The UK Party Wall Act of 1996 was enacted to prevent and solve disputes between neighbors who share a common boundary. Click for info defines the rights of owner's of buildings in regards to any building, alteration, renovation or repair work to boundaries and walls between adjacent properties.MOSTLY Used RightsThe most popular rights by building owner's are the following: Adjacent excavation and construction Construction of new party and boundary walls Cutting into walls to take beam bearings or to insert damp proofing Demolish and rebuild a common boundary Increase the height of a wall Increase the thickness of a wall Underpin the party wallYour Duties Beneath the ActIf you intend to carry out any work to common boundaries, you must give notice to all or any adjoining home owners. You cannot cut into your side of the party wall without informing your neighbors of your intentions. The act will not give any specific enforcement procedures but if you neglect to serve notice, you risk being served with a court injunction or your neighbor(s) may seek some other legal redress.Your neighbors cannot stop you from exercising your rights under the Party Wall Act however they have a say in when and the way the work is undertaken. The act also expressly states that you may not cause unnecessary inconvenience to your neighbors. Inconvenience in cases like this specifically refers to any extra nuisance over and above whatever would predictably occur when the work is carried out in the correct manner.Owners of adjoining properties should take note that the main reason for the Party Wall Act would be to facilitate development and is not meant to be considered a hindrance. In the event you fail to respond to a notice given under the act, the developer/building owner may appoint a surveyor on your behalf and the dispute resolution process will proceed without your consent.Appointing a Party Wall SurveyorIn the event an agreement cannot be reached between adjoining property owners, the legal requirement would be to appoint a celebration Wall Surveyor. Surveyors are legally mandated to act impartially; they ought to not favor the appointing owner. The property owners may also appoint a surveyor each for them to come to an agreement with the person. However, this is a more costly and time-consuming option. In the former case, the dog owner going to undertake work pays the surveyors fees including fees reasonably incurred by his neighbor(s).When selecting surveyor, one should be careful to appoint a specialist with a track record of surveys of the nature. For the reason that that is a highly specialized field with serious legal implications in the case an error or omission is committed.If you're planning some work and your neighbor has failed to respond to your notice or you're currently involved in a dispute, call AA Projects and obtain help from top notch Party Wall Act surveyors.