Party Wall Act Explained: Notices, Surveyor Costs and What Happens If Your Neighbour Ignores You

01

It Is Separate From Planning and Building Regulations

GOV.UK states that party wall agreements are different from planning permission or building regulations approval. The Government's explanatory booklet adds that planning permission or building regulations approval does not remove the need to follow the Act, and that reaching agreement under the Act does not remove the need for planning permission or building regulations compliance (explanatory booklet, Introduction and para 57). Councils often mention the Act as good practice, but the booklet says they are not required to (para 58).

So a typical extension, loft or basement can need three separate sign-offs: planning permission or permitted development, building regulations, and the party wall process. A neighbour's objection to your planning application is also separate: see how neighbours' comments are weighed.

02

Which Works Need a Party Wall Notice?

The Act has three triggers. Each has its own section, notice period and rule for what silence means.

A common misreading is that silence for 14 days always creates a dispute. It does so only for party structure notices (s 5) and excavation notices (s 6(7)). For a new boundary wall, no consent means you build wholly on your own land (s 1(4)). The Government's explanatory booklet makes the same distinction (paras 33 and 49).

Work to a party wall (section 2)

Section 2 lists the rights a building owner gets, but you must serve a party structure notice before using any of them. The list in s 2(2) includes:

• underpinning, thickening or raising a party structure or party fence wall;
• repairing, or demolishing and rebuilding, a party structure that is defective;
• cutting into a party structure for any purpose, including inserting a damp proof course;
• cutting away projecting chimney breasts, jambs or flues;
• cutting into a neighbour's wall to insert a flashing;
• raising or reducing a party fence wall, and exposing a previously enclosed party wall (providing adequate weathering).

GOV.UK gives everyday examples: cutting into a party wall, making it taller, shorter or deeper, removing chimneys from it, and knocking it down and rebuilding it. The explanatory booklet adds that the common rights include cutting in to take the bearing of a beam, for example for a loft conversion (para 4). It warns that you must not even cut into your own side of the wall without telling the adjoining owners (para 5).

Excavation near a neighbour (section 6)

Notice is needed if you propose to excavate, or excavate for a building or structure:

• within 3 metres, measured horizontally from any part of a neighbouring building or structure, and any part of your excavation goes lower than the bottom of the neighbour's foundations (s 6(1)); or
• within 6 metres, where any part of your excavation meets a plane drawn downwards at 45 degrees from the bottom of the neighbour's foundations (s 6(2)).

The depth condition matters. Digging within 3 m is not enough by itself. The notice must come with plans and sections showing the site and depth of the excavation, and must say whether you propose to underpin or strengthen the neighbour's foundations (s 6(5)–(6)). A detached house can trigger section 6, and for this section only, an owner who is within the distances counts as "adjoining" even if another property sits between (s 6(4), s 20 and booklet para 28). Basements are the standard example: see planning permission for a basement.

Is a fence a party wall?

Usually not. Under s 20 a party wall includes a wall forming part of a building that stands on land of different owners, and the part of a wall that separates buildings belonging to different owners. A "party fence wall" is a wall that is not part of a building, stands on land of different owners and is used to separate it. GOV.UK says garden walls count but wooden fences do not, and the booklet says the term does not include wooden fences or hedges (para 3). The "party structure" concept is wider and covers floors separating flats (s 20).

Common jobs and which section they usually engage

• Loft conversion: cutting into a party wall to take the bearing of a beam is a section 2 right (booklet para 4). See loft conversion rules.
• Rear extension: foundations near the neighbour's building may engage section 6 (booklet para 28), and building up to the boundary line engages section 1 (booklet para 22). See extension rules.
• Basement: section 6 for the excavation, and often section 2 for underpinning a party wall (booklet para 4).
• Garden wall on the line: a masonry wall astride the boundary is a party fence wall; a wooden fence is not (booklet para 3).

Whether your own job is caught depends on the exact position and depth, so check against the sections above.

