The role of surveyors under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (the Act) is a unique piece of legislation, as it applies a dispute resolution process for works affecting neighbouring owners that is administered by surveyors and not by the courts or through formal arbitration procedures. This gives surveyors appointed under the Act a statutory role and it is therefore important that surveyors properly understand the extent of that role, the responsibilities that come with it and the limits of their jurisdiction. This paper examines case law to explain key issues of the surveyor’s role in detail. Much of that case law is from the County Court, which means that it is not binding on other courts, but as many of those judgments make reference to decisions of higher courts, they give valuable guidance to surveyors about how the courts understand the surveyor’s role. Many of the decisions result from courts deciding that actions of a surveyor were incorrect, which shows the importance of not taking for granted that the regular practice of other surveyors is necessarily correct. This article focuses on the role of surveyors when each owner appoints their own surveyor. Many of the points will of course also apply to agreed surveyors.