Party Wall Surveyor Cost
Party Wall Surveyor Cost
Most party wall surveyors charge a fixed hourly rate for all tasks related to the party wall matters. This typically ranges from £150-£250. Here at Samson Consultants, we like to do things a little differently, we understand that you are spending a great deal on your property and that certainty with costs are important to you.
As outlined under “Party Wall Surveyors” there are broadly 3 stages to the Party Wall Agreement for which our fees are as follows:
Acting for the Building Owner
Fee Stage 1 Inspecting the drawings and serving notice on the Adjoining Owner.
£200 +VAT for the first Adjoining owner
An additional £100 +VAT for each subsequent Adjoining Owner (if required)
Fee Stage 2 Inspecting the Adjoining Owner’s property and preparing the Schedule of Condition
£400-£600 +VAT per Schedule of Condition for Flats (Depending on Size)
£500-£600 +VAT per Schedule of Condition for Houses (Depending on Size)
Fee Stage 3 £600 +VAT in preparing the Party Wall Agreement (Award) for the first Adjoining Owner*
£400 +VAT each in preparing the Party Walls Agreements (Awards) for subsequent Adjoining Owner’s (if required) **
*Should preparing the award become protracted, taking longer than 4 hours we will need to charge a further reduced rate of £150 +VAT per hour, this would be unusual and we will notify you if we suspect this will be the case.
**Should preparing the subsequent awards become protracted, taking longer than 3 hours we will need to charge a further £150 +VAT per hour, as above this would be unusual and we will notify you.
Example Costs
For example, if you have a mid-terrace house and are proposing a rear single storey extension which will run to the boundaries of both neighbouring properties:
Stage 1 Two Party Wall Notices are required for each neighbour £200 +VAT for the first, £100 +VAT for the second: £300 +VAT
Stage 2 Two Schedule of Conditions are required, one on each of the neighbouring properties £500 +VAT each: £1,000 +VAT
Stage 3 Preparing 2 Party Wall Agreements (Awards) £600 +VAT for the first award, £400 +VAT for the second award: £1,000 +VAT
Our total fee £2,300 +VAT
Other Costs
Adjoining Owners’ Surveyor Fees
We are appointed to oversee matters related to the party wall, and are not involved in the building project. Therefore, we can act as an agreed surveyor to both the building owner and adjoining owners. We will encourage this where appropriate in order to keep costs down.
However, if your neighbours (Adjoining Owners) decide to appoint their own surveyor, you will be responsible for their reasonable fees. These are likely to be charged at an hourly rate of between £150 and £250.
At Samson Consultants we try to minimise the time the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor spends by providing them with all the information they require from the offset and preparing clear and concise documents for them to review.
Security of Expenses
For some projects the Adjoining Owner may serve notice on the Building Owner, requesting a sum of money be held on a separate secure account prior to the party wall works commencing.
This sum of money, known as security, is in place to cover the eventuality that the Building Owner starts the works and then for what ever reason does not finish. In such a case the Adjoining Owner would use the money to complete the works, therefore safeguarding their property from structural movement or damage. Security for expenses is generally only applicable for party wall projects where there is a significant structural risk. Such works include:
1. Carrying out a basement extension.
2. Underpinning the party wall.
3. Demolishing and rebuilding a party wall.
4. Exposing large sections of the party wall.
Once the works are complete the security for expense money, provided it has not been needed, is returned to the Building Owner.
Structural Engineer’s Fees
Depending upon the complexity of the project, the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor may require a structural engineer to review the engineering drawings and design. The fees for the structural engineer are also borne by the Building Owner.
These costs vary greatly depending on the complexity and time needed, but they must be reasonable.
Acting for Adjoining Owner(s)
When acting as the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor it is not possible to charge a fixed fee in the same fashion. The reason for this is that as Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor we are checking the information, Schedule of Condition and Party Wall Agreement supplied by the Building Owner’s Surveyor. If further information is required or amendments need to be made to documents further time is required. For this reason, our fee for acting on behalf of Adjoining Owner’s is £200 +VAT per hour.
The reasonable fees of the Adjoining Owner’s Surveyor are paid by the Building Owner and therefore in all usual circumstances our services, there will be at no charge to the adjoining owner. In acting for you as the Adjoining Owner we will check the notices and supporting documentation served upon you by the Building Owner and explain their likely impact upon you. We will accompany the Building Owner’s surveyor when he inspects and records the schedule of condition of your property adjacent to the works to ensure he makes an accurate recording of the condition. We will review the draft Party Wall Agreement provided by the Building Owner’s surveyor, ensuring it correctly records the rights and liabilities of the parties and how the party wall works will be executed.