Good evening,
It is a requirement to serve a party structure notice at least 2 months before you propose to start the works.
(the neighbour can waive the notice period in writing but for the notice to be valid it must have at least 2 months notice period).
The works fall under section 2(2)(g) of the party wall act.
Once the notice is served the adjoining owner will have a choice, to either consent or dissent.
If they consent, it is recommended to pay for a schedule of condition within the adjoining property.
This is not a legal requirement - just a recommendation
This protects both owners and makes resolving all future disputes, easy.
It is important that the schedule if performed thoroughly.
Ask any prospective surveyor for an example of one of their schedules, if this is just a few photos, it will help a little but if you are paying decent money your schedule should be comprehensive.
During a usual schedule we'll take anywhere between 200-500 high resolution photographs, in addition, crack lengths are measured and classified by how wide they are.
Around 30% of all cracks we find, the home owner did not even know existed - no one walks round looking up at the ceiling, behind curtains or around the junction of door frames.
If no schedule is performed before the works start - you can guess who the finger is pointed at when the cracks are noticed.
If the neighbour dissents to the notice an agreed surveyor or two separate surveyors are appointed to resolve the dispute.
A schedule is performed and an award is written stating how the works should be carried out.
These are ways to reduce the risk to the adjoining owner's property which in turn will save the building owner having to pay out compensation. Example - when cutting into the party wall, no pneumatic/percussive tools are permitted. The wall should be cut using a circular saw/arbortech wall saw or similar. If drilling into the wall to install gallow brackets, the hammer action needs to be turned off.
Vibration can cause the adjoining owners plaster to come loose or cause cracks - vibrations should be avoided or at least kept to a minimum.
If you plan to serve the notice yourself, perform a land registry search of the adjoining property to see who owns the building.
All leaseholders (with a lease over 12 months) and freeholders should be served a notice although it is good practice to serve the notice on the freeholder first.
The notice needs to be served by everyone on your deeds, so if there are 3 owners of your house, they all must sign the notice.
If you need any further info, contact details can be found on the website and our advice is always free.
www.mrpartywall.co.uk/