Party Wall Surveyors in London

As renowned party wall specialists in London, we have been trusted for over 20 years to deliver projects and protect peoples’ homes.

What is the Party Wall Act?

If you or your neighbour are planning to undertake a kitchen extension, convert the loft space, reconfigure internal layouts or excavate a basement, the proposed works may well fall under the provisions of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.

The Party Wall Act is an important piece of legislation in England and Wales. It is designed to facilitate development while protecting adjoining properties from damage and their occupants from unnecessary inconvenience. The Act provides a clear legal framework for resolving any disputes that may arise in relation to party walls and other party structures.

The Act broadly covers three distinct types of ‘notifiable’ work (more detail below):

Alterations to party structures, such as walls separating terraced or semi-detached houses, which can in turn be divided into flats
Excavation work within 3.00m of an adjoining or shared structure and to a greater depth than the foundations of that structure
New walls constructed up to or astride a boundary line

Where work falls within the scope of the Act, it is necessary for a building owner to serve notice and obtain the adjoining owner’s consent. If consent is not given, the parties are deemed to be ‘in dispute’ under the Act and each party must appoint a surveyor to resolve the dispute by agreeing and serving a party wall award.

The Act confirms that neighbours (adjoining owners) must not suffer unnecessary inconvenience as a result of the works and must be compensated for any loss or damage suffered. It also affords the owner who is undertaking the work (the building owner), certain rights such as a right of access to neighbouring land where that is necessary to undertake the notified works.

TYPES OF WORK COVERED BY THE PARTY WALL ACT

Notifiable work under the Party Wall Act falls into three distinct categories, each corresponding to a different section of the Act:

SECTION 1: NEW BOUNDARY WALLS

The most common type of new building covered by the Act is the construction of a wall up to (but not beyond) the boundary, technically referred to as a '1(5) wall'. Adjoining owners can incorrectly believe that new walls must be set slightly back from the boundary (typically because their architect told them this when they built their extension 20 years ago) but that's incorrect. As long as all elements of the extension, including the roof verge, gutters and fascias do not project, the wall can be built right up to the boundary and does not require the adjoining owner's consent.

A new wall that is built equally astride the boundary, technically referred to as a '1(2) wall', is less common as a wall of that type does require the adjoining owners' express consent. Building astride the boundary can be advantageous to both owners - the building owner benefits from a larger extension, whilst the adjoining owner retains a right to make use of the new wall in the future should they construct their own extension (subject to paying an enclosure cost).

SECTION 2: WORK TO A PARTY STRUCTURE

Section 2(2) of the Act lists various rights enjoyed by owners in relation existing party structures (which includes both party walls and party fence walls). The most common rights, alongside the corresponding paragraph number, are listed below:

2(2)(a): To underpin a party wall, typically when extending in to a basement but also where such is necessary to strengthen its foundations. This section also confirms the right to raise the height of a party wall, such as at main roof level to facilitate a loft extension.
2(2)(b): To repair or demolish and re-build a party structure, most commonly a party fence wall (a garden wall), as a result of damage or wear and tear.
2(2)(f): To cut into a party wall so that steel beam(s) (to facilitate a loft conversion or the removal of a structural wall), joist hangers or a lead flashing can be inserted.
2(2)(g) To cut something away from a party wall, such as a chimney breast or internal wall.
2(2)(l): To raise, or demolish and re-build, a party fence wall e.g. as part of a rear extension.
2(2)(n): To expose a party wall, either temporarily during building works or permanently when part of a building is demolished (subject to providing adequate weathering).

SECTION 3: ADJACENT EXCAVATION

This section of the Act applies where foundations are to be excavated within 3.00m of a neighbouring property, including any shared walls, and to a greater depth than the base of the foundations to that property. The majority of London housing stock is either Victorian or 1930s built and the foundations to properties of that age rarely exceed 600mm in depth. This compares to modern mass concrete foundations which typically start at a depth of 1.00m to satisfy the requirements of Building Control (and can be much deeper).

This section may also apply to shallower pad foundations or where entire sections of land are lowered.

The Party Wall Procedure

Service of Notices

Building owners must notify all affected adjoining owners of proposed work that falls under sections 1, 2 and 6 of the Act. Due to the complexity of the process, this is normally undertaken by an appointed surveyor but some homeowners choose to serve notice themselves. Sections 1 and 6 have notice periods of 1 month whilst for section 2, it is 2 months.

Response

An adjoining owner should respond to a notice within 14 days of receiving it as after that period they are deemed to have dissented and must appoint a surveyor (see further info on this option below).

The different responses are:

CONSENT

There is no surveyor involvement and work can proceed when the statutory notice period has run (or been waived by the adjoining owner). That said, a consent can be conditional e.g. on the building owner paying for a surveyor to prepare a schedule of condition covering the parts of the adjoining property at risk from the proposed works.

DISSENT AND CONCUR IN APPOINTMENT OF AN AGREED SURVEYOR

Here, a single surveyor (the ‘agreed surveyor’) will act for both the building owner and adjoining owner and resolve any dispute on an impartial basis. This option is recommended where work is relatively straight forward in nature.

DISSENT AND APPOINT THEIR OWN SURVEYOR

Here, the building owner’s surveyor and adjoining owner’s surveyor work together to resolve any disputes. This tends to be the preferred option on complex projects such as basement extensions and large-scale works. The first task the two appointed surveyors undertake is to select a third surveyor who can be called upon in the event of non-agreement.

