I bought a lot of land which is adjacent to two rowhouse buildings. What are my rights and obligations with respect to constructing a building and using the party wall of the other buildings?

Sometimes there are party wall agreements of record at the Registry of Deeds which will spell out, to a certain extent, the rights and obligations of parties with respect to the construction of buildings using party walls. However, very often there are no written agreements of record but of course there are party walls and the buildings are constructed. Those are called “common-law” party wall rights because they exist but there are no documents of record spelling out the rights and obligations of the abutting landowners. You will need to consult with the Inspectional Services Office of the City of Boston, assuming that the property is located in the city, or otherwise with the building inspector’s office in the city or town in which the lot is located to determine whether or not the city has any particular zoning or building bylaws dealing with construction using party walls, and in any event the state building code would have requirements in connection with construction with a party wall. You should consult with a licensed builder or an architect as to how the construction must proceed. In any event you should certainly talk with each of property owners adjacent to your lot to let them know what you intend to do once you have developed plans for the construction of the building on your lot. In particular you will need to address with them how you intend to construct your building and how it will affect the party wall with their building and let them know who the contractor will be and who will be carrying what kinds of insurance. In all likelihood you will not get any resistance, but your neighbors certainly do not want to be at risk or be ignorant of what your intentions are with respect to the building you intend to build on the lot. Good luck with it!

If you have questions about this or any other real estate matter, please contact Tom Bennett at (617) 531-6574 or tvb@barronstad.com.