Demolition and neighbours

[bluebellbow]

Hi, we’ve got planning permission to demolish an old bungalow and build a house.

We want to demolish it as soon as possible but we know there are certain things that have to be done first but we’re a bit green about a lot of the procedure and I’m just wondering if anyone who has been through this process before can advise.

so the builder who is doing it is on standby…

I have a company coming to survey the property for asbestos, and if there is any we’ll obviously be getting it removed by a licensed company prior to demolition.

As the property is detached, we don’t have any shared walls, so I don’t think we need a party wall surveyor or solicitor?

But- we do want to be covered incase any of the work we carry out inadvertently damages either of the neighbouring properties- for example- the property next door has an external crack- we don’t want to be blamed for that, but equally the demolition of our property could make their crack worse I’m guessing?

What do we need to out in place to cover us and them?

is there a special insurance or a special surveyor we need to get?

Bat survey?

Yes I know we’re not allowed to disrupt bats. I’m talking specifically to do with the demolition and neighbouring properties, but thanks.

No advice from me personally, but a local bungalow has just been demolished and another larger chalet bungalow built in its place. The owner originally only had planning permission to extend bungalow, but watching them demolish existing bungalow they were virtually doing it brick by brick and there was only one wall left standing and they ended up submitting further extensive plans, which was approved. We’ve spoken to their neighbour who, apart from noise bashing out bricks, there was no damage to their property.

You may need a party wall agreement - it depends on how close to the boundary you are building.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-resolving-disputes-in-relation-to-party-walls/the-party-wall-etc-act-1996-explanatory-booklet#para_28

As above, you may need a party wall agreement depending on how close you are building/ digging foundations.

If you don't need one you could always take photos of the cracks etc. to prove they were existing. I think if your work does somehow make them worse they'd have to prove that was the case, and also prove that you/ your builders were negligent. Might be worth asking your builders if their public liability insurance would cover that sort of thing.

I think it’s the demolition company who need to be insured, not you. You could call your existing building insurer and ask them.

Really helpful post, thanks for sharing your situation. Even though it’s a detached property, I’ve heard people mention party wall matters in relation to demolition just to cover all bases. Did anyone here bring in a surveyor to record the neighbours’ condition before works, or rely mainly on insurance?

Take lots of photos before and along the way

I was also thinking about getting neighbours’ condition recorded - even photos or a schedule of condition might help. I came across a site on party wall agreements when I was looking into similar stuff, and while yours is detached, it still gave me some peace of mind about what surveyors can do to protect both sides. Curious if anyone here actually went down that route for a demo.