Party wall crumbling - neighbour can't afford to fix

[sadwallparty]

NC as not sure if neighbour is on here.

We have an external brick wall that's shared with our neighbour, which is crumbling apart. Needs to be partially rebuilt asap as mortar is beyond repair, it is unsafe and in a position of high traffic. The extent of the problem was hidden as it was covered in cement render, but this has recently started to come away, hence it is a surprise for both of us.

Neighbour has said they can't afford it (£7k total, so their share is £3.5k)(we got several quotes).

What happens in this sort of situation? Can we draft a contract to say they will pay us back their share (eg pay by X date, after which will charge interest), or is that asking for trouble? If we do, are there any tips on how to draft it - can we do so without cost of a solicitor?

Want to maintain good relations with neighbour, they have been great in the past with other matters (though nothing involving shared costs).

Very true.

Update: spoke with a party wall surveyor who was very helpful. As PP's have said, if the neighbours refuse to pay we can serve a Party Wall Notice, however if they still refuse we'd need to involve solicitors / court to extract payment. By the time we've paid for all that (£1-2k just for surveyors, not inc solicitors), it wouldn't be worth it as their portion of the costs comes to around £3k. Plus, it would then escalate into a dispute that would need to be declared if we sell.

I've tried to get alt quotes but all the recommended companies are not available, and most won't even look at the pics to quote a ballpark. One trusted firm quoted £7k+vat (they're not avail till Sept), and one slightly dodgy outfit quoted £3-4k+vat (a lot of neighbours have used them, I've seen their scaffold and it's definitely not up to code.. I'd be worried safety wise..!). Plus, the current builders would charge for work done so far anyway.

So basically we're screwed. We have to do the works as it's currently unsafe. We have to go with the current v high quote as no one else (reputable) is available. And most likely we'll be paying for it all as neighbour won't and not worth attempting to extract payment.

On the surface, the neighbours are very reasonable and understanding. I don't know what their financial position really is (though they've recently had some non-essential work done). But any tips on how I could try to go about it so maybe somewhere down the line they might pay us back..??

Do you think they understand that this is essential work? I’d be tempted to make it really clear to them. This is essential. If we don’t do it XYZ could happen. Legally we are both responsible for the cost. If we cannot agree to split it, the Party Wall Act will come in to play. They will still be required to pay the costs, but the costs will increase further and the delay will lead to a greater chance of XYZ happening. Say you understand the cost is high. Note you’ve tried a number of different firms. It is what it is. So if they don’t have the money they will need to secure a loan.

@ClockHolly All of that is only true if the op pursues them via solicitor and court. PWA is an agreement regarding the work and an intention to share costs, but it won’t get money out of people who refuse to pay.

"By the time we've paid for all that (£1-2k just for surveyors, not inc solicitors)"

I would suggest maybe go back to the Surveyor you've already spoken to and ask about how their costs would be apportioned in this specific situation where both parties will benefit from the work to the wall.

I think it is likely that the Surveyor will say that their costs are to be split equally.

So if the total Surveyor costs are £1,500 (midpoint of £1-2k) then that is £750 each on top of the £3.5k cost of the building work, or £4.25k each.

Now supposing that you then get the work done and your neighbour refuses to pay their share of the cost.

It would then be a case of you going to the small claims court (or, rather, the "small claims track"). In this situation, for a relatively simple case where you have a Party Wall Award and the other person hasn't paid you won't really need a solicitor, this is something you can do yourself.

The cost to bring a money claim of between £3k and £5k is £205 and you get this back from the other party if you are successful. You can also claim very limited costs such as taking a day off work for the hearing (£95) and travel costs.

So, it all depends on how things are with your neighbours. You pay the full amount and just suck it up in order to be friendly with your neighbours or press ahead and ask them for a proportion of the total cost that is acceptable to you.

If they won't agree to a proportion that is acceptable to you and you don't want to suck it up and pay the full amount yourselves it is then going down the Party Wall route.

If you pay the full amount yourself then you say you're looking at £7k. If you go the Party Wall route then it is likely going to cost you £4.25k by the time everything's finished.

But to get back to your original question:

"But any tips on how I could try to go about it so maybe somewhere down the line they might pay us back..??"

Unless you get this in writing then anything they say will be pretty hard to enforce.

You simply need to think about what the minimum figure is going to be that they contribute that you are prepared to accept. Once you've worked this out then speak to them about the total cost of the work and show them the quote.

Obviously, start off with them contributing half and see how it goes. If they aren't open to that then that's when you have to start discussing about how much they are willing to pay.

If it's enough that you'd rather them pay that amount than having to go through the Party Wall procedure then get them to agree in writing and you're good to go.

The small claims track in this case would cost about £205 to bring a claim which would be paid back to them by the other side if they were successful.

In this situation there is no requirement to have a solicitor.