Schedule of Condition

This is a record of the condition of the adjoining owner’s property, in the form of images with a commentary, prepared before work starts. It can be referred back to if there is a report of damage either during or following the works.

Agreeing the Party Wall Award

The party wall award (often incorrectly called a party wall agreement) resolves the dispute that arose when the notice was not consented to. It determines the time and manner in which the work is to be undertaken. The appointed surveyor(s) may, for example, require that cutting into the party wall for steel beams be undertaken with hand tools only, or that excavations close to the adjoining property be dug in 1.00m sections rather than in one go.

Service

Once the content of the award, including any relevant drawings, has been finalised by the appointed surveyor(s), it is 'served' on both owners. The building owner can now legally start work, subject to the passing or waiving of any statutory notice periods.

Final Inspection upon Completion of Works

Where the works are high risk, the award may make provision for the surveyor acting for the adjoining owner to inspect their property again at the end of the works and highlight any changes. If damage has occurred, the adjoining owner can either allow the building owner's contractor to make good or receive a payment in lieu of repair and instruct their own contractor. Any disputes should be referred to the appointed surveyors.

About Us

At Peter Barry, we have a 12 strong team of experienced RICS party wall surveyors, assistant surveyors and specialist party wall administrators to help ensure that everything runs smoothly. We have offices across London in Kensington, Fulham, South Woodford, Winchmore Hill, Hendon and Greenwich.

Our coverage of London is unrivaled, and we have party wall surveyors on hand in every Greater London area, including:

We cover the whole of the inner M25 area from our network of London offices, so if you are planning on undertaking work that falls within the scope of the Act or have received a notice informing you of proposed works that may affect your property you are very welcome to contact us for some advice.

If you want to learn more about party walls, be sure to check out our party wall FAQs below for more information.

Party Wall FAQs

My neighbour is building but hasn’t informed me about any work taking place. What can I do?

Before undertaking any major renovations or construction that affects a party wall or adjoining structure an owner must seek consent from affected neighbours. If they do not, they are acting unlawfully and you may have to apply for an injunction to stop them.

We would always recommend that you take legal advice and attempt to discuss the matter with your neighbour before going down this route.

I have just found out that I need to serve notice on an adjoining owner but my construction has already started – should I stop?

Yes. If you have not gained consent from any affected adjoining owners, or been through the Act’s dispute resolution procedure, your work is being conducted unlawfully and it should be paused (ensuring that all structures are stable).

The works should not continue until you have served notice(s) to cover the remaining work and followed the necessary procedures under the Act. Any disputes that arise must be dealt with by surveyors appointed under section 10 of the Party Wall Act.

When does the Party Wall Act apply?

The Act covers three types of work:

• Building along the boundary between two properties
• Excavating within prescribed distances of shared or adjoining structures
• Altering a party structure

Notifiable works include cutting into the walls dividing terraced houses to insert beams as part of a loft conversion, excavating within 3.00m of a neighbour’s property to construct the foundations to an extension and constructing the flank wall of an extension at the boundary.

Is there anything I can do about the construction noise coming from next door?

Unfortunately, as an adjoining owner or occupier, you are expected to tolerate “reasonable disturbance”. However, your neighbour also has a responsibility to conduct their alterations without causing unnecessary inconvenience.

If you suffer a quantifiable loss as a result of works covered by the Party Wall Act you will be eligible for compensation (for example, if you operate a business and customers can no longer make use of your premises).

Otherwise, your neighbour must still adhere to normal health and safety legislation, as well as environmental protection laws, such as keeping noise and vibrations within local limits and working within time restrictions.

Do I have to allow my neighbour’s contractors on to my property?

The Party Wall Act does require you to grant your neighbour access to your land if their construction work cannot be completed any other way and they provide you with the required notice. This is normally considered to be 14 days, but if an urgent matter occurs (such as a burst pipe), this notice can be reduced proportionately to the nature of the emergency. Access must be ‘necessary’ so if there as an alternative way for your neighbour to undertake the works, even if it is slightly more expensive, that’s what they should do.

Why should I appoint a surveyor?

Appointed surveyors will prepare a schedule of condition covering the ‘at risk’ parts of the adjoining property before any construction work begins and this is strongly recommended. In the event that damage occurs as a result of the work, a schedule of condition will protect both parties from unfair or misleading claims made by the other party. The document provides proof of the property’s condition prior to work so that it can be properly restored in case of damage occurring.

Surveyors will also prepare a party wall award to regulate the time and manner of works covered by the Act. The award will cover important aspects such as working hours, access and safeguards to reduce the risk of damage occurring.

Can building work start before the Award is finalised?

No, or at least not the part of the works that are covered by the Act. While it can be tempting to start work before the award has been agreed and served, doing so would be unlawful.

What do I do if I’m struggling to recoup costs from my neighbour?

If an adjoining property is damaged as a result of works covered by the Act the owner can either allow the building owner’s contractor to make good or request a payment in lieu. Any disputes over the cause of the damage or the cost of making good can be referred to the appointed surveyor(s) for determination. Their decision will be confirmed in a further award.

The award will include a timescale within which the payment in lieu must be made. Should a payment that has been confirmed in an award not be made the parties can take enforcement action in the Magistrate’s Court.