New York's Party Wall Laws

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© Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C. 2015

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Defining Party Wall Ownership Rights

A party wall is generally described as a wall erected between two adjoining pieces

of property and used for the common advantage of both owners. Ordinarily, the main purpose of the wall is for support of

the buildings, and in the absence of an agreement to the contrary, windows are not

proper in a party wall.


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Where a party wall is situated on two touching lots, each of the owners “owns in

severalty so much of the wall as stands upon his lot, each having an easement in

the other strip for purposes of the support of his own building.”


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Party Wall Rules•Replacing a Party Wall

▫If a party wall has become so dilapidated as to be unsafe, the owner of one building has a right to replace it, and in doing so is not liable for damages.


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•Party Wall Boundaries▫Party wall boundary lines do not need to

fall directly in the center of two lots. There are no direct lines of ownership. Both parties own the party wall together.


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•Adding Windows to Party Walls▫The placing of windows in a party wall

where the agreement for the maintenance of the wall does not provide for such opening is a violation of that agreement.


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•Increasing Height and Extending Party Walls▫Either owner may heighten the party wall,

provided the existing party wall is not damaged by it, and the addition is available for use by both owners. A party making an addition to a party wall does it at his or her peril; and if injury results he or she is liable for damages.


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•Hanging Signs on Party Walls▫A party wall is for the common benefit of

adjoining landowners. Each party may use the wall properly so long as the other party is not harmed by the use. Commercial use of a party wall that is on the owner’s property is permissible so long as it does not weaken or encroach on the other half.


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Statute of Limitations for Party Wall Cases

• CPLR 214(4) – 3-year statute of limitation▫ The statute of limitations for injury to property based on negligence is

three years. As a general rule, a tort cause of action "cannot accrue until an injury is sustained." (Kronos, Inc. v AVX Corp., 81 NY2d 90, 94, 612 N.E.2d 289, 595 N.Y.S.2d 931 [1993].)

▫ In cases involving damage from construction by an adjoining property owner, the Appellate Division of this Department has held that the injury was sustained, and the cause of action accrued, when the injury became visible or apparent after the construction. (See Mark v Eshkar, 194 AD2d 356, 357, 598 N.Y.S.2d 255 [1st Dep’t 1993] [cause of action for damage to party wall accrued not at time of adjoining property owner's construction which resulted in "relatively minor damage to the wall," but years later when larger structural cracks became manifest]; Russell v Dunbar, 40 AD3d 952, 953, 838 N.Y.S.2d 97 [2d Dep’t 2007] [damage was "apparent," and cause of action accrued, when plaintiff noticed damage to apartment ceiling from water inside wall].


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Statute of Limitations for Party Wall Cases

• RPAPL 611-▫This statute imposes a one

year statute of limitations for actions to remove a wall that encroaches six inches upon an adjoining property, and

▫A two year statute of limitations for damage actions based on encroachments not exceeding six inches. (See Sova v Glasier, 192 AD2d 1069, 596 N.Y.S.2d 228 [4th Dep’t 1993].) RPAPL 611 is inapplicable as the complaint alleges an encroachment of greater than six inches.

See Vitale v S&P 26 Dev. Assoc. LLC, 2009 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 6017.


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New York's Party Wall Laws

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Transcript of New York's Party Wall Laws