Notices · Schedules of condition · Awards
Planning a loft, an extension or a basement next to a neighbour? Or has a party wall notice just come through your door? We serve the notices, record next door's condition and agree the award, across London and the South East.
Start here
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 gives each neighbour a different job. Pick yours and we will take it from there.
Building owner
If your project cuts into a shared wall, puts a new wall on the boundary or digs close to next door's foundations, your neighbours must get written notice before it starts.
Adjoining owner
You have 14 days to reply in writing. If you say nothing, the Act treats it as a dispute and surveyors get appointed anyway, so it pays to answer properly.
Services
Each part of the Act has its own paperwork and deadlines. We can handle the whole matter or just the piece you need.
The right notice for the work, served on every owner with proof of service.
Notices Before work startsA dated, measured and photographed record of next door, room by room.
Condition surveys Section 10The legal document most people call a party wall agreement.
Awards UrgentWhat to do when the builders are already on site next door.
Get help nowLocal knowledge
Most party wall work south of the river happens in a handful of house types, and each one has its own habits at the shared wall. Knowing them is how we write awards that work on site as well as on paper.
Fees
You get the fee in writing before we start. No VAT to add.
Party wall notice
£70
fixed fee
Ownership checked, notice prepared, served and followed up.
Schedule of condition
£350
fixed fee
A measured, photographed record of the neighbouring property.
Party wall award
from £600
agreed surveyor, depending on the work
Drawings checked, award drawn up and served on both owners.
The process
The Act sets the order and most of the deadlines. This is the usual run of events.
One month ahead for a boundary wall or excavation, two months for work to a party wall.
Consent in writing, or dissent and appoint a surveyor. Silence counts as dissent.
A neighbour who will not appoint gets a 10-day request, then one is appointed for them.
The neighbouring property is measured and photographed.
It sets out how the work is done, access, protection and costs. 14 days to appeal.
Once the notice period has run, with the award in place.
Areas
Croydon is on our doorstep. From there we cover every South London borough, Surrey and Kent.
Your surveyor
The Act appoints surveyors as individuals, so you should know exactly who is acting for you. It is the same person on the phone, on site and signing the award.
Your surveyor has spent a lifetime in construction, first as a registered house builder and now as a party wall surveyor. That means awards written by someone who knows how lofts, extensions and basements are actually built, and what goes wrong on site.
Usually, if you live in a terrace or a semi. Most loft conversions put steel beams into the shared wall or raise it, and that is work under section 2 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, so your neighbours need two months' written notice. If they agree in writing, no award is needed, although many people still ask for a schedule of condition. If they object or stay silent, surveyors are appointed. More on lofts and party walls.
The Act sets the minimum: one month's notice for a new wall on the boundary or for digging near next door, and two months for work to a shared wall. Neighbours have 14 days to reply. When people answer promptly and the drawings are ready, the award is usually agreed inside the notice period, so the builder can start on the planned date.
Normally not. When the work is for your neighbour's benefit, they pay the reasonable fees of both surveyors, including the one who looks after your home. The surveyors settle the costs in the award. See who pays party wall costs.
No. The Act does not give neighbours a veto. It gives them a say in how and when the work is done, protection for their property and a route to compensation if damage is caused. Planning permission and building regulations are separate from the party wall process.
No. Croydon Council, like every other council, handles planning and building control but takes no part in party wall notices, surveyors or awards. The Act is a private process between owners.
Send the address and a line about the work, or a photo of the notice you have received. We will tell you which notices apply and confirm the fee in writing.