Under what Circumstances is a Schedule of Condition mandatory under the Party Wall Act?

Question

Please can you let me know under which circumstances a SOC must be undertaken by a residential party wall surveyor?  Is it in fact a requirement?

Answer

It is not mandatory to have a schedule of condition attached to a Party Wall Award although it is considered to be good practice. The only scenario in which it would not be is if the Adjoining Owner refused to provide access – even then we would look to schedule the relevant exterior parts from whatever vantage point we could use.