Schedule of Condition

A Schedule of Condition is a dated, indexed record of the condition of a neighbouring property made before building work begins. It combines written notes room by room with numbered photographs, and where existing cracking or movement matters, measurements taken on site. It is produced under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 process and it exists for one reason: to answer the question every damage claim turns on — was that crack caused by the work, or was it there already?

It is the least understood document in the whole process, and the one that decides the most. Clients usually come to it expecting a formality; they leave understanding that it is the only part of the file that will still matter in six months' time, when a hairline crack has become a claim.

How the schedule is carried out

• Access by appointment. The neighbouring property is inspected with the owner, or their surveyor, present wherever possible. Being there matters: it removes any later argument about whether something was recorded as found.
• A room-by-room inspection, working through the property in order and noting condition against a numbered index so that every photograph and every observation can be located precisely.
• Photographs, dated and indexed. Wide shots to establish the room, close shots for each defect, and a scale where a crack width is being recorded. The photographs are the part of the schedule that gets looked at when a claim arises.
• Monitoring where movement is the risk. Tell-tales or gauges fitted across existing cracks during the same visit, read on a later appointment. For excavation work this converts an opinion about movement into a measurement of it.
• A copy to both owners. The schedule is agreed and shared, not held by one side, because an unshared record is worth very little when it is produced three months later.

One point of honesty about what this is. A Schedule of Condition records rather than advises. It is not a structural survey, it is not a valuation, and it does not tell the neighbour whether their property has a problem worth fixing. If a surveyor sees something serious while making the schedule, they will say so — but the purpose of the document is to fix a baseline, and the scope follows from that.

What happens at completion

The schedule does its second job at the end of the works, when the surveyor returns and compares the property with the record taken before anyone started.

• Nothing has changed. The case closes and the building owner is discharged from the claims that would otherwise follow. This is the most common outcome, and it is the outcome the schedule makes demonstrable rather than merely asserted.
• Damage is identified. The making-good obligation in the award applies, and the contractor returns to put it right to the standard the award requires.
• Loss cannot sensibly be made good. Section 7(2) puts the building owner under a duty to compensate the adjoining owner for loss or damage caused by work executed under the Act, whether or not anyone was at fault. That is a statutory duty, not a question of negligence, and it applies to the decoration, the tiling and the inconvenience as well as to the structure.
• There is a dispute about cause. This is where the pre-works record earns its cost: existing cracks are already documented, positions and widths are recorded, and the argument moves from recollection to evidence.

For the adjoining owner, that sequence is the whole value of responding to a notice. For the building owner, it is what stands between a completed project and an open-ended claim. Both sides benefit from the same document, which is why it survives every change in the way these cases are run.

Schedule of Condition — frequently asked questions

What is a Schedule of Condition?

A Schedule of Condition is a dated, indexed record of the condition of a neighbouring property made before building work starts. It combines written notes room by room with numbered photographs, and where relevant measurements of existing cracks and movement. It is not a valuation and it is not a structural survey for the neighbour's benefit — it records what is there, so that any later damage can be attributed rather than argued about.

Is a Schedule of Condition required by the Party Wall Act?

The Act does not name a Schedule of Condition, and there is no section that requires one. It is nonetheless standard practice, and in most London cases the adjoining owner's surveyor will require one, or make it a condition of the award. Where work involves excavation under section 6 — basement digs and underpinning in particular — a Schedule of Condition is close to essential, because it is the pre-works record against which any movement is measured.

How much does a Schedule of Condition cost?

Grey & Associates charge £620 plus VAT per property for a Schedule of Condition, and a separate schedule and fee applies to each adjoining property affected. Basement and underpinning schemes are priced differently, because the scheduling and engineering input is far greater: our basement package is £1,100 plus VAT per Schedule of Condition, within a £2,400 plus VAT total per adjoining property covering notice, schedule and award.

Who pays for a Schedule of Condition?

Where a dispute arises, the building owner carrying out the work is responsible for the reasonable fees of both sides' surveyors under section 11 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. In practice that means the Schedule of Condition on the neighbouring property is the building owner's cost, and the adjoining owner is not paying for their own protection in the normal case.

Can my neighbour refuse access for a Schedule of Condition?

In practice access is arranged by appointment and almost always agreed, because the Schedule of Condition exists to protect the neighbour. The Act does provide powers of entry for the purposes of the Act, with notice required except in an emergency, and where a neighbour refuses access the matter can be dealt with as part of the dispute and written into the award. Refusing access does not stop the works; it removes the protection the neighbour would otherwise have.

How long does a Schedule of Condition take?

The inspection itself takes one to three hours on site for a typical London terrace house, depending on the size of the property and how much of it needs recording. The written and photographic report follows within a few days. Where existing cracking needs monitoring, small gauges may be fitted during the same visit and read on a later one, which adds a second appointment.

Does a Schedule of Condition protect me if my neighbour damages my wall?

It is the single most useful document you can have. Section 7(2) of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 puts the building owner under a duty to compensate the adjoining owner for loss or damage caused by work carried out under the Act, whether or not anyone was negligent. Proving that damage was caused by the work is the difficulty, and the Schedule of Condition is what resolves it: without a pre-works record, causation becomes one party's word against the other's.

What happens to the Schedule of Condition at the end of the works?

It is the baseline for the completion inspection. The surveyor returns, compares the property with the record, and reports whether anything has changed. Where damage is identified, the making-good obligation in the award applies, and where the loss cannot be made good physically, section 7(2) compensation applies instead. Where nothing has changed, the schedule is also what discharges the building owner from the claims that would otherwise follow.