An award is the document that ends a party wall dispute. Surveyors appointed under the Act publish it, it binds both owners, and it is conclusive unless appealed within a short window. People usually ask what it is at the point where one has landed on the doormat, and the follow up question is almost always about time: how long it lasts, and whether it still matters once the scaffolding has gone. It does, and that is the useful part of the answer.
What the award contains and what it does
It records the owners, the property and the notice, sets out the works the building owner may carry out, and imposes conditions on how and when they are done: hours, access, protection, making good. It attaches a schedule of condition recording the adjoining owner's property before work. It deals with fees. Once served it is conclusive and cannot be questioned in any court except through the appeal the Act itself provides, which runs for a fortnight from service.
How long does a party wall agreement last
The award does not expire on a date, but the rights it authorises are tied to the work it describes. If the work is not done, and a fresh start is proposed later, a new notice and a fresh award are the honest route rather than reviving an old one. What genuinely persists is the schedule of condition: the record of the neighbour's property before the work, which is what a damage claim years later is measured against. Keep it, at full photographic quality, with the award and the notice.
A party wall agreement after works completed, and disputes that surface late
Damage does not always show up while the scaffolding is still there. A party wall dispute after works completed is normally about whether a crack, a lifted tile or a sticking door was caused by the work, and it is settled by comparing the property now with the schedule of condition taken before. Where an award was made, the appointed surveyors can determine the matter. Where none was made, because notice was never served, the neighbour's route is the courts and the building owner has nothing to point to.
Questions people ask about what is a party wall award
Can an award be changed after it is served?
Not by the parties. It can be appealed to the county court within a short window, and the surveyors can make a further award to deal with matters that arise, such as damage during the work.
Do I have to keep the award?
Yes, and the schedule of condition with it. A buyer's conveyancer will ask for both, and a damage claim years later turns entirely on the schedule.
What if the work was never actually done?
Then nothing under the award happened, and a job revived years later is best served afresh. A party structure notice lapses in any case if the work has not begun within twelve months of service.