Common Mistakes Homeowners Bedford Make
Assuming It’s Only Their Property
Just because the work is being done on your block doesn’t mean it won’t also impact your neighbor’s home. Where there are ‘party structures’ that are attached to, or placed on top of a party wall (or sometimes the foundations), whether they build up to or against the line of junction between two properties in separate ownership, they also fall within th:+e scope of the Party Wall etc. If they are impacted by what you are doing there, they will deserve to be noticed.
Skipping the Party Wall Notice
A popular misconception is to do works without serving this notice. At Jason Edworthy we recive telephone call every single day from client who are in a state because reverted to get a party wall agreement. This is a legal obligation. If you don’t, your project can be poisoned by the scandalous kind of time-sucking finger-pointing, delays and (in the worst cases) court injunctions that can rot communities from the inside.
Trust by the Builder or Architect to Deal with
Homeowners too often assume that their builder or architect is managing the party wall process. But they could not if they are not Party Wall Surveyors. The onus is always going to be on you as the owner to meet it.
Why a schedule of condition is so important.
A Schedule of Condition is something you need to agree before any work starts – it is a written record of whatever your neighbour’s property looks like. Without it, you’d be vulnerable to allegations of damage that existed on the car when you collected it and you’d have no way to defend yourself.
Relying on Verbal Agreements
Your neighbour could be the best guy in the world and say, “yeah, go ahead,” but if something goes badly wrong you pour the concrete too far onto his property you could be sued. The law requires you to provide adequate notice and jump through other paperwork-y hoops on skipping that could (you’ll have to check) end up with you on the hook for some money.
