Do i need to comply with party wall act?

[dogman]

We are about to start our project and would value everyone's opinion on the party wall act.

 

Our project is the demolition of an old cottage and the construction of a new timber frame dwelling

We have planning and the demolition notice sorted.

 

My question is do we need to  worry about the party wall act. The reason i ask is the old cottage is connected by a small section of wall to next door. (about 2m)

During demolition we will detach totally from their house.

To explain in more detail the house next door was initially a detached dwelling and sometime many years ago our cottage was attached to next door. This was not done to current standards and our house does not penetrate the external skin of next door and other than a few screw holes and once removed there will be no work required to put any "damage" right. 

The only work we will need to do is put right a down pipe that currently runs inside our house.

I have looked at the act and guidance and cannot decide if removing our structure will need us to serve notice as we are not actually working on next doors wall.

Our deeds do state it is a party wall and next door do want us to detach.

 

Views please

 

[Incipiens Mox]

I think I'm right in saying that you don't need a party wall agreement if your neighbour is fine without one. However, simplistically speaking, if you are doing any work within three meters of your neighbours buildings (not boundary) then you do need to serve your neighbour with a party wall notice. They can then come back and either assent to it (meaning you'll agree to foot the bill for any damage and there's no need for them to appoint a surveyor) or dissent, in which case they appoint someone to act on their behalf for which you pay (as well as your own surveyors fees)

It sounds to me that although the work you are carrying out near their property is minimal, you would probably need to go through this process, though your architect / structural engineer should be able to give you a firmer idea. If in doubt, I'd advise getting professional advice - in writing.

 

If you really get on with your neighbour and they're happy to take a few snaps of their house for reference and you give a written assurance that you'll put right any damage caused by your works then it could save a bit of money. Personally, I'm inclined to the pessimistic view that relations can easily turn sour over the most trivial of matters and any legal costs and delays could very easily outweigh the money you saved by not having the party wall but this is speaking without much experience of party wall issue (just going through it myself with sniffy neighbours!)

The link below may be of some help.

 

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-improving/party-wall-agreement/