Agreeing a Party Wall Award (PWA) is often low down on a homeowner’s agenda when undertaking a major house redevelopment project. Failure to enter into the party wall process early enough, however, can significantly delay a redevelopment project, as awards can often take longer to agree than the planning process itself.

Candice, our Senior Party Wall Surveyor, will be advised at the planning stage of any development works to be undertaken and will work alongside homeowners in securing all the necessary awards well ahead of any development works beginning. Not all development works are notifiable in nature, however, and as such a PWA is not always required.

A PWA is a legally binding document that sets out the working hours, access rights, safeguards and security elements to ensure works are undertaken without causing any unnecessary inconvenience to any adjoining owners and/or occupiers.

Examples of notifiable works include:

basement excavations

side returns

constructing flank walls along a boundary

excavating within prescribed distances of a shared or adjoining structure

altering a party structure

Where a PWA is required it will be the building owner (our client) that will be responsible for the fees of both their own and the adjoining owner’s surveyor and as such these costs should be factored into preliminary budgets. It is also not unusual, particularly where basement digs are part of a redevelopment project, for funds to be held in escrow for the duration of this period.