03

How to Serve a Party Wall Notice

Who gets it. A notice goes to every "adjoining owner". Under s 20, "owner" includes anyone receiving the rents or profits, anyone in possession other than as a tenant from year to year or for a shorter term, and a purchaser under contract. The booklet puts this as the freeholder, a leaseholder with a term exceeding one year, and a buyer under contract (Introduction). So there can be more than one owner of a single neighbouring property, and it is your duty to notify all of them (booklet para 7).

What it says. A party structure notice must give your name and address, the nature and particulars of the work (with plans, sections and loads if you propose special foundations) and the date the work will begin (s 3(1)). There is no official form; the booklet suggests a dated notice stating that it is given under the Act, and includes example letters (para 8).

How to deliver it. You can hand it over, post it to the person's usual or last-known residence or place of business, or, as an alternative when serving an owner (useful if you do not know their name or the property is let: booklet para 8), address it to "the owner" of the premises, naming the premises, and deliver it to a person there or, if nobody is there, fix it to a conspicuous part of the premises (s 15(2)). Other methods are in s 15(1). Email works only if the recipient has stated a willingness to receive notices electronically, has not withdrawn that statement, and you use the address they specified (s 15(1A), inserted from 6 April 2016 by SI 2016/335).

Timing. You cannot start before the notice period has passed unless the neighbour agrees in writing to an earlier start (booklet para 47). GOV.UK summarises the window as between 2 months and a year before you plan to start. The legal basis is s 3(2): the notice must be served at least two months ahead and ceases to have effect if the work has not begun within 12 months of service and is not being carried out with due diligence. The booklet's practical advice is that a notice is valid for a year, so do not serve it long before you intend to start (paras 9, 23 and 29). The same 12-month lapse applies to an excavation notice (s 6(8)).

04

What Happens After You Serve Notice?

Your neighbour has three realistic options (GOV.UK):

1. Consent in writing. Under the booklet's guidance, consent does not waive their rights: it records only that nothing is in dispute at that time, and a later dispute, say over damage, can still go to the dispute procedure (para 10).
2. Dissent, which starts the dispute process.
3. Serve a counter notice (party structure notices only) asking for additional or modified work for their own benefit (s 4). This must be served within one month of your notice, and you must answer it within 14 days or a dispute is deemed to arise (s 5). On an excavation notice, the neighbour can instead require you to underpin or otherwise safeguard their foundations so far as necessary (s 6(3)).

GOV.UK warns that you cannot assume that no response means they agree. If they do nothing for 14 days, the table above tells you which of the two outcomes follows.

05

Surveyors: Agreed, Two Surveyors, and the 10-Day Rule

Once a dispute exists or is deemed to exist, s 10(1) requires either:

• one agreed surveyor, whom both owners concur in appointing; or
• two surveyors, one appointed by each owner, who must then select a third surveyor.

Appointments must be in writing and cannot be rescinded (s 10(2)). You cannot act as your own surveyor: GOV.UK says so, and s 20 defines a surveyor as a person who is not a party to the matter. The booklet adds that the surveyor should not have been engaged to supervise the building work, and that the surveyor must act impartially and consider the interests and rights of both owners (paras 12 and 13). Choosing an agreed surveyor means there is no third surveyor to call on if you later disagree with the surveyor (booklet para 52).

If the neighbour will not play along. If either party refuses, or neglects for ten days after the other serves a request, to appoint a surveyor under the two-surveyor route, the other party may make the appointment on their behalf (s 10(4)). GOV.UK puts it the same way: you can appoint a surveyor on behalf of your neighbour if they refuse or fail to do so. The Act also deals with slow surveyors: if a surveyor neglects to act effectively for 10 days after a request, the other party's surveyor can proceed ex parte, and anything done is as effective as if by an agreed surveyor (s 10(6)–(7)). If no dispute arises, no surveyor needs to be appointed at all (booklet para 53).

06

The Award, the Schedule of Condition and Appeals

The surveyors settle the matter by an award, which can determine the right to execute work, the time and manner of doing it, and any incidental matter including the costs of the award (s 10(10)–(12)). Any period the award sets for doing the work does not begin to run until the statutory notice period has passed, unless the owners agree otherwise (s 10(12)).

