Has your Wood Green neighbour served you with a Party Wall Notice?

A Party Wall Notice is an official document notifying you that the owner of your neighbouring Wood Green property is planning to begin building work on a wall or boundary that is shared with your Wood Green property.

You will see from the Party Wall Notice the details of what work is being planned and the timescales of when the work will be carried out.  But how should you respond to a Party Wall Notice in order to protect the interests of your Wood Green home or commercial property?

Do Nothing!
By doing nothing you automatically dispute the Party Wall Notice.  This may be your best course of action. In this scenario your adjoining Wood Green neighbour will appoint a Party Wall Surveyor. The Party Wall Surveyor will act impartially and will draw up an agreement between you and your Wood Green neighbour setting out the access arrangements, working hours and documenting the state of the wall so that any damage to the party wall can be compensated for.

Give Consent
You can bypass the need for a Party Wall Agreement by giving your written consent to your Wood Green neighbour within 14 days of receiving the Party Wall Notice. However this gives you limited means of redress should the party wall be damaged in the development.

Appoint a Party Wall Surveyor
You can dispute the Party Wall Notice and appoint a different Party Wall Surveyor to work on the Party Wall Agreement.  This is likely to incur your Wood Green neighbour with additional expense, and therefore may not be a popular choice.  If you have reason to be particularly cautious, it could be your preferred option.

Party Wall Surveyor Paul Brettell can provide you with further detail on each of these options.  Give him a call on 07815 051255 for free initial advice.