A loft conversion is a popular addition to many homes. It adds some much-needed living space that can allow your family to grow, and provide a home office, recreation room, or anything else you can think of. For those in terraced, end-of-terrace, or semi-detached houses, shared walls with neighbours can make the process of creating a loft conversion more complicated. This is because you will need a party wall agreement before you can go ahead with construction. People who live in a detached house that doesn't share a wall with any neighbour will not need an agreement.
Gain insights: Can You Do A Loft Conversion On A Terraced House
A party wall is a shared property boundary line. It stands on the land of two or more properties and forms part of a building, in the case of a house or other structure. A party wall that is a garden wall (not a garden fence) can also be a party wall even if it doesn't form a structure.
Party structures are ceiling/floor or other structures that separate parts of a building that have different owners. This is common when a building is split into flats.
Both the properties include the party wall on the wall. It is shared ownership between both properties.
There is a common misconception that each owner owns "their half" of the party wall up to the centre line but this is not the case. The whole wall is owned by the owners of each adjoining property.
The Party Wall Act 1996 lays out a framework to prevent or resolve disputes related to:
It covers:
In the case of loft conversions, we are concerned with the part of the act that covers work carried out to the party wall itself.
The Party Wall Act gives building owners the right to make structural changes to their party walls. However, the adjoining owners of the party wall also have the right to consent to or oppose the structural work.
A party wall agreement is a legal document that provides consent for structural work to be done on a party wall.
It is intended to protect both the building owners and the adjoining owners. There are no legal enforcements to altering a party wall without an agreement but your neighbouring owners can take you to court to stop the work or seek alternative legal redress.
Under the Party Wall Act 1996, if you intend to carry out work on a party wall, you have a legal obligation to inform the other owners of the wall beforehand. This notice has to be in writing. And it must be given to them at least two months before work commences. It only lasts for a year, after which you would need to provide a new notice.
There is no specific form that you need to use (although there is a template that you can get from the government website), but the notice should contain some specific information.
This includes:
Before serving your neighbours with a Party Wall Notice, you are free to have informal discussions with them about the project. This is often the best way to approach the issue so that your neighbour isn't blindsided by the written notice. You can usually come to a friendly agreement in advance.
Once you have served your neighbouring properties with a Party Wall Notice, they have 14 days to respond. Again, this needs to be a written response. They have a few options here, including:
If your neighbour refuses to consent to your Party Wall Notice, you must go through the dispute resolution procedures.
At least one party wall surveyor will conduct the dispute resolution process. If you and your neighbour can agree to appoint a single surveyor (an "agreed party wall surveyor"), then they will complete it alone. If you can't agree, then you can each appoint your own surveyor.
The party wall surveyors will assess the party wall and the proposed works. And they will each put forward the preferred outcome for their owner. Once they have done so, however, they will work together to create a Party Wall Award that represents the needs and preferences of both owners in a fair and practical way.
A third surveyor can be brought in if the two surveyors can't agree on the outcome of the award.
A Party Wall Award sets out:
If your neighbour fails to respond after 14 days, you should not take this as consent. No response is considered a refusal to consent and you will have to go through the dispute resolution process.
The counter Party Wall Notice will need to reach you within 14 days of your notice and then you will have the same amount of time to respond with your written consent or refusal.
If the modifications to the construction work proposed by your neighbour would benefit them, they will be liable for funding them. In this situation, a party wall surveyor would be well placed to ensure everyone's best interests are preserved.
Party wall agreements are needed when structural changes will be made to the shared wall between two properties. You would be forgiven for wondering why you would need one for a loft conversion when this is altering the top of your house rather than anything to do with the wall between your house and your neighbouring properties.
A loft conversion will, however, be almost certain to require changes to the existing party wall in several ways. The party wall is often chosen to be incorporated into the loft conversion construction because it works well as a load-bearing wall compared to non-party walls. A party wall has no windows or doors, making it more structurally sound.
Find out more: Do You Need Planning Permission For Loft Conversions
Several structural changes could be made to a party wall during a loft conversion. For example:
All of these changes would need a Party wall agreement before work could go ahead.
Party Wall Notices and party wall agreements aren't needed for all loft conversions. There are some situations where you can go ahead with the construction without the need to inform anyone at all.
If you have a detached house and share none of your walls with neighbouring properties then you don't need to inform anyone that you intend to construct a loft conversion. You will still need to work with the local authority to ensure that you abide by building regulations, however.
Even in a terraced or semi-detached house, you will not always need a party wall agreement for a loft conversion. Party wall matters only come into play when the work will affect the party wall of adjoining properties.
A loft conversion that doesn't impact the party wall at all can be designed, although it can complicate the construction. It involves creating a column structure beneath the loft conversion that can hold the load-bearing beams instead of installing them in the party wall.
In most cases, it is simpler and cheaper to contact the parties involved and come to a party wall agreement.
We understand that obtaining a party wall agreement can be complex but we understand the process inside and out. When you work with us to install your loft conversion, we can help you to deliver party wall notices, work with surveyors, develop plans to be submitted, and work within the party wall agreement with minimal disruption to all parties involved.
The Party Wall Act 1996 was developed to resolve disputes over structural alterations made to party walls (walls that two adjoining properties share). A loft conversion in terraced, end-of-terrace, or semi-detached houses will almost always require changes to a party wall. A party wall agreement will need to be made between you and your neighbours before work can go ahead to ensure that everyone's best interests are protected.
