The short answer
The RICS party wall guidance is a useful starting point, but in our view it does not fully meet the practical needs of the public or the profession — it is too generic, not public-friendly enough, light on practical detail, and weak on impartiality and fees.
Why it matters
The award template is often too generic to deal with project-specific issues, yet some surveyors treat it as enough in every case; an award should be specific to the property, works and risks. The language is too technical for many homeowners, even though the process affects them. Despite its length it gives limited practical detail on common flashpoints — access conditions, protection measures, chimney breast removal, roof works, temporary weathering, dispute handling and proportionate fee assessment. It does too little on impartiality and conflicts of interest, gives insufficient guidance on what reasonable fees look like (which lets fee-driven surveyors seek excessive fees), could do more on cost allocation since not every cost should fall on the building owner, has not kept pace with technology such as electronic signatures and editable templates, and is too rigid for the range of real cases from simple chimney breast removals to complex basements.
What to do now
- Treat the RICS guidance as a starting point, not a complete authority for every matter.
- Make awards specific to the property, works and risks rather than relying on a generic template.
- Look for clear, plain-English explanation and proportionate fees in practice.
Common mistakes
- Treating a generic template as sufficient for every case.
- Assuming the guidance settles what reasonable fees are.
- Relying on it as a complete practical authority.
When to call Coburns
If you want an award tailored to your project rather than a generic template, send us the details and we will draft accordingly.