Your Neighbour Is Doing Building Work: A Guide for the Adjoining Owner

**Why your neighbour has served you a Party Wall Notice**:

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires a Building Owner (the person doing the works) to notify the Adjoining Owner (you) before carrying out certain categories of works. The notice is a legal requirement — not a courtesy. The categories that require a notice include:

• •*Section 1 notice*: Building a new wall on or close to the line of junction (boundary)
• •*Section 2 notice*: Works to an existing party wall or party structure — including loft conversions that involve cutting into the party wall for joist bearings, underpinning a party wall, raising a party wall, or removing a chimney breast that is shared
• •*Section 6 notice*: Excavating within 3m of an Adjoining Owner's building where the new depth will be below the Adjoining Owner's foundation level; or within 6m where the excavation is close to a 45° line from the foundation

For most London loft conversions and rear extensions, the relevant notices are a Section 2 notice (works to the party wall — cutting new joist pockets into the party wall, inserting padstones) and/or a Section 6 notice (excavating foundations within 3m of your house).

**What the notice says**:

• A valid Party Wall Notice must state:
• •The Building Owner's name and address
• •The description of the proposed works
• •The date on which the works are proposed to commence (at least 1 month after the notice for Section 2 notices; at least 2 months for Section 6 notices)
• •Your rights under the Act

A notice that does not include these elements is defective — it may not start the clock on the response period.

**Your options on receipt of a notice**:

On receipt of a Party Wall Notice, you have three options:

*Option 1: Consent in writing (14 days)*: You write to the Building Owner (or their surveyor) within 14 days of service of the notice to state that you consent to the works. This is the simplest outcome — no dispute is triggered, no surveyors are appointed, and the Building Owner can proceed (subject to compliance with the Act's other provisions, including making good any damage). Consent should be given in writing and should confirm the specific notice and works to which you consent.

*Option 2: Dissent and appoint a surveyor (14 days)*: You write to the Building Owner within 14 days stating that you dissent (do not consent). A 'dispute' is deemed to have arisen under the Act. Both parties then appoint a party wall surveyor — either an Agreed Surveyor (one surveyor acting for both parties) or separate surveyors (one appointed by the Building Owner, one by you as Adjoining Owner). The surveyors make a Party Wall Award that governs the works.

*Option 3: Do nothing for 14 days*: If you neither consent nor dissent within 14 days of service, the Building Owner can serve a further notice triggering automatic appointment of a surveyor on your behalf from a list specified in the Act. This is less preferable than an active response.

**The key principle**:

Contrarily to what many Adjoining Owners assume, you cannot simply 'refuse' to allow the works under the Party Wall Act. If the works are notifiable under the Act, the Building Owner has a legal right to carry them out — the Act provides the mechanism for managing them safely, with proper documentation and compensation for damage. The party wall process is not a veto — it is a framework for managing the works responsibly.

**What the party wall surveyor does for you as the Adjoining Owner**:

As the Adjoining Owner, if a dispute is deemed to have arisen (because you dissented or failed to respond), you appoint a party wall surveyor to act in your interests. The surveyor's role is:

• •*Schedule of Condition*: Inspect your property — particularly the rooms adjacent to and below the party wall; the rear garden wall; the rear elevation; and any other elements that may be affected by the works. Photograph and record all existing defects (cracks, staining, damaged plaster) before the works begin. This is the most important practical protection for you — it establishes a baseline record of the condition of your property before the works start.

• •*Reviewing the Building Owner's plans and specification*: Checking that the proposed works are technically sound and that the party wall structure will not be compromised.

• •*Making the Party Wall Award*: The two surveyors (or Agreed Surveyor) produce a Party Wall Award — a legal document that:
• - Describes the works in detail
• - Sets out the method of working (working hours, method of support, propping requirements, material specification)
• - Attaches the Schedule of Condition
• - Sets out compensation provisions for damage
• - Grants rights of access to the Adjoining Owner's land where necessary

*The Award is binding on both parties once it is made.*

**Who pays the surveyor's fees?**:

For a Section 2 (party wall works) or Section 6 (excavations) notice, the Building Owner pays both surveyors' fees — including your surveyor's reasonable costs. The Act is designed so that the Adjoining Owner is not out-of-pocket for the party wall process.

*Exception*: If the Adjoining Owner's surveyor makes unreasonable demands or delays without reasonable cause, the fees may be apportioned differently. In practice, the Building Owner typically pays all reasonable surveyor costs.

**Can you reject the Building Owner's choice of Agreed Surveyor?**:

Yes — you are not obliged to agree to an Agreed Surveyor. You have the right to appoint your own separate surveyor, paid for by the Building Owner.

**Typical Party Wall Award process timeline**:

| Step | Typical timing | |---|---| | Notice served | Day 0 | | Adjoining Owner dissents, appoints surveyor | Day 1–14 | | Surveyors agree a timetable and inspect properties | Day 14–30 | | Schedule of Condition completed | Day 30–45 | | Draft Award circulated | Day 45–60 | | Award made and served | Day 60–90 | | Works commence | After Award made |

For a simple loft conversion (Section 2 notice only), the Award process typically takes 6–12 weeks from the date of the notice.

**Practical steps beyond the formal party wall process**:

Even with a Party Wall Award in place, there are practical steps you can take to protect your property and your interests during the Building Owner's works:

**1. Attend the pre-works inspection**:

If the schedule of condition inspection is not yet complete, insist that your appointed party wall surveyor carries it out before works start — even if this causes a delay to the Building Owner's programme. The Schedule of Condition is only useful if it is taken before works commence.

**2. Keep a record of the works**:

Keep a log of working hours (noting any out-of-hours working that breaches the Award), noise, vibration, and any apparent incidents. If cracks appear in your walls or ceilings during or after the works, photograph and date them immediately. Report them to your party wall surveyor promptly.

**3. What you can claim for under the Act**:

• If the Building Owner's works cause damage to your property — cracked plaster, movement in your walls, damage to garden surfaces — you have a right to:
• •Require the Building Owner to make good the damage (repair in kind) — this is the default remedy under the Act
• •Alternatively, if you prefer, you can elect to receive payment (cash compensation) for the cost of repair rather than allowing the Building Owner's contractor to carry out the repair

Compensation under the Party Wall Act is for physical damage to your property caused by the works. It does not cover: loss of enjoyment; temporary disruption during works; dust and noise during the works unless it causes physical damage.

**4. Access rights**:

The Building Owner has a right of access to your land where necessary to carry out the works — but this right must be stated in the Party Wall Award and must be for the specific purpose described. Access that is not authorised by the Award (or by your written consent) is trespass. If the Building Owner or their contractor accesses your land without permission, document it and raise it with your party wall surveyor.

**5. What the Party Wall Act cannot help with**:

• The Party Wall Act manages works to specific notifiable structures — it does not cover:
• •Noise and disturbance during working hours (this is addressed by Environmental Health legislation, not party wall law — unreasonable noise during working hours can be reported to the borough's Environmental Health team)
• •Planning objections (planning permission is a separate process from party wall; you can object to the Building Owner's planning application on planning grounds even if you have consented under party wall law)
• •Boundary disputes (the Act gives rights to carry out works to a party wall/fence wall — it does not resolve underlying ownership disputes)