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Section 88 – Rights of building owner

London Building Act 1894

The building owner shall have the following rights in relation to party structures (that is to say):

(1) A right to make good underpin or repair any party structure which is defective or out of repair

(2) A right to pull down and rebuild any party structure which is so far defective or out of repair as to make it necessary or desirable to pull it down.

(3) A right to pull down any timber or other partition which divides any buildings and is not conformable with the regulations of this Act and to build instead a party wall conformable thereto.

(4) In the case of buildings having rooms or storeys the property of different owners intermixed a right to pull down such of the said rooms or storeys or any part thereof as are not built in conformity with this Act and to rebuild the same in conformity with this Act.

(5) In the case of buildings connected by arches or communications over public ways or over passages belonging to other persons a right to pull down such of the said buildings arches or communications or such parts thereto as are not built in conformity with this Act.

(6) A right to raise and underpin any party structure permitted by this Act to be raised or underpinned or any external wall built against such party structure upon condition of making good all damage occasioned thereby to the adjoining premises or to the internal finishings and decorations thereof and of carrying up to the requisite height all flues and chimney stacks belonging to the adjoining owner on or against such party structure or external wall.

(7) A right to pull down any party structure which is of insufficient strength for any building intended to be built and to rebuild the same of sufficient strength for the above purpose upon condition of making good all damage occasioned thereby to the adjoining premises or to the internal finishings and decorations thereof.

(8) A right to cut into any party structure upon condition of making good all damage occasioned to the adjoining premises by such operation.

(9) A right to cut away any footing or any chimney breasts jambs or flues projecting or other projections from any party wall or external walls in order to erect an external wall against such party wall or for any other purpose upon condition of making good all damage occasioned to the adjoining premises by such operation.

(10) A right to cut away or take down such parts of any wall or building of an adjoining owner as may be necessary in consequence of such wall or building overhanging the ground of the building owner in order to erect an upright wall against the same on condition of making good any damage sustained by the wall or building by reason of such cutting away or taking down.

(11) A right to perform any other necessary works incident to the connection of a party structure with the premises adjoining thereto but the above rights shall be subject to this qualification that any building which has been erected previously to the date of the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to be conformable with the provisions of this Act if it be conformable with the Acts of Parliament regulating buildings in London before the commencement of this Act.

(12) A right to raise a party fence wall or to pull the same down and rebuild it as a party wall.

The London Building Act 1894