What is a party wall, and when does the Act apply?

What counts as a party wall?

GOV.UK describes a party wall as a wall that stands on the land of two owners and forms part of a building, or a wall that separates buildings of different owners. A party structure can be a floor between flats. A garden fence is not the subject of this page. The Act is about certain building works, not about every disagreement with a neighbour.

When do you have to tell the neighbour?

When the work is the kind the Act covers: building on or at the boundary, cutting into or altering a party wall, or excavating near and below their foundations. GOV.UK says notice is served between two months and a year before you intend to start. The neighbour can agree or disagree. If they disagree, the Act sets out how the dispute is resolved. That process is not the same as your home survey, and this page does not describe fees for party-wall surveyors because GOV.UK’s guide is the place to read the procedure rather than a price list.

• Building a new wall on or astride the boundary.
• Cutting into a party wall, or raising, lowering or rebuilding it.
• Removing a chimney breast from a party wall.
• Excavating near and below the neighbour’s foundations.

What does a home survey have to do with the Act?

Almost nothing formal. The surveyor may see that a loft was cut into a party wall, or that a neighbour’s extension sits on the boundary, and they should tell you to ask your solicitor. They do not serve notice, and they do not write an award. A condition rating 3 on a shared wall is about condition. It does not appoint anyone under the Act.

What should a buyer ask the solicitor?

Whether work the survey describes, or work you can see, needed notice, and whether any award or letter of consent exists. Also whether you will be the person who must cooperate if the neighbour builds later. Planning permission in a drawer does not answer the party-wall question. GOV.UK is explicit that the regimes are separate.

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