For Adjoining Owners
You are the Adjoining Owner if your neighbour is undertaking notifiable works under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. You have rights, you have protections, and under Section 11(1) the Building Owner pays your surveyor’s fees.
What an Adjoining Owner’s surveyor does.
When you receive a Party Wall notice, you have three options under the Act: consent, dissent and appoint a surveyor, or do nothing (which the Act treats as deemed dissent after fourteen days).
Where you dissent, your appointed surveyor exists to ensure two things: that the proposed works do not cause damage to your property, and that if any damage does occur, you are made whole. The Building Owner pays our fees in full, under Section 11(1) of the Act. There is no cost to you for properly appointed advice.
What we put in place for you.
Schedule of Condition
A detailed, photographed record of your property before the works begin, signed and dated.
Award
A binding document agreed with the Building Owner’s surveyor, setting out exactly what may be done, when, and how your interests are protected.
Working-hours restrictions
Where appropriate, the Award limits when noisy or disruptive works may take place.
Access controls
Conditions under which the contractor may access your property, if at all, with notice.
Post-works inspection
On completion, we compare condition to the Schedule. Any damage is identified and either made good or compensated.
Your three options, explained.
Consent
You waive your right to a surveyor. The works proceed. Recommended only where works are minor and your relationship with the neighbour is excellent. Free, but unprotected.
Dissent and appoint
You appoint a surveyor (us, or any other RICS Chartered Surveyor competent in Party Wall). The Building Owner pays. This is the protective route, used by the majority of Adjoining Owners.
Do nothing
The Act treats silence as deemed dissent after fourteen days. A surveyor is then appointed for you, often by the Building Owner’s surveyor. You retain protection but lose the chance to choose who represents you.
Fees and Section 11(1).
The Act is unambiguous on this point. Under Section 11(1), the Building Owner is responsible for all reasonable surveyors’ fees, including those of the Adjoining Owner’s surveyor. The legislation is structured this way deliberately, to ensure you can obtain competent independent advice without out-of-pocket cost.
Our fees are confirmed in writing at the start of the matter and invoiced to the Building Owner on completion.
In the great majority of party-wall matters, the appointed surveyors agree the Award between them without any escalation. Reaching the Third Surveyor stage is rare and almost always avoidable with competent representation on both sides.
Frequently asked.
How long does the process take?
For a typical residential extension, six to eight weeks from notice to Award. Basement schemes or multiple Adjoining Owners may extend this to ten to fourteen weeks. We keep you informed throughout.
Do I have to let the contractor on to my property?
Only in very limited circumstances and only on terms set by the Award. The default position is that access is restricted and conditional.
What if damage occurs during the works?
The Schedule of Condition establishes the position before the works. On completion, we re-inspect. Any new damage is identified, costed and either repaired by the Building Owner or compensated.
Can I choose to consent and avoid the process?
You can. We would not advise consent on anything beyond minor work; if a Building Owner is willing to serve notice, the works are usually significant enough that a Schedule of Condition is worth having on the record.
Will appointing a surveyor make my neighbour angry?
In our experience, no. The Act is designed for surveyors to be appointed; it is not an aggressive act. Building Owners who object to their neighbour exercising their statutory rights are unusual.
Other services our clients ask for.
Party Wall Surveyors in London.
Independent, RICS-regulated Party Wall surveyors acting for Building Owners undertaking works and Adjoining Owners protecting their property. Serving notices, agreeing Awards, preparing…
Learn more →Schedule of Condition
A photographic and written record of a property’s condition at a defined point in time, prepared by an RICS Chartered Surveyor. Used…
Learn more →For Building Owners
You are the Building Owner if you are the party undertaking notifiable works under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. The Act…
Learn more →You have been served. What now?
Send us the notice you have received and a short summary of the works. We confirm your options and what we would do the same working day, at no cost to you.