The appointment of a Party Wall Surveyor is a Statutory Appointment which means he is not employed have any contract with the Owner.

It is a personal appointment, i.e. the Owner is appointing a person and not the company he may work for.

The Act gives the right for anyone to be a Party Wall Surveyor providing that they are not a party to the matter. This means that the Party Wall Surveyor does not need to have any formal qualifications or be a member of any professional body. They do not need to be a chartered surveyor, architect or structural engineer for instance.

However anyone undertaking party wall work is required to have a sound knowledge of construction as they would likely fail in their duty when attempting to deal with the matter. They need to be able to read and assess the drawings presented and possibly to comment on them.

They need insurance for their work in the manner of Professional Indemnity (it is highly unlikely that a 'lay' person would have such protection).

The main duty of the Party Wall Surveyor is to resolve any disputes between the Owners, not to be an advocate for their Appointing Owner. They are not there to receive instructions or to hinder the work in any way.

Where a dispute arises the surveyors are appointed to resolve the dispute and to draw up a document of agreement called an Award and to serve it on both parties. This Award will detail the work that is to be undertaken, when and how it should be done and usually records the condition of the Adjoining Owners property before the work begins.