If the neighbours still refuse to pay once they have a CCJ then it is possible to to place a restriction on their home so that the OP gets the money when their house is sold.

Look at getting a charging order against their property- this will be effective until they pay you their half or the property is sold.

These are all disputes and would need to be declared if op sells. Weighing everything up is important and it is not black and white. Small claims doesn’t follow up and enforce payment. Might send in bailiffs. It’s very difficult to get money and it’s not easy to live next to people with all this going on. Frankly it sucks but trying to get people to pay up is very difficult.

@Another2Cats - really appreciate all your detailed advice, it’s been so helpful!

Update - the neighbours, who are leaseholders, have contacted the owner of the freehold to let them know about the situation.

Turns out the freehold is owned by one of the largest property companies in the UK… They have said that we need to issue them with a party wall notice (and we would be responsible for covering the fees of the surveyor they appoint). They seem to have surveyors within their company, so they would be making money from that.

The party wall surveyor fees would almost be the same as the portion I’m asking the neighbours to cover, so I don’t see any financial benefit from going down the party wall notice route. Plus, we risk this dragging on and escalating into a dispute, which would need to be declared if we sell.

There is no question that the work needs to be done - we checked with trusted builders, roofers, surveyors and they all agree.

QUESTION -
If I just went ahead with the repair works and paid for it all myself would there be any risk of the freeholders coming back to me / sue me for not going down the party wall notice route? I can’t see how/why they would since they’d be benefitting from a brand new wall at no cost to them (and built by a reputable /accredited building firm). However, I’m weary that the freeholders have unlimited funds, and I’m not sure how reasonable they are..! Have I missed something?

I have limited knowledge on this, but

1. you being charged for the party wall surveyor only make sense in cases where you want to initiate improvement work on your property. But not in this case as it is essential repair for both properties. I really doubt they can claim that you are responsible for covering that cost, you should explore that more (or make sure the freeholder understands the nature of the work).

2. you need a party wall agreement, not that much because they could sue you for not having the agreement but because you would become responsible for any damage to their property during the worl. Even if you trust your neighbours, they could make things up and you wouldn't be able to prove anything...

It would be worth investing a bit to get proper solicitor advice, the neighbours (or the freeholder?) os responsible for half the cost.

I would also make sure you have evidence this is urgent essential work from a builder or surveyor.

Years ago I had a crumbling garden brick wall facing a pavement and got a letter from the council giving me 30 days to fix it or they would and they’d send me the bill. I reckon your council might possibly get involved if you ask them. The neighbour might be more likely to listen to them saying he needs to pay. If he can’t afford it he needs to remortgage for the 3.5k. If you pay the lot he is never going to pay you back.

I had a similar party wall issue with the freeholder a major housing association. They insisted we had a party wall agreement done using and paying their £££ surveyor. Otherwise no permission for the works. And yes we had already paid our own surveyor. So I'm not sure you can legally do the work without their agreement.

Ugh this is what I'm worried about. Did they say why they needed to go down the party wall agreement route? They wouldn't accept a written agreement? I mean, I can understand if they insisted on it if they were paying for 50%.
I just don't understand why, if I pay 100%, and the work is done by a reputable/accredited company, they would have any objection to it. I mean, we could have it done by now and they would have never known..! On the other hand, in it's current state it is a liability.

Well that's pretty rubbish, but I do understand why they're doing it.

"(and we would be responsible for covering the fees of the surveyor they appoint)"

Normally, yes, that would be the case. But here both neighbours are benefiting from the work. In this case, costs may be split between you and your neighbour, it will be down to the Party Wall Surveyor to decide who pays what proportion of the fees.

Another thing to consider would be to go back to them and ask if they would agree to appoint what is called an "agreed surveyor" so that there is just one surveyor to pay. Again, with just one surveyor then the fees should still be split equally.

QUESTION -
If I just went ahead with the repair works and paid for it all myself would there be any risk of the freeholders coming back to me / sue me for not going down the party wall notice route?

What @Bearbookagainandagain said above is relevant:

you need a party wall agreement, not that much because they could sue you for not having the agreement but because you would become responsible for any damage to their property during the worl. Even if you trust your neighbours, they could make things up and you wouldn't be able to prove anything...

Even if you trust your neighbours, they could make things up and you wouldn't be able to prove anything...

This may be overstating things though. But it is possible that they could claim that any existing damage to their property was caused by the work. It would then be down to the builder's insurance to sort that out.

But, to answer your question, there are no penalties at all for not giving notice. Although it is possible that they may apply for an injunction to get you to stop doing the work. Other than that there can be no come back, once the work is completed, for not having served notice.

It's different surely if there is a safety hazard

@sadwallparty i don't think they ever articulated why, sorry- but it's a huge organisation so it was 'policy'. Probably insurance-related.