The letter that is a formality is not without many faults. This document is not designed to criticize templates that are commonly used. The goal is to examine the timing of the letter, not the substance that these documents contain. Our view is that the letters are almost always written far too late, and could have negative effects.
Public members are mostly ignorant of the party wall law and should seek advice from expert party wall surveyors to ensure that the matter is handled properly. If a letter is presented to a person with a notice of appointment, the building owner may sign it believing that this is the norm and it is. What many people aren’t aware of however as well as surveyors of party walls are also part of this the fact that a letter of appointment is only executed if there is an issue.
Property owners who want to do work pursuant to the party wall act must contact the party wall surveyor at an early point. A lot of times the engagement is too late, which creates unnecessary stress for everyone who are involved. The act of signing a letter of appointment well-timed and on time may appear to be a good and reasonable decision, but there are issues that shouldn’t be overlooked.
First of all, you will only have to sign the letter of appointment only when there is an issue. The dispute is triggered by the serving of a notice to the wall in the event that the neighbor either opposes the work or refuses to respond. In the Party Wall Act is clear that a formal notice of appointment must be signed. it mentions it in the sections 10(1)(a) (a) and (b) and (b) of the Act”where there is a dispute that arises or is considered to have arisen’ , both parties must appoint only one of the respondents (the the agreed-on the surveyor) as well as their personal surveyors. Section 10(4) requires that the appointment to be made in writing. The Act is typically initiated by the serving of the notice (save for sections 3(3)(a) and (b) and 3(3)(b)), and there aren’t any specific conditions imposed by the Act to surveyors be appointed. In fact, many property owners prefer for their own notification.
The way a neighbor or adjacent owner responds to a notice will determine the need for a surveyor to be appointed. If a neighbor is willing to consent to the notice, there is no need to select an official, and work can begin. If there is a dispute, (for example, a dispute over the amount of damage) then a surveyor may be appointed to decide and then serve an award. In addition, a neighbor may disagree and choose an individual surveyor, where an award will be served to settle the dispute. A neighbor might be content for the owner of the building to select the same surveyor as one he has chosen which is also known as the ‘agreed Surveyor option. This prevents the building owner from paying his own surveyor’s fee. If the owner of the building has already hired a surveyor, most of the time the surveyor’s appointment is lost. This could be due to due to ignorance, or misrepresentation, the owner is required to be responsible for two set of fees for surveyors. This is not acceptable.
A lot of surveyors say that if their owner requested it take a break, they would in order to help facilitate the agreed-upon surveyor method. This might sound good however two points are mentioned:
1. A reservation cannot be cancelled. The owner of the building is relying on the discretion of his surveyor to decide if he is incompetent’. If a surveyor wishes to hold his appointment, he’d be entitled to. If the building’s owner hadn’t signed the appointment letter too in the early hours, the entire scenario might be different. The owner of the building is free to interact with his neighbor and the neighbour’s surveyor. He is free to choose the surveyor of his neighbour to act as the “agreed surveyor”. This wouldn’t require the permission of the surveyor who is the owner of the building because he could not be appointed.
2. The setup of two surveyors is facilitated by the poor notice templates and the prompt signature of a letters of appointment. Notice templates usually contain the words ‘in the event of a dispute , I will choose (insert the name)’. This could lead people away from the agreed surveyor. Moreover when the owner of the building has signed a formal letter to appoint a surveyor, the letter appears to the neighbor that the chosen surveyor method isn’t feasible. Surveyors of party wall generally work in a manner that increases and secures their fee. Two-surveyor appointment is ideal because the business could literally double its earnings. The most important thing to remember is that the parties involved make off the agreed-upon surveyor route and signing the letter of appointment in a nice way and promptly makes the rejection of the agreed-upon surveyor method seem more natural. If surveyors only requested their appointment letters only when they encountered a conflict and they offered an honest opinion, the options could remain open, and the use of the accepted surveyors would rise and save the building owner money.
Another instance of appointment letter not being signed on time is ones sent out by ambulance chasers. The ambulance chasers search for work through mailing companies that mail letters to the neighbors of every applicant who has submitted an application for planning. The neighbors are usually shocked and worried, and will accept the letter of appointment immediately in order to safeguard their interests. This is yet another example of a decision made too soon. A dispute can’t be resolved until the owner of the building issues notice (or commences work in accordance or Act). Act). Any meeting that occurs before this point is likely to be unenforceable. However, by choosing an ambulance driver the homeowner has forfeited the chance to select the surveyor of his choice or, in fact, the possibility to work with the owner of the building’s surveyor. In a sense, urgency and fear make people submit these forms, and eventually generates revenue from an area that doesn’t want to take seriously the task of policing itself.
