The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 amendment

May 4, 2016 By

Party Wall etc Act 1996On April 06 2016, the first amendment to The Party Wall etc. Act came into force, since it was enacted in 1996.

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (Electronic Communications) Order 2016 was approved by the Department for Communities and Local Government on 10th March 2016.

What Amendment has been made to the Party Wall etc. Act?

The Order amends section 15 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, which is in relation to the service of notices. Previously legislation allowed for notices and documents to be served or given only in person or by post. This amendment will mean that notices and documents pursuant to the provisions of the Act may be achieved by electronic communications, provided that the intended recipient has stated a willingness to receive them by those means.

The new section 15 (1a&c) states that ‘a notice or other document required or authorised to be served under this Act may also be served on a person (“the recipient”) by means of an electronic communication, but only if— (a) the recipient has stated a willingness to receive the notice or document by means of an electronic communication; and (c) the notice or document was transmitted to an electronic address specified by the recipient.’

A Party Wall usually separates buildings belonging to different owners, but could include garden walls built astride a boundary (known as party fence walls). The Act is designed to avoid and minimise disputes. It makes sure property owners notify adjoining owners in advance of proposed works. It’s important to remember that notice should be served even if works are being undertaken only to your side of a wall.

If you need advice on Party Wall matters, please contact RMA Surveyors.  We are members of the RICS and provide surveying and advice in compliance with The Party Wall etc. Act 1996.  We act on behalf of building owners and adjoining owners, as well as agreed surveyors for both parties. Call us on 01635 579208 or complete the enquiry form.

Filed Under: Industry News, Newbury, Party Wall, Party Wall Awards, Residential, RICS, RMA Surveyors, West Berkshire Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Insurance Reinstatement Repair

March 17, 2015 By

Damp floorWe recently undertook an insurance reinstatement repair contract in Compton, Berkshire.

The semi-detached property had suffered a central heating leak within the floor screed. It could not be determined how long the leak had been established but the whole ground floor screed was saturated. The client appointed us to liaise with the insurance company and their appointed loss adjuster.

We visited the site, assessed the damage and advised the loss adjuster of the works required. We drew together a schedule of works, which we issued for competitive tender. We ensured a contractor was appointed to undertake the works and attended regular site meetings to ensure works were completed within the four week contract period. Our role included liaising regularly with the client to ensure that decisions regarding finishes were made in good time to prevent any delay to the contract and to enable the client to move back from their alternative accommodation as quickly as possible.

Overall, the issue was dealt with within a four month period, from the date the loss was discovered to completion. Our involvement in this project reduced the cost of the claim to the insurer, ensured that the property was sufficiently restored to its pre-loss condition, and enabled the client to be satisfied that works had been undertaken and specified properly.

During the contract period, we were also able to incorporate some amendments and alterations to the ground floor space that the client desired and we were able to clearly separate and demonstrate to the Insurer which works were part of the insured loss and which were undertaken privately for the client.

On completion we certified all works and valued them and made sure the contractor was duly paid. We are pleased to have been able to provide our services and without our involvement it is highly likely that works would not have been completed in the time and to the quality to which they were.

If you’re in need of a Chartered Surveyor to help oversee some insurance reinstatement works, contact RMA Surveyors Ltd on 01635 579208 or complete the enquiry form and we’ll get in touch.

Filed Under: Building Surveying, Construction, Defects, Insurance reinstatement, Newbury, Project Management, Residential, RICS, RMA Surveyors, Surveys, West Berkshire Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Property Checklist for Winter

January 22, 2015 By

ricsRMA Surveyors Ltd, Newbury have been reading an article from RICS (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) which offers a checklist to homeowners on how to look after their properties during the winter months. With another cold snap predicted in the forthcoming weeks, it’s worth a read.

Below is a snapshot of the RICS winter property checklist; for the full article, click here.

  • Roof: Inspect the roof and replace any cracked tiles.
  • Loft: Check the insulation is in good condition (up to current standard). Avoid over insulating. It is important that the tanks and pipes in the loft do not freeze, so do not insulate below the tank. Make sure the lid is on the cold-water tank.
  • Gutters and drains: Clear them of leaves and debris. Take particular care that the gulley’s are clear. Overflowing gutters can drench walls and cause damage.
  • Walls: 33% of heat lost in the home is through the walls. Cavity wall insulation is a good option and can boost its value and saleability while reducing your energy bills. Check the pointing – frost can play havoc with poorly maintained walls.
  • Windows: It is important to minimize draughts. If double-glazing is not in place (it cuts heat loss through windows by 50%), consider fitting cheaper options such as secondary glazing or put polythene across the window frames.
  • Boilers: Have your boiler serviced.
  • Heating: Check your heating system is in order; insulate hot water tanks, and bleed radiators.

While many of these simple tasks can be undertaken safely in the home it is important that people seek the advice of reputable professionals when looking to complete larger jobs. RICS advise people to avoid using builders and tradespeople who cold call. To find a local, trusted chartered surveyor in your area go to www.ricsfirms.com.

