Neighbors loft extension

[PrioritiseCalm]

They are trying to get out of having a survey done for the party wall agreement as it's going to cost them a grand.

This is important right? We need to request they do it?

Definitely insist upon it: www.myhomeextension.co.uk/do-you-need-party-wall-agreement-loft-conversion

You need to insist they do it. They're not allowed to start work without one.

Agree with pps - this is your right and you must insist. If they don’t like the cost, tough - tell them to cut their budget elsewhere so they can meet their legal obligations.

Don’t take any nonsense or pushback on this - “I insist on PW survey before any work begins, that is my legal right. No, there is nothing further to discuss”.

They will be shooting themselves in the foot if they push on without one - when they come to sell their property, any solicitor worth their salt will insist on seeing a copy of the Party Wall Agreement.

This might help: www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-resolving-disputes-in-relation-to-party-walls/the-party-wall-etc-act-1996-explanatory-booklet#part-3-adjoining-ownersoccupiers

I'm not asking "do we need a party wall agreement"

I am asking "should we insist on a survey on the party wall as part of that?"

It will have to be part of that 🤷🏻‍♀️ It's what the agreement is based on...

Yes, you should insist on a survey on the party wall by a party wall surveyor. This can be a surveyor of your choosing and your neighbour is legally obliged to pay (assuming their planned works could impact the party wall).

The surveyor will inspect before and after the works to compare and confirm no damage has been done.

I had the same with a neighbour, they had to pay for the surveyor. Just as well I insisted as the work caused cracks in my wall which they had to make good.

withiut the PW survey you’ll find it hard to hold them to account is damage is cause.

This is totally wrong. A party wall agreement is required by law but a party wall surveyor does not have to be appointed. It's in both parties interests to get 1 done though (to be paid for by the person having the work done obviously) as otherwise the neighbour could accuse the work being undertaken next door as being the reason for unrelated issues in the future.

A party wall survey paid for by them is a good idea for you and the neighbours doing the work. You could just agree to the work without one but I probably wouldn't.

You can insist on having a surveyor each at their cost if you like, though to my mind that would be needlessly obstructive. I know from experience that once you get more than one professional involved they have a vested interest in spinning it out as long as possible (sometimes involving others to do makework your neighbours will pay for), and in the meantime the relationship with your neighbours is irreparable and you have to live with that.

I'd also insist on a chartered surveyor. A 'party wall surveyor' has a much lower level of knowledge than a chartered surveyor. Introducing this new lesser cohort (and not having to pay for the proper professional surveyor) was meant to keep costs down. However, we found we were glad to have had a chartered surveyor involved as the 'party wall surveyor' didn't even know how to correctly identify a party wall or structure.

I have done two extensions to my semi detached house. In both cases the neighbour signed the party wall agreement without a survey. I would of course have paid for the survey if they had wanted one.

in one case, we agreed to take photos of their adjoining wall first so we could identify if there was any damage (there wasn’t)

As above, a surveyor is not essential to a PWA - the PWA can be signed by you (the neighbour) and the works can start without a survey.

It really depends on the relationship with your neighbour - if you trust that they are genuine, will cover the cost of any works required, then you probably don't need the survey (although most people would suggest you get one anyway just to be on the safe side). When we've done work we've spoken at length with the neighbours about the work, agreed we'd cover any cost for damage caused and they signed the PWA without a survey.

@PrioritiseCalm
You object to the Party Wall agreement and appoint your own surveyor at their cost. There are many reputable companies that do this work, including structural engineers. If they don’t want a survey, they are already obstructing the process! It’s your house that is affected by this and you should have a before and after survey. Plus pictures and working hours agreement etc. So when the agreement arrives, object and appoint your own surveyor. It’s frankly obstructing and ultimately meaningless not to have a survey done. It is considered vital by most reasonable people. No one should agree to anything without a proper agreement after a survey of existing conditions! Plus a repair agreement if anything goes wrong with your house.