Building owners and their neighbours are often concerned about the hours in which building works can take place, Section 10(12) of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 states that a Party Wall Award may cover 'the time and manner of executing any work' and as such the appointed surveyors will generally include a working hours clause.
The aforementioned building works only relate to those which are notifiable under the Act and authorised by a Party Wall Award and surveyors appointed are expected to administer the act impartially and expeditiously, whilst ensuring that the works are carried out in a way which does not cause any unnecessary inconvenience to the neighbours (the Adjoining Owners).
What are the usual working hours for notifiable building works?
When appointed surveyors are determining the work hours for the notifiable building works that are included within the party wall agreement, they principally begin by acknowledging the times set out by the relevant Local Authority and should only stray away from those prescribed times when there is legitimate reason for doing so.
Generally speaking, the working hours for Local Authorities are 8:00am to 6:00pm, Monday to Friday, and 8:00am to 1:00pm on Saturdays, excluding any works from taking place on Sundays, however in our experience the times can vary depending on where you are within the country.
What if the proposed works are particularly noisy?
If the proposed works are expected to cause excessive noise, it is possible for the appointed surveyors to include for exceptions such as a break on weekends or other measures during weekdays, however in our experience, this is very rarely the case.
If an adjoining owner finds that there is a breach of the Act in the way of carrying out noisy works out of the prescribed hours then it is down to the owner to to take enforcement action as apposed to the appointed surveyors, however it is often the case where the surveyors will attempt to persuade their appointing owners to comply with the agreed Party Wall Award.
If you require any advice relating the a Party Wall Matter or if you would like a service quotation then please give us a call on 020 3876 5818 or email contact@unek.co.uk and we would be more then happy to assist.