Although the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 extended the scope of party wall legislation to the whole of England and Wales, similar legislation has been in place in London for over 100 years, and Orpwood Associates has over 30 years experience in acting in this type of work.

We at Orpwood Associates deal with Party Wall matters on a daily basis and have an in-depth knowledge of the workings of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, which, coupled with our broad experience of construction techniques, gives us the ability to resolve your party wall dispute. Thus, whether you are a developer contemplating the redevelopment of a city centre site or owner concerned about the possible effect of a neighbour's extension on your house, we would be pleased to hear from you.

This legislation has two main purposes. The first is to enable building work and development to be carried out in congested urban environments, and the second to provide some protection to the owners and occupiers of adjoining land and buildings which may be affected by such work.

As its name suggests, the Act covers work to "Party Walls" (i.e. essentially those walls which separate the buildings of different owners, and/or which sit astride the boundary between two properties), but also deals with walls built up to the boundary, and excavations which are lower than the adjoining owner's foundations and within a prescribed distance from them.

As with all legislation the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 has its own particular terminology, but for the purposes of this introduction, it will suffice to say that the person intending to carry out the work is known as the "Building Owner", and the neighbour likely to be affected by it is known as the "Adjoining Owner".

Subject to the service of appropriate notices the Act gives certain rights to the "Building Owner". For example:

• The service of a "Party Structures Notice" will amongst other rights give the Building Owner the right to underpin, raise, or insert beams into the Party Wall
• The service of a "Line of Junction Notice" will allow the Building Owner to erect a wall adjacent to the boundary (or with the Adjoining Owner's consent) to construct this wall as a Party Wall
• The service of a "Notice of Adjacent Excavation" (previously referred to as a "3/6 metre notice") allows basements or similar excavations to be constructed close to the Adjoining Owner's property.

In exercising these rights the Building Owner incurs certain obligations to the Adjoining Owner such as the need to make good at their own cost any damage resulting from his works, to carry out the work in a manner which does not cause unnecessary inconvenience to the Adjoining Owner or occupier, and in certain circumstances to pay the Adjoining Owner compensation.

On receipt of the above notices an Adjoining Owner can respond in one of three ways.

1. Consent to the proposed works, which brings the party wall procedure to an end. Giving consent would be appropriate when the works are of a minor nature, the two owners have a good relationship, and are confident in the competence of the builder.
2. Dissent to the proposed works and then both owners concurring in the appointment of one surveyor (referred to as the "Agreed Surveyor"). The appointment of an Agreed Surveyor would be appropriate where the works are of a simple nature, but where the Adjoining Owner may have concerns about certain aspects of the work and would prefer to have the added protection of a party wall surveyor to ensure that the correct procedures are followed.
3. Dissenting to the proposed works and then each owner appointing their own party wall surveyor. This situation is appropriate in all other cases.

Once an Adjoining Owner dissents to a notice, a "dispute" is deemed to have occurred (even if the owners are on good speaking terms) and a surveyor or surveyors have to be appointed to resolve the "dispute". Where each of the owners has appointed their own surveyor, a third surveyor is then selected by the two surveyors to overcome the problem of the two surveyors failing to reach agreement.

The dispute is resolved by the issue (by the Agreed Surveyor, or two of the other three appointed surveyors) of a "Party Wall Award". This is a document which is sent to both owners and sets out the Building Owner's right to execute the work, the time and manner of executing this, and any other relevant matters arising out of the "dispute".

Before producing their Award, one of the first duties of the surveyors is to prepare a "schedule of condition" of the Adjoining Owner's property. This records the condition of the property before the Building Owner's work starts and provides the surveyors with a reference point to enable then to check whether any damage has been caused to the Adjoining Owner's property, when it is re-inspected on completion of the works.

Unusually for a professional appointment a party wall surveyor has an obligation to act impartially between owners and may therefore disregard the views or instructions of his particular appointing owner or owners. It is for this reason that the legislation gives owners the right to appeal against the issue or content of a Party Wall Award in the local County Court.