The booklet says an award often contains a record of the condition of the adjoining property before work starts, so that any damage can be attributed and made good, and allows access for the surveyors to inspect (para 14). That record is what practitioners call a schedule of condition.

An award is conclusive and cannot be questioned in any court except under s 10 (s 10(16)). Either party may appeal to the county court within 14 days beginning with the day the award is served on them; the court can rescind or modify the award and make a costs order (s 10(17)). GOV.UK says you must file an appellant's notice in a county court explaining why you are appealing (GOV.UK). The booklet warns that an unsuccessful appellant may be ordered to pay costs and suggests taking legal advice (para 17).

07

Who Pays, and What Does a Party Wall Surveyor Cost?

Who pays for the work. The starting point in s 11(1) is that expenses of work under the Act are defrayed by the building owner. Exceptions: where work to a party structure is needed because of defect or want of repair, expenses are shared having regard to each owner's use and responsibility for the defect (s 11(4)–(5)); and an adjoining owner who asks for extra work pays for it (s 11(9)).

Who pays the surveyors. The reasonable costs of making an award, of reasonable inspections and of any other matter arising out of the dispute are paid by whichever party the surveyors determine (s 10(13)). In practice the booklet says the building owner usually pays all costs of drawing up the award, including the adjoining owner's surveyor, when the works are solely for the building owner's benefit (para 15).

How much? The booklet says surveyors' fees are a matter for individual surveyors, there are no set charges, and clients negotiate. If you think a fee is unreasonable you can ask for a breakdown, such as the hourly rate and hours charged (para 16). This guide does not quote a "typical" price because there is no official figure to cite. What drives the bill, from the Act itself:

• How many owners must be served. Each adjoining owner may need their own notice and, in a two-surveyor dispute, their own surveyor (s 10(1)).
• Agreed surveyor or two surveyors. One shared surveyor is cheaper in principle but leaves no third surveyor to appeal to; the booklet suggests an agreed surveyor for minor residential works where fees would otherwise inflate the project cost (paras 36 and 52).
• Complexity. An excavation notice must be accompanied by plans and sections, and must say whether you propose to underpin or strengthen the neighbour's foundations (s 6(5)–(6)), so more complex jobs mean more for the surveyors to review.
• Inspections. The award can cover reasonable inspections of the works, which are chargeable (s 10(13)(b)).
• Disputes and referrals. Either party or either surveyor can call on the third surveyor to determine disputed matters (s 10(11)), and the reasonable costs of any matter arising out of the dispute can be allocated by the surveyors (s 10(13)(c)).

Protections for the neighbour that add cost. The building owner must not cause unnecessary inconvenience, must compensate for loss or damage, and must provide protective hoarding or shoring if they lay open the neighbour's land or building (s 7). Damage must be made good, and the neighbour can instead require the cost of making good to be determined and paid to them (s 2(3)–(5) and s 11(8)). An adjoining owner may also serve notice requiring the building owner to give security for expenses before starting work, as agreed or determined under section 10 (s 12(1)). The booklet says this is usually reserved for particularly intrusive or complex works (para 38).

08

Access: Rights of Entry and Refusal

The building owner, workmen and agents may enter the neighbour's land during usual working hours to carry out work in pursuance of the Act, but only after serving at least 14 days' notice, except in an emergency (s 8(1), (3)–(4)). Appointed surveyors have the same right, again with notice (s 8(5)–(6)). If the premises are closed, entry may be forced only if accompanied by a police officer (s 8(2)).

If a neighbour won't let the surveyor or workmen in: an occupier who refuses to permit someone to do what they are entitled to do under s 8(1) or (5), knowing or having reasonable cause to believe they are entitled, commits an offence, as does anyone who hinders or obstructs them (s 16(2) applies to anyone, including a building owner who obstructs a surveyor). The penalty is a fine of up to level 3 on the standard scale (s 16). The Act's only offences section covers refusing or obstructing entry, so it falls on whoever refuses or obstructs.

The right of entry covers work under the Act only (booklet para 20). Scaffolding for work that falls outside the Act is a different question, dealt with by the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992, under which a court can order access only where the works are reasonably necessary for the preservation of the applicant's land.

