Jamie Sutherland & Imogen Dodds consider the respective scope of the Party Wall etc Act 1996 & the common law
- An owner cannot use a statutory dispute resolution procedure where their neighbour has carried out works without serving a statutory party wall notice.
- Their recourse is to the courts and common law when the statutory scheme has not been followed or does not apply.
- Time and costs can be saved by both parties following proper procedures.
In the recent Court of Appeal case of Shah and another v Power [2023] EWCA Civ 239, [2023] All ER (D) 29 (Mar), Mr Shah had carried out works to his semi-detached house. Rightly or wrongly, his planning consultant had advised that the Party Wall etc Act 1996 (PWA 1996) did not apply to his works, and that there was consequently no need for him to serve prior notice of the works on the adjoining owners under s 3, PWA 1996. The adjoining owners subsequently claimed to have suffered damage as a result of the works, which allegedly included
