For building owners
Planning work next to a neighbour?
If your project touches a shared wall, puts a wall on the boundary or digs near next door, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies. Here is what that means, and how we keep your start date.
- 1 or 2 months' notice
- 14 days for replies
- Award before work starts
Does the Act apply to your project?
Three kinds of work bring the Act into play. Many projects involve more than one.
- Work to a shared wall (section 2). Cutting in to take steel beams, raising the wall, removing a chimney breast, underpinning, inserting a damp-proof course, or taking the wall down and rebuilding it. Two months' notice.
- A new wall on the boundary (section 1). Building a wall astride the line between your land and next door's, or right up against it. One month's notice.
- Digging near next door (section 6). Excavating within 3 metres of a neighbour's building and deeper than its foundations, or within 6 metres where your dig would cut a line drawn down at 45 degrees from the bottom of their foundations. One month's notice.
Small jobs such as fixing shelves, adding sockets or replastering do not usually need notice. If you are unsure, the notice checker will point you the right way in a minute.
What we do for you
- Land Registry
Find every owner
We search the Land Registry for each neighbouring property. Freeholders get a notice, and so do leaseholders whose leases run for more than a year. In a house split into flats that can mean four or five notices.
- Paperwork
Prepare the notices
The right section for each part of the work, an accurate description, a start date the notice period allows, and drawings where the Act asks for them.
- Service
Serve them and keep the proof
By post with proof of postage, by hand, or by email where an owner has agreed in writing to accept it. Each notice goes with a simple reply form.
- 14 days, then 10
Chase the replies
We watch the 14 days. If a neighbour stays silent we send the 10-day request to appoint a surveyor, so nothing stalls.
- Survey
Record next door
A schedule of condition of the neighbouring property, so any later claim is judged against facts.
- Award
Agree the award
As the agreed surveyor for both owners, or as your surveyor working with your neighbour's. Then your builder can start.
When to serve your notices
As soon as the design is fixed. You do not need planning permission first, and most delays we see come from notices left until the builder is booked. Work back from your start date: two months for work to a shared wall, one month for boundary walls and excavation.
Do not serve too early either. A notice for work to a shared wall lapses if the work has not begun within 12 months.
What it costs you
As the building owner you pay your own surveyor and, in most cases, the reasonable fees of your neighbour's surveyor too, because the work is for your benefit. Using one agreed surveyor for both sides is usually the cheapest route.
A notice costs £70, and every fee is quoted in writing before we begin. See our fees.
Mistakes we see across South London
- Serving only the freeholder of a converted house and missing the flat owners.
- Downloading a template notice, choosing the wrong section and leaving out the start date.
- Leaving the notices until the builder is booked, then losing two months.
- Digging deeper footings on clay without a section 6 notice because "it's our side of the fence".
- Assuming a permitted development loft does not need party wall notices. Planning and the Act are separate.
Questions people ask
Can I serve a party wall notice myself?
Yes. The Act does not say a surveyor has to serve notices. The risk is in the detail: a notice under the wrong section, with an owner missing or no start date, can be challenged, and the notice period starts again. Most people pay to have notices served correctly once.
Do I need planning permission before serving notice?
No. Notices can go out before planning permission or a lawful development certificate, as long as the drawings describe the work accurately. Serve once the design is settled.
What happens if my neighbour agrees?
If they consent in writing, no award is needed for that notice. You are still responsible for any damage your work causes, so a schedule of condition of their property is still a good idea.
Can my builder start before the notice period ends?
Only if your neighbour agrees in writing to an earlier start. Otherwise the one or two months have to run first.
What if I have neighbours on both sides?
Each adjoining owner gets their own notice and makes their own choice. One may consent while the other dissents, and that is fine.