If you require advice from a Chartered Building Surveyor in Berkshire, contact RMA Surveyors Ltd on 01635 579208.

Filed Under: Newbury, Residential, RICS, RMA Surveyors, West Berkshire Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Multiple Party Wall Awards

August 27, 2014 By

party wallWe undertook an instruction as Party Wall Surveyor to act on behalf of a building owner who was developing a site in Newbury.

The site itself was bounded by some residential properties at the front and a commercial property to the rear. The residential property at the front also had a retail unit on the ground floor.

To properly undertake the instruction notice was required to be served to all adjoining owners with an interest in the property. This included the freeholder of the residential units, the leaseholder of the retail unit and the freeholder of the commercial unit to the rear. Fortunately, the leaseholder and the freeholder of the commercial unit were the same party.

All parties dissented to works and required the appointment of their own surveyor to act on their behalf. In actuality, one of the adjoining owner’s surveyors acted on behalf of two parties, with a second adjoining owner acting on behalf of the other party.

Three separate Party Wall Awards were required to be issued. In order to minimise the cost to our appointing owner who would be responsible for all fees, we made assessment of adjoining owner’s fees and agreed a reasonable rate. We also organised to meet all surveyors out on site on the same day, to minimise time on site while discussing the critical issues that needed to form the basis of the Party Wall Award.

Without our professional input, the developer may have found difficulty in identifying the correct parties to serve the notice on, issue applicable notices, liaise with adjoining owner’s surveyors and form a Party Wall Agreement.

It is often thought by building owners that the Party Wall process is easily managed by themselves but we have often found that parties that have issued notice have issued invalid notice, which can delay works or can become confounded by the detail surrounding the Party Wall Act and can quickly find themselves out of their depth when matters become more complex.

If you have any Party Wall issues, please contact us for advice on 01635 579208 or complete the form below and we’ll get in touch.

Contact Us

Fill in the below form to contact us today.

  • If you are requesting a survey quotation please provide the address and postcode of the property.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Filed Under: Landlords, Newbury, Party Wall, Residential, RICS, West Berkshire Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Project Managers for Repairs

August 6, 2014 By

Project Management. Repair & Redec Block of FlatsRMA Surveyors Ltd acted as project managers for an external maintenance and repairs programme to a block of flats in Cockfosters, London.

The contract included roof repairs; including repairs to parapet walls and the repair of roof coverings, maintenance to external doors and windows; including repairs and redecoration, providing insulation to tank rooms located on the roof, internal plaster repairs to common areas and redecoration and masonry repairs; including crack stitching and repointing repairs to arches and lintels above openings.

The contract value was for £70,000; we provided specification, tendered the works and oversaw the works in two phases. Unfortunately the initial contractor went into liquidation between phases, so we were required to re-tender the works and oversee phase two using a different contractor.

We saw the work through to completion, awarded final certification and ensured the work was undertaken to a satisfactory standard.

If you require a project manager for any similar repairs, redecoration or refurbishment contracts, please contact us using the form below or call us on 01635 579208.

Contact Us

Fill in the below form to contact us today.

  • If you are requesting a survey quotation please provide the address and postcode of the property.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Filed Under: Building Surveying, Construction, Landlords, RICS Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Clear Party Wall Explanation

July 23, 2014 By

Party WallWe recently were instructed to act as a building owner’s Party Wall surveyor near Reading. On receiving the plans from the building owner’s architect, we were able to make a full assessment of the types of notices required and duly issued them to the adjoining owners.

On issuing the notices we also provided a cover letter explaining, in less formal terms, the implications of the works required, how these would affect the adjoining owners, as well as providing a full and clear description of the Party Wall process. In doing so we demonstrated to the adjoining owners exactly what was involved and what their options were. The adjoining owners were content with the explanation.

The clear and concise way in which we dealt with issuing notices meant that the adjoining owners were satisfied that they understood what was involved. As a result, they consented to the works without a Party Wall Award needing to be in place prior to commencement. This in turn saved our client (the building owner) money in terms of Party Wall Surveyor fees.

We strongly believe that Party Wall issues should be dealt with in a professional and transparent manner and in accordance with spirit of the Party Wall Award Etc. Act 1986.

It is our duty as Party Wall surveyors to provide clear and concise advice and to minimise accruing costs to the owners responsible for paying the fees.

If you require advice on a Party Wall issue, please contact us to discuss it further or complete the form below and we’ll get in touch.

Contact Us

Fill in the below form to contact us today.

  • If you are requesting a survey quotation please provide the address and postcode of the property.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Filed Under: building survey, Building Surveying, Newbury, Party Wall, Residential, RICS, West Berkshire Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Project Manager for Fire Reinstatement

July 4, 2014 By

Melted LightbulbRMA Surveyors Ltd have recently been instructed to act as project managers for the restoration of a fire damaged flat in West Ilsley, Berkshire.

The property has been significantly damaged by fire within a couple of rooms, while the rest of the property has been heavily damaged by residual smoke and water, where the fire was extinguished.

