Party wall agreement advice and cracks

[davebeach]

Hi All,


I’m hoping someone may be able to help me – I hope this should be an easy question to answer….. I live in a terraced house with a single story extension. My neighbour is building a single story extension (although 1.5M higher and 2M longer than ours). The extension doesn’t use our extension wall but it is very close - between 20-50cms away. At the time the extension started the neighbour mentioned that he wouldn’t need a Party Wall Agreement as he wasnt looking to use a shared wall. I don’t think he was acting maliciously as he said his architect had looked into it and it was fine. A colleague has since mentioned that a PWA may have been needed. I’ve looked on the booklet (below) on a government website and it points out in point 28that if the neighbour goes below the foundations of my extension within 3M, a PWA is required.
My question is without excavating how will they know how deep my foundations go and therefore how would you determine if a PWA is required?
Should one be in place?
Is the normal procedure to look at the plans of my extension, assuming that their foundations will go to the same level as mine as the extension is only a bit larger than mine and therefore assume that no PWA is needed?

Oh, and I'm seeing cracks in the plaster in my extension now which I’m concerned about…


https://assets.publishing.service.g..._Wall_etc__Act_1996_-_Explanatory_Booklet.pdf

Many Thanks

 

[motorbiking]

When did you build your extension? Do you have any photos of their foundations? If your extension is old and theirs new, its likely thay did go below yours. However, its too late now as a retrospective party wall agreement has no value. You need to prove he went Lower than your footings and then show.a reasonable justification to back up the claim that the cracking is due to the damage. Since they did not serve a party wall notice, the burden is on them to prove it wasn't caused by the work.

 

[davebeach]

My extension was completed in 2012 i think - before i moved into the property. Sadly i don't have any photos of the foundations

 

[motorbiking]

Unless you can find evidence that he was required to go unusually deep, they are probably a similar depth.

could it be water damage? Does his extension cause rain water to flow on to your roof in an unusual manner?

 

[davebeach]

Hi, the extension is still being completed and we haven't had that much rain. If we assume that the foundations are of similar depth, is a PWA required - bearing in mind the foundations of his extension are only a foot from mine?

 

[motorbiking]

The 3M rule applies: If the proposed excavation will exceed the depth of any existing footings, then a Notice will need to be served, by the legal owner of the land who is instigating the building works.

 

[tony1851]

The depth of the foundation of your extension is not the sole criterion; the depth of your existing house footings (eg along the party wall) is also relevant, and they are likely to be not as deep as your neighbour's excavation, therefore the PWA will apply. His 'architect' has misinformed him.

 

[motorbiking]

good point. But then the OP would also have needed a PWA if his foundations had gone deeper. Assuming both properties are aligned.

 

[^woody^]

It's a waste of time looking away the PWA in the past tense, with 'should haves' and 'should have dones'. It's done, the horse has bolted.

But what remains, and always will, is that when someone damages your house, you have a claim against them anyway, and the PWA is irrelevant.

 

[davebeach]

Many thanks everyone!