A party wall award is the document the appointed surveyors produce when an adjoining owner has not consented. It is not a contract between neighbours and neither owner signs it. The surveyors make it, it binds both owners and their successors in title, and it can only be challenged by appeal to the county court within fourteen days of service.
What an award decides
Which works are authorised and how they are to be carried out, working hours, access to the adjoining property, the condition of that property before work starts, who pays the surveyors and what happens if damage occurs. Anything the Act allows surveyors to determine can be in it; anything else cannot.
Why the schedule of condition is attached
The award records the adjoining property's condition at a date, usually with photographs, so that a crack argued about later can be tested against the record. Without it, a damage claim becomes one person's memory against another's.
How it is served and when it takes effect
The award is served on both owners. The fourteen day appeal window runs from service. If nobody appeals, it is final on the matters it decides and the authorised works may proceed on its terms. Service on a leaseholder as well as a freeholder matters here, because each is a separate appeal window.
What an example looks like
A recital of the appointments and the notice, a description of the works, the authorised method, the conditions, the fees, the schedule of condition and the surveyors' signatures. Any competent party wall surveyor will show a redacted example on request, and reading one is the quickest way to understand what you are buying.
Questions people ask about party wall award
Can I refuse to accept a party wall award?
You can appeal it to the county court within fourteen days of service. You cannot simply decline it: an unappealed award binds both owners whether or not they like it.
Does an award allow my neighbour into my house?
It can authorise access for the works and for inspections, on notice and at reasonable times. It does not hand over the property, and the conditions in the award are enforceable.
What happens if the works damage my property?
The award sets out the mechanism. In most cases the surveyors determine the making good or the compensation, measured against the schedule of condition taken before work started.