Party walls - any experts out there?

[GettingAwayFromItAll]

I'm in a stressful situation with my (detached) neighbours over their extension build. We normally get along well enough, though they can be a bit prickly.

I supported their planning application, but their excavations and groundworks appear to have entered Party Wall Act territory (according to a helpful property solicitor I contacted through my home insurance's free legal advice). The work to date is very clearly putting my property and our mutual safety at potential risk.

I need to address this but want to be certain of my position first, as they're not the type to say, "Oh sorry, we had no idea, we'll appoint a surveyor immediately and get this sorted." There'll likely be defensiveness and passive aggression, downplaying, and if I'm lucky maybe a bit of gaslighting too! So I need to be sure I'm correct and adopting an assertive but non-inflaming approach with them.

I've contacted several party wall surveyor firms for free initial advice (as the solicitor recommended) but haven't heard back. Meanwhile, I'm living with constant anxiety about it whilst nothing gets addressed. I've had major family stresses recently and feel like I can't cope with this too.

I've searched on here for past posts that might help and seen that @stevenway1 is a party wall surveyor who's helped others. Steven, could I possibly DM you please? I don't want to post specific details on here (I have good diagrams too - what a waste when Mumsnet loves a diagram!) as it could be outing.

Is anyone else knowledgeable about the Party Wall Act and what to do when neighbours likely should have notified you but didn't, and work is already well underway and possibly (probably) unsafe? I need a really robust roadmap for tackling this.

Thanks so much.

What is the distance between the exactions and the boundary? Party wall must be served if excavations are within 3m of the party wall and are deeper that your foundations.
You can get your solicitor to write to them and hopefully a party wall surveyor can be appointed soon. Otherwise you can try to get a court injunction for works to stop.
And just to be clear, even if your neighbour didn’t serve you with the party wall you are still entitled for compensation if their works cause your property any damage.

If work is unsafe then you probably need to address that irrespective of the party wall act.
Report to building control and HSE

Thanks, @MH0084 and @Rollercoaster1920.

The distance between excavations and the boundary has ended up being zero. I think what they’ve done at least falls within the 3rd criteria for works covered by the Act - excavations within 3m of and below structural foundations.

I don’t have a solicitor - and the solicitor I spoke to (free legal advice) said I “absolutely shouldn’t be incurring any costs over this”. So I’m waiting for the surveyors I’ve consulted to get back to me to confirm that this is 100% a party wall issue, and with a suggested approach.

I don’t want to go nuclear if I can possibly help it; I don’t want to stop their wider project, but to address this specific issue around the excavation and groundworks. I need to still have a functional relationship with these neighbours at the end of all this, as there are things we have to cooperate on due to the configuration of our houses. So it’s a balancing act.

@Rollercoaster1920, as for Building Control, the neighbours have told me all work to date has been approved, which I am stunned by. But I’m not confident this particular aspect of their works falls within Building Control’s remit anyway, and on our council’s website it explicitly refers party wall matters to the Act and advises instructing a surveyor (which it would seem is their job!).

I feel like I’m going round in circles, but will chase the surveyors today. If all else fails, I’m just going to have to speak to the neighbours setting out that it’s my understanding the Act is relevant here and that they need to instruct a surveyor ASAP. I just wanted to be absolutely sure of the legal position and an advised approach before I do because they will be very unhappy and challenge what I’m saying.

Thanks for your responses.

@stevenway1, are you about by any chance?