Overview
Question: Can a building owner raise a studwork wall against an existing party parapet wall for an additional floor and access the adjoining owner's roof to install tiles, flashings or weathering?
The building owner may have rights under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, but those rights are limited. Access to the adjoining owner's land or roof is only available where it is necessary to carry out work that is authorised by the Act.
Access under section 8
Section 8 gives a building owner a right of access where access is necessary for carrying out works in pursuance of the Act. It is not a general licence to use the neighbour's roof for convenience.
For example, access may be justified where it is necessary to carry out notifiable work to a party wall, such as cutting into the wall, raising it or making proper weathering. It is less likely to be justified for work that is entirely outside the Act.
Can the adjoining owner object?
An adjoining owner cannot use the party wall process to object to the building owner's design simply because it may make the adjoining owner's future works less convenient. If the building owner is exercising rights under the Act and the works are properly regulated by an award, the adjoining owner's objection must relate to matters the surveyors can properly determine.
The adjoining owner also retains their own rights under the Act. If they later carry out work requiring use of or alteration to the party wall, they can serve the appropriate notice and have that work dealt with in the usual way.
Design considerations
The building owner's choice to use studwork against a parapet may be driven by planning rules, permitted development limits or practical design constraints. Those issues are usually outside the surveyors' jurisdiction unless they affect the exercise of rights under the Act or cause unnecessary inconvenience.
Conclusion
The building owner's access rights are real but limited. Access to the adjoining owner's roof should only be used where it is necessary for work authorised by the Act. The adjoining owner cannot generally prevent the building owner's lawful method simply because it may affect how they carry out their own future extension.