Neighbour underpinning foundations - Party Wall Act

[WhatAFunnyPotato]

My neighbour has subsidence issues and is planning to underpin his foundations. We've received a party wall notice detailing their intention to dig below the level of our foundations within 3m of our house.

The notice allows us only to consent or object. However, I'm quite happy for them to do the work as long as we have reassurance there will be no damage to our property and that they are liable f there is.

Is the best solution to object and open a dispute? I don't want to irk the neighbours (we only moved in 3 months ago) but I also want to protect our interests.

Any thoughts/ experiences with this kind of thing?

There is no reason to worry if they do it properly.

Why would you object and open a dispute? Not friendly or neighbourly, if they have issued a party wall agreement they are doing it properly.

If you have any queries/issues talk to them now.

Photograph inside your house where the wall is, as evidence of its current condition. If any damage occurs on your side, you can then prove it was not there before.

Making a problem out of it is really unnecessary, as hopefully nothing will happen to your house.

Your neighbours already have the hassle of subsidence, the upheaval they will go through to put it right and the effect it will have on their insurance/resale value of the house.

Make sure your interested are protected, but please don't make it more difficult for your neighbours than you need to, you may be living beside them for a long time.

Ps - you can look up the party wall act on the Internet and find out all the information you need.

There should be an option that allows you to employ a surveyor at your neighbours' expense. Write back saying that that is what you wish to do. As itscoldouthere said, it should be fine if they do it properly and you want to have an expert opinion to make sure that the proposed works will be done thoroughly and without damaging your home. There is nothing difficult or unfriendly about employing a surveyor, it is only obstructive if you use it as some sort of leverage.

Well it is a bit expensive actually to make them employ a surveyor. I wouldn't be hugely pleased if my neighbours did that. We got them to take lots of photos before we started, so if any damage occurs to their property, we can make it right (loft conversion in this case). If I were you, I would go round and talk to them about it, explain that you are a bit worried and get them to reassure you. Or ask if you can speak to their builder with them.

It's something you have to factor into doing this sort of work and it saves a lot of money in the long run if something does go wrong with the build. Photographs are only useful once there is a problem, a decent party wall surveyor will be able to look at the plans/schedule/specification and ensure that everything is as it should be. S/he will also be able to ascertain if any damage was caused by the work or whether it is unrelated. If the neighbours' house is subsiding, then I expect their insurance company will be covering the major part of the work and associated expenses such as PW surveyor.

Thanks for the advice. itscoldoutthere you seem to be saying not to object because it would be a hassle for the neighbours - even though potentially their work could destabilise our house. There's nothing in their plans showing how they're taking steps to minimise damage to our foundations. I don 't want to be unneighbourly, but surely that's a valid concern?

Given that they'll be drilling down below our foundations in soil which is causing their house to subside, this makes me nervous!

I think the language of the notice is a little stark as you can only object or consent - I haven't a problem with them carrying out the work as long as I have professional reassurance it won't damage ours. So far, this isn't something they've had to consider.

itsalonglegs no intention to use it as leverage - just want a professional opinion. Makes me feel better if it would be covered by the insurers!

The neighbourly thing on their part would have been to have discussed the notice and your concerns before serving it. I would speak to them but it seems you would be well served by a surveyor.

Is there any chance that whatever is causing their house to subside might also be putting yours at risk, if you're semi-detached?

You need to be mindful that at the moment you only have a PW notice. This is not the same as having an agreement.

You will only get an agreement if you 'object'. I totally understand why you wish that there was a third option, without the emotive term 'object' attached to it. It really is a strange term, and in my opinion is more realistically a way of saying 'I want you to engage a professional to look at your plans and to reassure me that due consideration regarding safeguarding my property has been given'.

I can see why your neighbours may not like this- it may cost them some money and a bit of hassle. However, if they are planning to dig beneath your foundations it really isn't too much to ask.

I would also think that if their property has been subject to subsidence, there could be a risk to both your property and your foundations of the same thing happening. But I'm not a surveyor, you need SN expert opinion- which is what the PWA exists for.

