Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to bring forward proposals to amend the Party Wall Act 1996.
To ensure safe and high-quality buildings, it is important that anyone involved in a project throughout a building's lifecycle is competent to do their job properly and in compliance with the Building Regulations. The Government is working with industry to develop the professional standards of competence of those working across the built environment and enforcing a stringent new regulatory regime for high-rise residential and other in scope buildings for the Building Safety Regulator.
The Party Wall Act provides a framework for preventing and resolving disputes in relation to party walls, boundary walls and excavations near buildings. The Act is separate from obtaining planning permission or building regulations approval. At present, there are no plans to amend the Act.