Blog
Boundaries and Party Walls in Fulham and Stanmore
Friday 15th January 2021
Carl O'Boyle BSc MRICS FCIOB MFPWS
Tayross Associates; Chartered Building Surveyors were recently involved in a Party Wall project in Fulham where we were acting as the Agreed Surveyor for both parties.
As is often the case, sometimes the position of the boundary can become confused and can become the cause of a dispute between neighbours.
In this particular instance the architect who prepared the drawings assumed that the boundary was projected out from the centreline of the Party Wall all the way between the neighbours' gardens at the rear.
When I got to site to do my site inspection, it was clear to me that this was not the case and that whether through agreement or for other reasons the boundary was not as the architect had indicated on the drawings.
This is often a common mistake which can have fundamental repercussions should the Building Owner build their new extension across the boundary without being aware of this. This could have led to a very costly boundary dispute, when the neighbour who has been away in a lengthy vacation returns to see a wall in his or her garden that was not there before.
We were involved as Party Wall surveyors in such a dispute in Stanmore, Middlesex. This led to the Building Owner having to remove their flank extension wall; but not just the wall, they also had to remove the portion of the foundations that were over sailing the boundary. This particular dispute ended up in court and there was a pre-court settlement totalling £40,000 and the cost of the remedial works which amounted to another £20,000.
It is always best to check the position of the boundaries with the Adjoining Owner before commencing any works.
I always recommend that the boundary is set out by the builder with a string line and that the neighbour is asked to agree this in advance of the excavation works starting. This helps minimise any disputes later.
For your Party Wall projects please feel free to call us at Tayross.
