Have you received a Party Wall Notice from your Hoddesdon neighbour?

If you have received a Party Wall Notice through your Hoddesdon letterbox it means that you have a few options in how to respond.

1. You can give your written consent to the Party Wall Notice within 14 days of receiving it. Your Hoddesdon neighbour will then be able to start the work to their home, including to the shared wall, in the timescale that they have set out in the Party Wall Notice.  Please note that with this scenario you will find it difficult to claim damages if something goes wrong.

2. You can give your written consent to the Party Wall Notice within 14 days, on the condition that a schedule of condition is prepared on your Hoddesdon property. This will document the condition of your Hoddesdon property before the work is done with photographic evidence to ensure that you can make a claim if damage is done to your property during the development.

3. You can ignore the Party Wall Notice and automatically dissent. This means that one or more Party Wall Surveyors will draft a Party Wall Agreement for you to sign before work starts. If you are happy to use a single Party Wall Surveyor, as suggested by your Hoddesdon neighbour then there is no need to do anything.
4. If you dissent to the Party Wall Notice and would like to appoint a Party Wall Surveyor of your own choosing, you must inform your adjoining Hoddesdon neighbour within 10 days after the initial 14 day notice period. This will result in additional costs and isn’t commonly needed as Party Wall Surveyors are impartial and act on behalf of the Party Wall Act rather than a particular client.

For more detailed guidance on how to respond to a Party Wall Notice from your Hoddesdon neighbour give Paul Brettell a call on 07815 051255.