A Happy Street: Party Wall Agreements for Loft Conversions
There are many different reasons why you might be looking for more space in your home. Perhaps you have a growing family, need more storage, dream of an at-home office, or simply want to make the most of your property’s potential.
Uprooting your life when you outgrow your home is a big step. It takes time to make a house a home, settle into your location and get to know your neighbours — so why not build up instead of moving out?
Loft conversions are a fantastic way to transform your existing space into something more practical and increase the value of your home. Plus, loft conversions are less disruptive than any other significant extension works in an existing living space.
Before your project can begin, however, you may need to make some arrangements if you intend to modify a shared wall between you and your neighbours. To avoid complaints and keep your neighbours happy, make sure you follow these regulations…
Party wall agreements
You must tell your neighbour if you are planning on building on or at the boundary of two properties or working on an existing party wall (a wall that sits directly on the land boundary between different owners). This could include:
- Cutting into a party wall.
- Making the party wall shorter, deeper or taller.
- Removing any chimneys from party walls.
- Knocking down the party wall.
- Building a new party wall.
If your loft has adjoining properties, you must have a party wall agreement in place with your neighbours, according to the Party Wall Act 1996. The act always applies if you need to work on a shared wall or other shared structures.
The Party Wall Act provides you with additional rights when carrying out various sorts of work to an existing party wall. It regulates the legal process to inform the affected parties about planned building works that affect shared structures — the timing, the form and the rights and duties of each party involved.
Its purpose is to prevent and resolve disputes between neighbours when the owners carry out works on adjoining properties. The written documents of the act must be sent at least two months before making any changes, so the neighbour has time to decide on your changes.
In most cases, respect for your neighbours’ space and peace goes a long way. Keeping them informed of your plans is a considerate way to ensure your plans can go ahead with ease.
Our loft conversion process
Here at The Loft Room, we understand the importance of ensuring the whole road is happy with the service we give and the work we do. Thanks to over 30 years of experience, we have created a simple system that keeps our clients happy and wows their neighbours, building a strong reputation for having the highest possible standards!
A customer recently got in touch to let us know how pleased their neighbours were with our service: ‘One of the neighbours emailed us to say how impressed they are with your team… You all work so hard, are very friendly and considerate… It’s good for us to keep the neighbours happy!’
The Loft Room has worked with hundreds of happy customers to create luxury loft conversions. We believe that privacy is a necessity, not a luxury. And we completely understand why our customers might dread the thought of invasive builders traipsing through their homes. That’s why we carry out all builds from the outside-in — working from scaffolds to guarantee minimal interruption to your home life. So, you can relax and continue your day as usual.
The process is smooth for everyone involved — including the neighbours. Your project’s senior team leader will keep you informed daily about the progress of the project, and an experienced member of our quality control team will also visit the site regularly — ensuring the project is meeting our high standards, on time and that the site is being kept safe and tidy.
Are you ready to elevate your home with a loft conversion? Our experienced specialists offer trustworthy advice, making sure the loft conversion process runs as smoothly as possible for the best result and total customer satisfaction. Contact us today at 0800 002 9291 or email info@the-loftroom.com to discover how we can help.