Party Walls Agreements
A Party wall agreement is a document you need to have signed by your adjoining neighbour/s before starting your Loft Conversion.
When building works (even putting a nail into the wall!!!) are being undertaken, a party wall notice needs to be served on the neighbour along with a copy of the drawings. They will need to sign the document saying they are content for the works to commence. If the neighbour signs the notice saying they are not content you will need to instruct a party wall surveyor.
The neighbour/s will also need a surveyor, this will be at your cost, we recomend using the same surveyor as this will be more cost effective and shorten the time the surveyor takes to draw up the party wall agreement, in order to do this you will need your neighbour/s to agree to use the same surveyor, they do have the right to object and instruct an independant surveyor.
There are ways around using a surveyor, some companies will have employees who can discuss technical questions the neighbours may have, or presenting insurance certifcates and taking photographs of the party wall may be enough comfort for the neighbour to sign the party wall notice, you can ask your chosen Loft company if this is something they are happy to do. It is a good idea to ask your neighbours to sign the document as soon as possible, not only could this delay your job if the neighbour decents, but your neighbours could also be approached by surveyors who search the planning records on the councils websites to look for people who are having work done, they then approach the neighbours inplanting insecurities about the proposed works or the company you have chosen to do the work to the party wall, which you will end up paying for and this could be at an extortionate rate.
You can view the Party Wall Act 1996 for more information by clicking the following link :