Our instruction required us to:

  • appoint and oversee the initial clean up and restoration – cleaning smoke residue, removing items such as white goods and furniture, cleaning surfaces and removing floor coverings and soft furnishings;
  • advise the client to have the electrical services isolated, as they had been badly damaged by the fire;
  • and draw up a specification and schedule of works to issue to tendering contractors.

Once a contractor has been selected, we will be responsible for overseeing the works through to completion. This will include regular site visits, liaison with the building contractor and the client, valuing and certifying works at key stages, liaising and reporting back to the loss adjustor and dealing with any ad hoc queries as required.

When works are completed we will certify and sign off the work. Works will be tendered and executed under the JCT Minor Works Contract. The fees for our appointment as project managers are covered by the insurance policy.

Appointing a project manager can help to reduce the stress that such potentially distressing situations can cause. As Chartered Surveyors, acting as project managers, we are able to use our professional knowledge and expertise in order to facilitate a swift and effective remediation process.

RMA Surveyors Ltd are highly experienced in insurance reinstatement work and as such we provide a service that is cost effective in regards to managing spend for the insurance claim and one that gives the client peace of mind that the project is being overseen and undertaken by professionals.

If you have been affected by fire, flood or other insured risk, please contact us on 01635 579208 or by completing the form below.

Contact Us

Fill in the below form to contact us today.

  • If you are requesting a survey quotation please provide the address and postcode of the property.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Filed Under: building survey, Building Surveying, Construction, Defects, Flood, Flooding, Insurance reinstatement, Landlords, Newbury, Residential, RICS, West Berkshire Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Issuing Party Wall Notification

June 19, 2014 By

Terraced housingWe were recently instructed to act as Party Wall Surveyors in Pangbourne. We were acting on behalf of the building owner to issue party wall notices to two adjoining owners on a Victorian Terrace.

Our client had already approached their neighbours and explained to them the works to be undertaken, then requested we issue formal notification of works to them.

Sometimes, as in this case where there is more than one adjoining owner, party wall notification can be more complicated. It is our role to determine who has an interest in the adjoining properties and which are the correct notices to serve under the Party Wall Etc Act 1996.

Our client had quite a tight deadline in which they wanted the Party Wall Agreements to be in place, as their appointed building contractor had an extremely busy schedule. So we acted efficiently and effectively to ensure everything was in place.

If you would like any advice regarding the Party Wall Etc Act 1996, please contact us on 01635 579 208, or complete the form below with your enquiry.

For further reading on Party Walls read our Understanding a Party Wall page.

Contact Us

Fill in the below form to contact us today.

  • If you are requesting a survey quotation please provide the address and postcode of the property.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Filed Under: building survey, Building Surveying, Construction, Defects, Newbury, Party Wall, Residential, RICS, West Berkshire Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Flood Insurance Reinstatement

June 16, 2014 By

Flood waters in residential BerkshireWe are currently overseeing an insurance reinstatement of a flood damaged property in Kingsclere, Berkshire.

We first became involved when our client was having difficulty in getting the loss adjustor from their insurance company to assess the property. We were asked to supply a defect diagnosis report to assess the cause of the water damage to their building.

We undertook the survey and produced the report which we supplied to the loss adjustor, who had not understood the gravity of the technical failure. As a result, we were able to explain that the insurance claim was likely to be larger than the loss adjustor had orginally anticipated and that a larger scale reinstatement would be necessary.

We were duely appointed by our clients to undertake and oversee the project management of the reinstatement, which is currently on site.

If you have damage to your property due to flood, fire or other insurance related loss, please contact us as we may be able to provide our professional assistance.

Contact Us

Fill in the below form to contact us today.

  • If you are requesting a survey quotation please provide the address and postcode of the property.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Filed Under: building survey, Building Surveying, Defects, Flood, Flood, Flooding, Insurance reinstatement, Newbury, Residential, RICS, West Berkshire Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lack of Ventilation leads to Mildew

May 21, 2014 By

Lack of ventilationRecently we undertook an RICS Homebuyer’s Survey in Reading and found mildew staining to the underside of felt and roof timbers. It indicated that the roof ventilation was not adequate, causing moist air to condense on the cold surface on the underside of the roof covering.
This defect is more and more common as building owners are taking advantage of government incentives to improve energy performance in properties, adding additional insulation in their roof spaces. However, if insulation installers are not careful they can block up gaps between rafters at the eaves and prevent the cross flow of ventilation through the roof void.
Ventilation in the roof space is important as it is required to ensure roof timbers are protected from such moisture and the resulting consequences.
A defect like this is not costly to remedy but needs immediate attention to prevent damage to the timber roof structure. Potentially we saved our clients thousands of pounds in future repairs were this defect left unnoticed.
If you’re in need of some advice on a property defect, a Homebuyer survey or building survey, contact us on 01635 579 208.

Filed Under: building survey, Building Surveying, Defects, diagnosing damp, Newbury, Residential, RICS, ventilation Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,