Party wall surveyors
in Torquay.
Torquay is built on steep hillsides, with large Victorian villas terraced into the slope and a great many since converted into flats and apartments. Steeply stepped sites make what happens next door a structural question rather than a cosmetic one.
Had a notice from a neighbour in Torquay? You have 14 days to respond, and appointing your own surveyor normally costs you nothing, the building owner pays.
Covering Torquay, Babbacombe, Chelston, St Marychurch and the surrounding area, from Poole.
What party wall work looks like in Torquay.
Where properties step down a hillside, your neighbour's ground floor may sit at the level of your foundations. So excavation next door is not remotely academic. Add limestone, retaining walls of uncertain age and widespread flat conversion, and Torquay produces some of the more involved party wall matters in Devon. If your neighbour is excavating, underpinning or altering a retaining structure below you, you should have your own surveyor, and the building owner normally pays for them.
We cover Torquay from Poole, along with Babbacombe, Chelston, St Marychurch, Wellswood, Paignton, Cockington and the wider Devon area. Every matter is handled by a named surveyor who is a member of the FPWS or RICS, or both.
If a neighbour has served you notice
This is most of what we do. As adjoining owner you are entitled to appoint your own surveyor, and under section 11 the building owner normally pays the reasonable fees.
- A schedule of condition of your property, before work starts
- The structural design read with your building in mind
- A binding Award controlling scope, hours and access
- A duty on your neighbour to make good any damage
- A named surveyor you can telephone
Planning works in Torquay?
Building on a sloping site in Torquay? Excavation below a neighbour's foundations needs Section 6 notices. We check the levels before you dig.
We identify which sections apply, check who the adjoining owners actually are at HM Land Registry, draft and serve the notices correctly, and manage the neighbour relationship so you do not have to. You get a written estimate before we start. Not a fixed fee guessed from a form before anyone has read your drawings.
Section 6 catches more schemes than people expect
Party wall questions in Torquay
Do I have to pay for a party wall surveyor in Torquay?
If you are the adjoining owner, the neighbour, then almost certainly not. Section 11 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 puts the cost of the works and the reasonable surveying fees of both owners on the building owner, because the works are for their benefit. If you are the one building, we give you a written estimate before we start rather than a fixed fee quoted from a web form.
How quickly can you get to a property in Torquay?
Torquay is covered from Poole. We aim to respond to all enquiries within one working day, and where a 14-day deadline is close we will take the dissent first and arrange the inspection immediately afterwards. Inspections are typically within a week of appointment.
What sort of works trigger the Act around Torquay?
Where properties step down a hillside, your neighbour's ground floor may sit at the level of your foundations. So excavation next door is not remotely academic. Add limestone, retaining walls of uncertain age and widespread flat conversion, and Torquay produces some of the more involved party wall matters in Devon. If your neighbour is excavating, underpinning or altering a retaining structure below you, you should have your own surveyor, and the building owner normally pays for them.
I've had a notice from my neighbour in Torquay. What do I do?
You have 14 days to respond, and doing nothing is not neutral. After 14 days a dispute is deemed to have arisen and the building owner may appoint a surveyor on your behalf. Your options are to consent, to dissent and appoint your own surveyor, or to dissent and agree a single surveyor. Send us the notice and we will tell you whether it is even valid, free of charge.
Which areas near Torquay do you cover?
Babbacombe, Chelston, St Marychurch, Wellswood, Paignton, Cockington and the surrounding area, along with the rest of Devon, from Poole. We cover Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire from Bristol; Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Hampshire and Wiltshire from Poole; London inside the M25 from London.
Speak to a party wall surveyor covering Torquay.
Ten minutes will tell you whether the Act applies, what your deadline is, and what it will cost you. Which, if you are the neighbour, is normally nothing at all.
- The building owner normally pays your surveyor's reasonable fees
- A named surveyor on your case from start to finish
- We will tell you honestly if you do not need us
No card details. No obligation. Nothing is final until you sign the appointment. A member of our office team reads every message, and a surveyor replies, usually within one working day.
More on party wall matters
- Adjoining owner rights
What to do when a notice arrives.
- The Act explained
Sections 1, 2 and 6 in plain English.
- Other areas we cover
The South West from Bristol and Poole, and London inside the M25.