to their position. Complying with CDM 2015 will help to ensure that no-one is harmed during the works and that your building is safe to use and maintain while giving you good value.
Effective planning will also help ensure that your work is well managed with fewer unexpected costs and problems.
Clients, particularly those who only occasionally have construction work done, understandly are not experts in construction work. Although you are not expected to actively manage or supervise the work yourself, you have a big influence over the way the work is carried out. Whatever the size of your project, you decide which Designer and Contractor will carry out the work and how much money, time and resource is available. The decisions you make have an impact on the health, safety and welfare of all workers affected by the work.
CDM 2015 is not about creating unnecessary and unhelpful processes and paperwork. It is about choosing the right team and helping them to work together to ensure Health and Safety is carried out responsibly. As the Client, you have a legal responsibility, for more information please read this short guide: Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 which explains your responsibilities in more detail.
If you do not comply with CDM 2015, you are likely to be failing to influence the management of Health and Safety on your project. This means that your project could be putting workers and others at risk of harm unnecessarily. If you do not appoint a Principal Designer or Principal Contractor, you will be responsible for the things they would have taken care of. Serious breaches of Health and Safety legislation on your construction project could result in construction work being stopped by the HSE or your local authority and additional work may be needed to put things right. In the most serious circumstances, you could be prosecuted.