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Written question asked by Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 21 April 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 26 April 2022 (named day). It was answered by Stuart Andrew (Conservative) on Tuesday, 26 April 2022 on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Walls and Fences: Injunctions

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) average legal costs of pursuing a civil court injunction to enforce compliance with the Party Wall Act 1996 and (b) extent to which those costs prohibit homeowners from reaching a resolution.

Answer

Anyone intending to carry out any of the works mentioned in section 2 of the Party Wall Act 1996, must inform all adjoining owners. The Act contains no enforcement procedures for failure to serve a notice. If work starts without a notice being given, an adjoining owner can seek to stop the work through a court injunction or seek other legal redress.

The Department has not carried out an assessment of the average legal costs of pursuing a civil court injunction to enforce compliance with the Act or the potential merits of amending the Act. The Act provides for surveyors to be paid the reasonable costs of drawing up an award. However, if the building owner or the adjoining owner feels that a surveyor’s costs are unreasonable, they may ask for a breakdown of costs, e.g. the hourly rate and number of hours of time being charged for.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
157514
Session
2021-22
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Legal costs Injunctions Walls and fences
Legislation
Party Wall etc Act 1996
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk