Party Wall Bulge brings Nightmare on the Hill
Two neighbours are fighting it out in the courts in a case that has dragged on for 6 years.
Two neighbours in wealthy and leafy Primrose Hill have fallen out where a basement constructed by one party some 10 years ago has had a wall slump or bulge during the course of construction. This bulge is supposedly encroaching into the domain of the adjacent property.
Concrete slumping or overspill across the party wall line and against the Party Wall Act (1996) etc as amended, is deemed trespass and any encroachment should be rectified.
The legal costs are reputed to have reached £160,000 as one party is suing the other party for £100,000 for trespassing across the party line when a basement extension was built. The case has now gone to the County Court.
The properties, which are reputedly worth between £1 and £2,000,000, are now caught in limbo as neither property could be easily sold.
The application for striking out the case has been rejected by Judge Nicholas Parfitt and the case is set to return to court at a later date.
The appointment of an appropriate Party Wall Surveyor who would have managed the construction and agreed a dispute resolution process in the event of a contractor acting inappropriately would undoubtedly have saved both parties many thousands of pounds and many years of stress.
To find an appropriate party wall surveyor if you are carrying out work which may affect a neighbour, contact propertysurveying.co.uk.