What’s the Difference Between a Party Wall Award and a Schedule of Condition?

Question

Just so I know, what exactly does the party wall award grant that is different from the schedule of condition and our assurance that if our work caused any new issues then we would rectify it?

Answer 

A schedule of condition is a written record (usually supported by photographs) of the parts of an adjoining property that are likely to be impacted upon should anything go wrong with a building owner’s works.  It can be referred back either during or following the works should there be a claim for damages against the building owner (in a similar way to how a dilapidations claim is assessed on a commercial property).

A party wall award is the document that is produced by appointed surveyors to resolve a dispute between owners where there has been a dissent to the party wall notice(s). An award will generally include a schedule of condition which may be why the two things are sometimes confused.

Where an adjoining owner consents to a party wall notice they will sometimes do so on condition that the building owner pays a surveyor to schedule the condition of their property. The building owner will generally be happy with such a response as the costs of having one surveyor record a schedule of condition is considerably less that two surveyors agreeing an award.

This article gives a succinct overview of party wall procedures.