If your neighbour has undertaken building works without giving you notice, you may need to hire a Party Wall Surveyor to serve an injunction on them

Are you concerned that your neighbour is, or will be, undertaking building works, and have they;

Failed to serve Party Wall notices
Trespassed onto your land
Caused damage to your land or property
Disrupted the enjoyment of your land or property

If you have answered yes, you may need to serve an injunction on them. Call our Party Wall Surveyors for some advice.

What is a Party Wall Injunction?

A Party Wall injunction is obtained by the adjoining owner (neighbour) when a building owner starts building work to their property without having served a Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner. By finding a local Party Wall Surveyor, they will be able to draw up the necessary documents.

What is an injunction?

An injunction is an order to stop something from continuing. In the case of a Party Wall Injunction, it is a court order to stop a building owner from continuing their party wall building work until both parties have reached an agreement under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. A Party Wall Surveyor will undertake this work on your behalf.

When does the Party Wall Act apply?

The Party Wall Act 1996 applies to certain types of construction work including:

Extensions
Basement excavations
Loft conversions
Internal structural works (e.g. chimney breast removals)

To find out if your neighbour’s building work falls within the scope of the Act we would suggest speaking to one of the Party Wall Surveyors at Antino & Associates.

If the building owner’s work is notifiable, the building owner has a legal responsibility to serve a Party Wall Notice upon the adjoining owner.

Once the Party Wall Notice has been served, not only has the Party Wall Act 1996 and its associated protections been raised, the adjoining owner must respond to them with one of the following options:

Agree that the proposed works may go ahead
Disagree and appoint a single agreed surveyor
Disagree appoint a surveyor of their choice, the building owner would then do the same

At what point should I obtain an injunction?

An injunction comes into play when a Building Owner doesn’t serve a Party Wall Notice on the Adjoining Owner and commences the building work. Believe it or not this happens a lot and is often down to two reasons:

The Building Owner didn’t know that the Party Wall Act existed
The Building Owner intentionally failed to serve a Party Wall Notice

If this happens, the Adjoining Owner should speak to the Building Owner first and find out why the Notice was not served. If the Building Owner was not aware of the Party Wall Act, you may want to appoint the same party wall surveyor to undertake this work.

However, if the building owner has chosen to go down the path of not serving a Party Wall Notice, then you may want to proceed down the route of obtaining an injunction to protect your property rights. Find your own party wall surveyor and they will undertake the necessary work.

How much does a Party Wall Injunction cost?

Party Wall injunctions are not always straightforward and they may carry a risk to the adjoining owner, so we recommend seeking legal advice on the subject before proceeding down that route.

An injunction is not to be taken lightly and should only ever be obtained after a qualified and experienced Party Wall Surveyor has advised you of this route.

What is the process of obtaining an injunction?

If a Building Owner has not served notice under the Act, a party wall surveyor will investigate the works undertaken and prepare a report for your legal team. We have extensive contacts throughout the UK with solicitors and barristers specialising in this complex area of law. We will work closely with your legal team to ensure that your property is reinstated to its full and proper condition.

I want to get an Injunction, what should I do next?

If you want to discuss the potential of obtaining an injunction, call our team of Party Wall Surveyors now on 01245 490 019 and they will be happy to advise if an injunction is right for you.

Injunction Services