What are the Risks of Appealing an Award?
Before going ahead with appealing an Award, it’s important to understand that it doesn’t come without risk for either party. An appeal is contentious litigation, which means there will be a winner and a loser at the end. In our experience though, there is rarely a true winner when you’re appealing an Award.
There’s also a common misconception that if you litigate and win, then the loser will pay your costs. So quite often we see adjoining owners who are confident in their case believe there is no financial risk for them – which is rarely true. If you speak to a legal professional, they will likely advise you that your chances of success are no higher than 70%, leaving you to foot the bill for the remaining legal costs.
Appealing an Award under The Party Wall Act is expensive, there’s no two ways about it. It’s estimated that appeal costs can be anywhere between £16,500 and £33,000, depending on your situation. This is because litigation costs are subject to assessment, which means that the judge will look at the costs incurred and decide what’s reasonable for the losing party to pay. It’s their decision, no one else’s. So before you proceed, you should be sure that you have substantial financial resources, or at the very least comprehensive legal insurance.
Do I Have a Specific Time Period to Appeal an Award?
Yes, you do! If you want to appeal an Award, you have to do it within 14 days of the Award being served on you. If you miss this window, then you forfeit your chance to appeal. This is one of the reasons we recommend seeking advice from a legal professional before submitting an appeal. So that you can evaluate what you hope to achieve, the chances of success, and look at alternative routes to resolve the issue before moving ahead with an appeal. This advice is usually free, and will be a good investment, since it can save you tens of thousands of pounds in the long run.
How do I Appeal a Party Wall Award?
The first step is to seek advice from a legal professional, to ensure you actually have a case. If they agree, you will need to complete something called an Appellant’s Notice using form N161 and file it with your County Court. You will also need to pay a court fee to submit the form, which at the time of writing is £140. You can’t submit the form without paying this fee, so it’s important you be sure you want to file.
The notice must then also be served on the other party, and the surveyors whose Award you’re appealing.
Should I Apply for an Order to Stay the Appeal?
You’ll notice that on the N161 form, there is an option in Section 10 where you can request an order staying the appeal for 4-6 weeks after issue. This gives both parties some extra time to negotiate a settlement of the appeal. This option effectively asks the court to put the appeal on hold, giving everyone a little breathing space, time to reflect and seek a resolution of some kind outside of court.
Once the appeal has been issued, all parties listed are held liable for the costs. This can often help the parties think more clearly and focus their minds on resolving the issues, rather than other issues that may not be relevant now. At Harrison Clarke, we recommend that you should request to stay the appeal and attempt to resolve the dispute yourselves, before everyone has had to invest significant money in legal costs.
What Happens Once the Appeal has Been Issued?
If you haven’t sought any legal advice up until this point, we advise that you do so now. This will help you to understand whether you’re likely to be successful, what the risks are of pursuing the appeal, and how to comply with the Court’s instructions, since they deal with party wall appeals a little differently.
In terms of the hearing itself, this won’t happen quickly. You should expect to wait an average of 12 months between the appeal being issued and the final hearing happening. You might get a judgment at the end of the hearing, but it’s more likely that you’ll have to wait another 3-6 weeks to find out whether you were successful, and how the costs will be attributed.
To Conclude…
At Harrison Clarke, we believe that appeals should always be approached with caution. While they do have their positives, there is always a significant financial risk to both parties, alongside the stress it can place on the relationship with your neighbour. On top of that, in our experience, the appeals process offers very little value for money, and most of the issues you’re likely to have with the Award are too minor to appeal. Of course, some people will look to litigation out of principle, but we generally don’t recommend this approach unless you have extensive funds that you’re willing to risk on the endeavour.
For the record, we’re not saying you should never appeal an Award. There are many very good reasons to do so! But you should always advice from a legal professional first!
If you’re considering appealing a party wall Award, or you need some support with your party wall matters, then our team of experienced party wall surveyors are here to help. Please feel free to call us on 023 8155 0051, and we will be happy to help.
For more expert advice on surveying and property matters, check out our range of informative videos on our website or YouTube channel. Harrison Clark Chartered Surveyors is here to guide you every step of the way!
At the time of writing, we have a total of 107 reviews across Trustpilot and Google. We are proud to say that they are all 5 star ratings across the board.
