Who pays for the fees of a party wall surveyor?

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Who Pays For The Party Wall Act?

The Party Wall etc. Act of 1996 gives a property owner the legal right to carry out specific works that would otherwise be considered trespass or nuisance.

It also seeks to protect adjoining owners’ interests from any potentially negative impacts that particular works may have by requiring that all adjacent shareholders be provided advance notification of them.

In all normal circumstances where a building owner requires a Party Wall Award to be agreed, the building owner will cover the cost of the appointed Surveyor or Surveyors.

Fundamentally, this is the correct procedure because the building owner is the one doing the work; thus, the adjoining owner should not have to pay for a Surveyor to agree on an Award.

What is included in the Party Wall Surveyor’s fee?

In general, the cost of both Party Wall Surveyors Nash in carrying out the procedures that lead to the agreement of a Party Wall Award will be borne by the building owner.

The building owner will pay a fixed fee to the Party Wall Surveyor in most cases. The adjoining owner’s Party Wall Surveyor Nash, on the other hand, will charge an hourly rate for any time spent on the matter. The fee will include following Section 10 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996,

“Reasonable expenses incurred in—

(a) granting or receiving an award under this section;

(b)reasonable inspections of the work covered by the award; and

(c) any other issue arising from the dispute,”

The Party Wall Surveyor’s Nash responsibilities will include everything from file setup to correspondence, drawing review, Schedule of Condition Inspections, and finally agreeing on the Party Wall Award.

However, in sporadic cases, an adjoining owner has been required to pay for Surveyor’s fees.

When does an adjoining owner have to pay the fees of a Party Wall Surveyor?

By Section 11(4) of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996:

“Where work is carried out in the exercise of the right specified in section 2(2)(a), and the result is required due to a defect or lack of repair of a framework or facade in question, the costs shall be supported by the building owner as well as the adjacent landlord in such ratio as has regard to—

(a) the use that the owners make or may make of the structure or wall in question; and

(b) responsibility for the defect or lack of repair in question if more than one owner uses the structure or wall in question.”

For example, suppose the building owner proposes demolishing and rebuilding a defective shared garden wall. In that case, the Party Wall Surveyors fees must be shared by the two owners, as the works benefit both the building owner and the adjoining owner.

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