We Name and Shame the Guilty PartiesParty Walls Act |
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More futile legislationOur correspondent writes ... We live in a country labouring under an increasing burden of useless legislation and the Party Walls Act must rank as one of the most useless. Emanating from the office of perhaps the most useless minister in the Labour government - the deputy prime minister - this legislation, like many other Acts he has introduced, is more or less unenforceable unless you have cash to spare for a private action. Even then, the cost of such an action is likely to be completely disproportionate to any achievement. In my case, my neighbour applied for permission to extend his house and, though both neighbours objected to the extent of the proposed works, permission was granted. I had no idea when the works might start but I knew they would have to be preceded by a party walls notification as foundations would have to be excavated on the boundary adjacent to my dining room and kitchen. To my surprise, a massive Hitachi digger arrived one day and dug out the foundations which were immediately filled with concrete. I had not received the statutory notification so I immediately wrote a letter to my neighbour explaining that he had failed to comply with legal requirements and had therefore put us in dispute. Using the terms of the Act, I appointed a surveyor at my neighbour's expense and he came in to inspect our property and take photographs. By this time, of course, I was completely disadvantaged because the damage to our property had already been done. New cracks had appeared on walls and ceilings in my house and this did not surprise me as the whole fabric of the house had been shaken severely when the digger was smashing up the old concrete drive. On one occasion, my children rushed down the stairs when the whole of the first floor was shaken violently. They were truly scared. The works continued for about four months during which time the hammering and banging from next door was almost constant. I later learned that the house had been completely gutted. Floors had been taken up and replaced with uncarpeted timber; every internal wall had been stripped of plaster to be replaced with dry lining. For many years previously, we had an elderly gent of 90 living next door to us. His hearing was failing yet we could barely hear his television even though the volume was turned high. Now we hear every word of conversation from next door; we hear the telephone every time it rings (which it does frequently); we hear every footstep in the house as the occupants walk across wooden floors. We are really pissed off! Plaster acts as a sound barrier because it fills cracks in the brickwork; dry lining acts like an amplifier because the gaps between wall and plaster board act like miniature echo chambers. So why does the Party Wall Act not protect me from such aggravations? Well, it doesn't because nobody really anticipated all the problems that neighbours with shared walls might experience. Worse, nobody is penalised for ignoring the Act's requirements so what is the point of having such an Act? This Act is ill-conceived and ill-planned - as long as it offers no legal protection, it is a complete waste of legislative space. What it does offer, however, is a compensation plan with an award determined by the appointed surveyor - an award that cannot be disputed. In my case, the material damages were not limited to the building alone. My rear garden fence was destroyed, my car was damaged, my bedding plants were trampled, and the excavator sliced through the roots of long-established shrubs and bushes which subsequently died. When they died our privacy was destroyed. All this should be taken into account when the award is made. When I finally received my letter from the surveyor, he had awarded £117. For that kind of money, I cannot even hire the services of a labourer to fill all the cracks and make good the decorations - let alone pay for the cost of materials. And to replace one bush at the front of my house will cost £150 - two were destroyed plus another five at the rear. Sorry, Mr Prescott, but the Party Walls Act is a complete waste of space, much like yourself. If you can't analyse problems, don't dream up solutions. Unenforceable legislation is of no value. Editorial comment:If you have been affected by poor legislation, please write in and let us know.
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Last updated:
14 November 2008 |
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