The Party Wall Act is usually the last thing on people’s minds when it comes to starting building works.

You’ve finalised your design.

You’ve obtained the necessary permissions, such as planning.

And you’ve gone through the challenging process of finding a contractor who is scheduled to start in a few weeks.

But, then, it dawns on you or someone has reminded you…You need to serve a party wall notice.

Assuming, of course, you know what a party wall notice is.

Now, this is a situation which we hear time and time again, and it’s a stressful position to be in.

But, if you’re a bit earlier on in this process, then the good news is that this last minute dash can be avoided.

So, let’s take a closer look at what a party wall notice is, and some of the practicalities around timescales so that you can get off to a head start.

What is a party wall notice?

First thing’s first. What is a party wall notice?

Simply put, a party wall notice is a document that you serve on your neighbours. 

It details the relevant part of your building works that need to be notified to your neighbour under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.

Depending on your works, up to three types of notices may need to be served. These are:

• Section 1 Notice – Line of Junction
• Section 2 Notice – Party Structure Notice
• Section 6 Notice – Adjacent Excavation

This is why serving your own party wall notice can be challenging.

Unless you have a good understanding of building works and the above notices, the chances are high that a mistake will be made which could invalidate the notice.

What timescales do you need to be aware of?

Now, let’s add a bit more detail to the above notices by considering their timescales.

• Section 1 Notice – Line of Junction (minimum of 1 month notice required before starting works)
• Section 2 Notice – Party Structure Notice (minimum of 2 months notice required before starting works)
• Section 6 Notice – Adjacent Excavation (minimum of 1 month notice required before starting works)

What does this mean in practice?

It means that you run the risk of your project being delayed significantly if you don’t allow enough time to notify your neighbours.

Clearly, this isn’t ideal from a time and cost perspective. 

Ok, but surely works can start before the end of the notice period?

Yes and no.

You can start building works which don’t encompass the notifiable works.

You can’t however, begin the notifiable works unless you receive written consent to the party wall notices.

So while you may be tempted to start building works and run the party wall process in tandem, you run the risk of your neighbour dissenting to the works.

This could result in your project stopping completely.

How many days does my neighbour have to respond?

Your neighbour has 14 days to respond to a party wall notice.

If they don’t respond, an additional notice will need to be sent giving them a further 10 days to respond. 

Failing a response to this notice, you will then need to appoint a surveyor to act on their behalf. 

Can a notice be served without a full set of drawings?

This is understandably a common question as most people don’t have a full set of drawings available well ahead of building works.

The good news is that drawings only need to be provided for a Section 6 (Adjacent Excavation) Notice.

However, in our experience it’s best to provide your neighbours with as much relevant detail as possible.

We don’t recommend providing every item of information relating to your works as it can be overwhelming, but you should provide enough information so that the neighbour understands what works you are planning on doing.

As standard, however, we will always request that you provide us with a full set of information so that we can identify whether there are additional works which need to be notified. 

How Ekron can help

This article was written by Enrico Hernandez who is a RICS Chartered Building Surveyor and Member of the Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors.

We are always available should you wish to talk through any aspect of the Party Wall Act, whether it’s serving a party wall notice or if you have received a notice.

As a bonus, we also have videos on property and surveying, including the Party Wall Act which you can view on the Ekron YouTube channel.

How you can get in touch with us

You can get in touch with us by phone, email or by Calendly.

Call us: 0203 951 1032

Email us: info@ekron.co.uk

Book a meeting with us: https://calendly.com/enrico-ekron/30min

Ekron is regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.