09

When You Do Not Need to Serve Notice

• Minor work to a party wall. The booklet says things like drilling for shelf fixings, adding or replacing recessed electric wiring and sockets, and removing old plaster and replastering "may all be too minor to require a notice". The test is whether the work could have consequences for the structural strength and support functions of the whole wall or cause damage to the neighbour's side (para 6). GOV.UK lists the same kinds of small jobs (GOV.UK).
• Written consent can stand in for a section 3 notice. Section 3 does not stop a building owner exercising a section 2 right with the written consent of the adjoining owners and adjoining occupiers (s 3(3)(a)). Note that this covers section 2 rights; for new walls and excavations, follow the notices in sections 1 and 6.
• Dangerous or neglected structures. No party structure notice is needed before complying with a notice under the statutory provisions on dangerous or neglected structures (s 3(3)(b)).
• Work that is outside all three triggers. A wall, extension or outbuilding set back from the boundary, with foundations that do not fall within the 3 m / 6 m excavation tests and no work to a shared wall, does not engage the Act. The Act is also silent on boundaries themselves: it cannot be used to settle a boundary dispute (booklet para 43). If you suspect work is on the wrong side of the line, see building too close to the boundary.

The Act does not apply to land in inner London in which one of the four Inns of Court has an interest (s 18), and it binds the Crown (s 19).

10

What If Work Starts Without Notice?

The booklet says the Act contains no enforcement procedure for failure to serve a notice, and that it is a civil matter (paras 5, 22, 28, 35 and 48). An adjoining owner can, however, seek an injunction to stop the work or other legal redress, and a building owner must compensate for loss or damage caused by work under the Act (s 7(2)). A neighbour who sees work about to start without notice can write to the owner pointing to the Act (booklet para 34). If work has already begun, the booklet says they may seek to stop it by injunction and may wish to take professional or legal advice first (para 35).

Failing to serve a notice is not a criminal offence: the booklet says the Act contains no enforcement procedure for it and it is a civil matter (paras 5 and 48). The Act's only offences, in s 16, concern refusing or obstructing entry under section 8.

11

If You Are the Neighbour (Adjoining Owner)

• Reply in writing within 14 days, whether you consent or not (booklet para 33). Silence is not neutral: on a party structure or excavation notice you are deemed to dissent, and if you also fail to appoint a surveyor the building owner can appoint one for you (s 10(4)).
• You cannot stop lawful work, but you can influence it (and you can refuse a wall astride the boundary, s 1(4), and special foundations on your land, s 7(4)). The booklet says the Act's primary purpose is to facilitate development; the owner is responsible for putting right damage, even if caused by their contractor, and you may influence how and at what times work is done (Part 3).
• You can ask for protections: a counter notice for works that benefit you, a schedule of condition in the award, and security for expenses (s 4, s 12).
• Noise and dust. An award can limit when noisy work is done (booklet para 14). Excessive noise or dust can also be reported to the council's environmental health team, which has powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Control of Pollution Act 1974 (booklet para 40).

12

Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Where the rules differ

• Wales: the Act applies in the same way as in England, because it extends to England and Wales (s 22(4)).
• Scotland: the Act does not extend to Scotland (s 22(4)); the explanatory booklet says the same of Northern Ireland and Scotland (para 1), and GOV.UK says there are different rules in Scotland. For tenement flats in Scotland, the starting point is the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.
• Northern Ireland: the Act does not apply there. We have not found an official equivalent to cite, so take advice from a Northern Ireland solicitor or surveyor.

13

Related Guides

• Permitted Development Rights Explained
• Do I Need Planning Permission for an Extension?
• Planning Permission vs Building Regulations
• Someone Is Building Too Close to My Boundary
• My Neighbour Is Building Too Close to the Boundary
• Do I Need Planning Permission for a Basement?
• My Neighbour Is Building an Extension

This guide is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Party wall matters can be complex, and only the courts can give a definitive interpretation of the law. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified party wall surveyor or solicitor.