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ARTICLE · 07 APRIL 2017

Dealing With Party Walls

BrookStreet des Roches
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Disputes between neighbouring property owners often arise when one property owner does something to the boundary between the two properties which the adjoining owner objects to.

United KingdomReal Estate and Construction
Rebecca Thomas
Rebecca Thomas
Joe Bellhouse
Joe Bellhouse

Disputes between neighbouring property owners often arise when one property owner does something to the boundary between the two properties which the adjoining owner objects to. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (the "Act") tries to limit these disputes by clearly setting out the rights and responsibilities of both parties, together with a dispute resolution mechanism to help resolve arguments quickly and easily.

DOES THE ACT APPLY TO US?

The Act applies to neighbours who share a boundary: the "building owner" is the person who wants to exercise the rights (and may be a freeholder, a leaseholder or a prospective purchaser or tenant with a purchase contract/agreement for lease in place). The "adjoining owner" is the owner or occupier of the neighbouring property. There may be multiple building and adjoining owners in respect of one party wall.

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