The short answer
If the building work causes damage to the adjoining owner’s property, the building owner is responsible for making it good or paying compensation. The party wall award and the schedule of condition taken beforehand are the tools that make this fair and straightforward: the surveyors compare the property before and after, decide what the works actually caused, and agree the remedy — without anyone needing to go to court.
Why it matters
The schedule of condition is the baseline. When damage is reported, the surveyors assess it against that record, often using the BRE crack classification to grade it. The building owner generally must either carry out the repairs or pay the adjoining owner the reasonable cost of making good, and the adjoining owner can usually choose between the two. The award process resolves it, and the surveyors can make a further award dealing specifically with the damage.
Where there was no notice, award or schedule of condition, it is much harder: the claim falls to common law, and proving that the works caused the damage — rather than it being pre-existing — is far more difficult without a baseline. That is exactly why the schedule of condition matters so much.
What to do now
- Settle the straightforward points directly. Agreeing the uncontentious aspects of any damage between yourselves minimises what the surveyors must determine, helping keep costs controlled.
- Where both owners use a single agreed surveyor, that surveyor assesses any damage impartially for both sides — simpler than two. Coburns recommends an agreed surveyor wherever possible.
- Report any damage to your surveyor promptly, with dated photographs.
- Do not repair it yourself before it has been recorded and assessed.
- Let the surveyors compare it against the schedule of condition.
- Agree making good or compensation through the award.
- Keep all evidence and correspondence.
Common mistakes
- Having no schedule of condition, which makes any claim hard to prove.
- Repairing damage before it is recorded.
- Delaying the report until long after the work.
- Assuming you must accept a builder’s patch-up rather than proper making good or compensation.
When to call Coburns
If damage has occurred — or you are worried it might — contact us. We assess it fairly against the record and secure proper making good or compensation, whichever side of the wall you are on.