Neighbour Selling Up - Unbuilt Extension Questions...

[machineage]

So my neighbour is selling up and moving on after many years

In 2013 I obtained planning permission for an extension which will be built up to our diving boundary. The plans also invoked the Party Wall Act. My neighbours signed all parts of the Party Wall act in 2016 without any objections. In the same year I complied with the council’s requirements to start work within the three year time limit by getting the foundations dug & filled which they suggested was the minimum work required to comply. The foundations were of course passed by BC prior to being filled. I am still saving to get the extension built so it has been left at that since then.

I am now wondering if there would be anything a new neighbour could do to frustrate or halt the work? Will the Party Wall Act be invoked again because they are new neighbours or is that all done & dusted now the foundations are dug & filled?

Also are my present neighbours or the selling agents legally required to disclose details of the planning permission & Part Wall Act agreements to potential purchasers?

Thanks!

 

[^woody^]

The agreements pass with the sale.

Personal agreements should be disclosed, and statutory permissions be discovered in the searches.

 

[machineage]

Thanks Woody

I found that section 3.2 of the Seller's Property Information Form (SPIF) TA6 asks: 'Is the seller aware of any proposals to develop property or land nearby, or of any proposals to make alterations to buildings nearby? If Yes, please give details:'

So I imagine that's where they 'should' declare my proposals. I understand that given the plans were approved and works have been deemed to have started there isn't much any new occupiers could do on the planning front.

I was more concerned about the Party Wall Act and whether that would lapse when my existing neighbour moved or if it would not be an issue now the foundations were built.

Do you know if there is a time limit for the Party Wall Act for works to be completed or does it just relate to commencement of works?

Thanks again

 

[Nakajo]

It’s a grey area. However, the Act is there to protect you. What you don’t want is your new neighbour claiming damages against you for pre-existing damage to their wall. So, at the very least, when you come to continue the works, I would ask to resurvey their wall. With their consent, this doesn’t have to be a complicated task - thorough photos, along with some kind of confirmation of when those photos were taken, will do. In a moment, someone’s going to pipe up about the onus being on the neighbour to prove damage, but case law suggests that the courts don’t see it that way.

 

[^woody^]

I was more concerned about the Party Wall Act and whether that would lapse when my existing neighbour moved or if it would not be an issue now the foundations were built.

Do you know if there is a time limit for the Party Wall Act for works to be completed or does it just relate to commencement of works?

No time limits. The agreement (and rights/duties implied by the Act) pass to future owners for as long as the Act applies - ie completion of the relevent PW work.

 

[wessex101]

If the only element of the work that fell within the remit of the Party Wall Act was the new foundations and this has been completed and signed off then the sale should not frustrate future completion of the build which should be able to proceed like any normal extension not covered by the Party Wall Act.

All Party Wall agreements etc. are personal to the parties who signed at the time, they cannot be transferred to future purchasers. Although you do have an ongoing obligation for your new foundation not to cause damage to the neighbours property so if for some obscure reason the new foundation caused some subsidence at a later date the new neighbour could in theory raise a dispute.

Hang on a minute, I've just read what Woody wrote so now I'll have to go and check.

 

[^woody^]

Hang on a minute, I've just read what Woody wrote so now I'll have to go and check.

And let me know! lol

The Act does not have any time limits for this, and reference to the building owner and adjoining owner implies the rights, responsibilities and agreements are transferable to the current BO or AO as part of the conveyance.

One interesting point, is that if an Award was in place, then a buyer (of the property having the work done) would need to be very careful of any potential future costs (surveyor's fees) that may be incurred. The right to carry out future work "pursuant to the Act" is common in any Award - and this will involve fees.

 

[machineage]

Thanks guys!

So it passes to the new owners which is a relief! The act was invoked (questionably!) due to my foundations being built up to the timber boundary fence and within 3 metres of a neighbouring structure (their rear boundary brick wall). Anyway my neighbours signed all parts of the act without issue.

 

[Footsoldier888]

I think any dispute would be between your new and old neighbours if anything were to go amiss. After all you have done everything by the book and there is a specific question about Party Wall agreements in the sellers form, or at least the Law Society version.

 

[wessex101]

As usual it looks like Woody was right and I was wrong. Woody 1 - Wessex 0.....Bugger.

Having sat down and read the relevant section in my John Anstey it seems it is quite complicated and depends on whether it is the BO or AO who sells and what documents have been served and what stage the work is at. But generally for the adjoining owner an award/agreement can pass to successors in title so in this case the OP is in the clear.

It is good to have these questions to challenge the little grey cells and an excuse to dust off the books and keep up to date with the legislation.

 

[^woody^]

As usual it looks like Woody was right and I was wrong. Woody 1 - Wessex 0.....Bugger.

Having sat down and read the relevant section in my John Anstey it seems it is quite complicated and depends on whether it is the BO or AO who sells and what documents have been served and what stage the work is at. But generally for the adjoining owner an award/agreement can pass to successors in title so in this case the OP is in the clear.

It is good to have these questions to challenge the little grey cells and an excuse to dust off the books and keep up to date with the legislation.

With most things property related, just remember that things run with the land and not the person. Not all - major things like adverse possession can relate to the person, but if its specific to the land or building rather than the person using it, then it stays with the property when sold.