Cases - Woodhouse v Consolidated Property Corporation Ltd

Record details

Name
Woodhouse v Consolidated Property Corporation Ltd
Date
[1993]
Citation
1 EGLR 174 (CA)
Keywords
Party wall – collapse of party wall – no jurisdiction for an award dealing with responsibility for the collapse
Summary

The building owner (the defendant) served a party structure notice after it had already commenced works. The notice set out its intention to carry out works to a party wall. However, before the 14-day period for the adjoining owner (the plaintiff) to give consent had expired, the wall collapsed causing damage to the plaintiff's property.

A third surveyor was appointed and made an award determining the responsibility for the collapse and providing that the building owner was to pay the proper cost of reconstructing those parts of the adjoining owner's premises that were damaged as a result of the collapse of the party wall.

The Court of Appeal held that the surveyors were only entitled to resolve differences between adjoining owners as to whether one of them should be permitted under the Act to carry out the works in the relevant notice, and if so, the terms and conditions under which the owner was permitted to carry out such works. The surveyors were not entitled to determine other disputes between the parties. The collapse of the wall was not within the Act or the party structure notice and had been made outside the third surveyor's jurisdiction. The award was therefore invalid.