Do also bear in mind that although taking photos etc. to prove the condition of your house prior to the work is a good plan- this would become a legally binding condition survey with a PWA. The condition survey would also cover aspects of the condition of your home that you might not have considered and that a surveyor would puck up e.g. external signs of subsidence.

Good luck with your decision OP.

You have the option of asking their surveyor to look at things for you, or you can appoint your own surveyor.

I only suggest trying to do this work in the most amicable way, as I am friends with a party wall surveyor who makes a lot of money from neighbours who are in dispute, something I would say you should avoid if at all possible.

If you have a surveyor ensuring your property is not being put at risk you should feel reassured.

I'm not suggesting you should let your neighbours do what they like without concern, but fixing this problem will be to the advantage of everyone, I would be concerned if my neighbour had subsidence and nothing was done about it.

My dad acted as a party wall surveyor throughout his career. My advice - absolutely, positively without a shadow if a doubt - you must have a party wall surveyor appointed on your behalf. The subsidence repair will be a huge insurance claim - it isn't a cost directly paid by your neighbours once they've paid the excess and you must not sleep walk into any problems with your property. It is not personal.

Employ a party wall surveyor - the surveyor overlooking their work can act as your surveyor but equally you can employ your own. But my experience of workin on long complex cases as my Dads unpaid secretary is that you should. Why wouldn't you? Again, it's not personal - it's for your own protection.

And yy to itscold - it's much easier if you aren't in dispute which is why I mentioned that you could appoint their surveyor to act as yours as well. No need for conflict - no stress, just make sure you have someone checking your house isn't affected. You aren't doing anything aggressive in appointing someone...

I think it would be sensible to look at the nitty gritty of the PWA, because I think that there may be some confusion here.

As I understand it, whether or not you request your own independent surveyor, or use theirs (either of which would be at their expense), you are still 'in dispute'.

Yes, they will have employed a surveyor to serve the party wall notice, but she/he will not have assessed the plans in any great detail, and will not do so unless you enter into a dispute.

So you can't realistically ask their surveyor to tell you all will be ok without entering a dispute and getting a party wall agreement in place.

This really is a case of asking yourself if you want to potentially risk your home to avoid falling out with your neighbours. I realise that it is a tricky decision.

If I was your neighbour I would completely understand if you chose to enter a dispute. I would not think I had the right to excavate to a level lower than your foundations without expecting to give you formal assurance that your home's stability had been duly considered. Especially in an area where subsidence is a possible factor.

Done properly, with both sides cooperating it will not be a huge cost to your neighbours if you enter into a dispute- unless of course your neighbours plans are deemed to be risky with regard to your house. If this is the case, then it would have been very worthwhile to enter dispute anyway.....

Thanks all. I feel reassured that appointing a surveyor is the best option. Will just be v nice to neighbours and hope they understand...

Our neighbours insisted on appointing a surveyor. Cost us an extra and fairly pointless £1k, which did piss us off, but they were within their rights and it hasn't affected our relationship (on the surface at least).

We are in a similar position. We have decided to get our own surveyor as it is just too much of a risk to take with our most valuable asset in my opinion.

I feel v awkward as our neighbours are also friends but ultimately our house is unfortunately more important than the friendship if it actually came to that.

I think the law is flawed as it shouldn't have to be up to me to insist on a surveyor. I think the onus should be on them to provide it with an option for me to choose not to have it.

Thanks Mutley, and totally agree. Why should someone be able to commission plans for a job that (in my case at least) could potentially cause so much damage without having to take into account the neighbour's property? Seems mad. Anyway. Seems the neighbour's insurance is covering all this anyway, so at least we're not costing them money.

Not looking forward to 2 months of drilling, however

We have a similar issue with neighbours wanting to use our party wall to attach their extension to (previous owners of our house built the wall up to the boundary). I'm happy for them to build if they a) reassure me it's not going to pull my house down and b) they make good any damage done to my property.

We objected to the PWN but I then did a covering letter explaining that I didn't object in principle, just wanted a surveyor appointed and schedule of condition produced etc. I also delivered the letter by hand and explained why we'd done that to minimise the feeling of 'dispute'.