\Party Wall Act 1996 Part IV London Buildings Act

[plipplop1]

My neighbour has given me a letter informing me that they are proposing to build a sunroom to the rear of their property and that under the Party Wall Act they are serving notice that they will be excavating close to our property.Do I need to do anything. We aren't on very good terms with them and would prefer not to have to contact them Please help

[paraffin]

It's difficult for you to try to deal with this if you are reluctant to have any contact with your neighbour.

Under the circumstances I would suggest that you either seek free advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau, or approach your local Council for mediation advice.

[plipplop1]

Thank you

[buildersmate]

They are doing it because they have to (they are breaking the law if they don't), and it is not in your interests to ignore it.
You have a right to appoint a Party Wall surveyor at their expense who would work for you to ensure that the work was done in a way that did not undermine your foundations. If you just ignore it, they will just carry-on and although any future problems you experience (for example, cracking) are still their potential liability, you would have to take them to court to get redress.
Either go to CAB in the first instance, or phone a Chartered Surveyor and ask if about Party Wall surveys. CAB will probably suggest you do that anyway.
You will not have to have dealings directly with the neighbour, your surveyor will deal with it. The neighbour has a legal obligation to pay your surveyor costs.

[plipplop1]

Thank you for your advice the reason we are so confused is that they have given us a note quoting the party wall act but it doesn't have the minimum requirements on it ie date,addresses,date the work is to start whether the foundations are deeper than ours. I didn't really want to upset them but I feel concerned about this.One suggestion has been to reply to them asking them for the relevant info plan etc what do you think?