Party Wall Advice

A Party Wall is a shared wall that separates two adjoining buildings or properties. Commonly this will be the
shared wall between terraced or semi detached properties.

A Party Structure is a shared structure that separates two adjoining buildings or properties. Commonly this will
be the horizontal shared floor or ceiling between neighbouring properties.

A Party Wall Notice, also informally known as a Party Wall notification or Party Wall letter, is a formal written
document that is required in situations where construction work or alterations are planned on or near a Party
Wall or structure that is shared between two neighbouring properties.

The purpose of a Party Wall Notice is to inform the adjoining property Owner(s) about the intended work and
to provide them with the opportunity to raise any concerns or objections via the Act’s protocols and
procedures.

There are three different Party Wall Notice Responses open to an Adjoining Owner:

1. Consent: This is the most straightforward and amicable response, and it means that the work can
   proceed as planned. The Adjoining Owner would be reserving the legal protections the Act affords
   them and wouldn’t gain the insight and input provided by a Party Wall Surveyor.
2. Dissent and Appoint their own Party Wall Surveyor: This triggers the need for the Building Owner to
   appoint their own Party Wall Surveyor. The two Surveyors will proceed to agree a Party Wall Award.
3. Dissent and Appoint an Agreed Party Wall Surveyor: Instead of appointing their own surveyor, the
   Adjoining Owner may choose to dissent and allow the Building Owner's to use the same surveyor as
   them. This is known as the Agreed Surveyor. The Agreed Surveyor will proceed to agree a Party Wall
   Award.

Anyone. Although the Party Wall Notice is typically served by the property owner or the person planning to
carry out construction work. A Party Wall Notice can be served by the property owner, a Party Wall Surveyor, a
Solicitor, Contractor, Architect or Engineer.

Party Wall Notices can be served in the following ways: by hand, by post, or by fixing it to the Adjoining
Owner’s property.

A Party Wall Notice can also be served via email, providing the Adjoining Owner has agreed to that form of
service.

Upon service of the Party Wall Notice, if there is no response from the Adjoining Owner within14 days, a
“dispute” is deemed to have arisen under the Act.

The Building Owner can then serve a further Party Wall Notice upon the Adjoining Owner giving them a further
ten days to respond. At that point, if there is still no response, the Building may appoint a Party Wall Surveyor
on behalf of the non-responsive Owner.

The Act doesn’t carry any fines or penalties, however it is possible for the Adjoining Owner to apply to the
Court to have an Injunction served upon the non-complying Building Owner that will stop work further works
progressing until the Party Wall Notice and or Award is in place.

Party Wall Notices are generally served (sent) to the Adjoining Owner’s address based of the information that
the land registry title holds. Therefore if the property is tenanted or vacant, the Building Owner should still
serve the Notice to the address listed on the title.

The Act considers a dispute to have occurred when an Adjoining Owner dissents to a Party Wall Notice served
upon them.

Once a Party Wall Dispute arises, Party Wall Surveyor are duty bound to resolve that dispute by way of a Party
Wall Award’s agreement.

A Party Wall Surveyor is an impartial professional who specialises in matters related to Party Walls.

The role of a Party Wall Surveyor is to facilitate the resolution of disputes and ensure that the rights and
responsibilities of property Owners are upheld when construction work is planned in close proximity to Party
Walls, Party Structures or in close proximity to neighbouring structures.

A Party Wall Surveyor’s statutory duty is to agree the Party Wall Award. This is the legal document between
the two respective Owners (the Building Owner and the Adjoining Owner).

Typical steps in the run up to the agreement of the Party Wall Award will include; Party Wall Notice Service,
Schedule of Condition Reports and Information Review.

There isn’t any minimum form of qualification that a Party Wall surveyor is required under the Act to hold.

This naturally means there are some Party Wall Surveyors who do not hold any form of qualification.

It goes without saying that Party Wall Surveyor selection should be carefully considered and based of their
experience, references and qualifications.

Under the Act, in all normal circumstances, it is the Building Owner who bears the reasonable costs of the
Party Wall Surveyor’s Fees.

A Party Wall Surveyor can be any person other than the owners of the properties. This means that the Building
Owner or Adjoining Owner cannot act as the Party Wall Surveyor.

A Party Wall Award can be appealed in the County Courts within 14 days it being served.

The Schedule of Condition Report benchmarks the condition of the Adjoining Owner’s property pre works. This
ensures that any defects, damage or issues attributed to the Building Owner’s Party Wall works are easily
identified during, or post work.

We would advise using our Party Wall Surveyor Fee Calculator (links to page) to further understand the
potential costs surrounding the Party Wall Surveying Procedures.

The Act is facilitating in nature. Once the Act’s procedures have been adhered to a Building Owner is within
their legal rights to commence the planned Party Wall works.

If there are concerns about the work that you believe merit stopping the works, these will need to be raised
with the local authority’s planning department.

The Act deals with works directly to a party wall, Party Structure (ceiling or floor), party fence wall (garden
walls) and also excavations within 6 metres of neighbouring structures.

We would advise checking our Party Wall Works page to clarify this point further. (link to website page).