Party walls and boundaries
A chimney stack serves two houses and part of it sits over the neighbour. What flying-freehold right has the survey not read in a deed?
The survey has not read any flying-freehold right in a deed. Part of a shared chimney stack sits over the neighbour, which is the sort of overlap people call a flying freehold, but the report has not opened the title or the deed that would grant a right to keep that masonry there, or a right to enter and repair it. The stack serving two houses was seen as a building. Who owns the part that crosses the boundary, and who may rebuild it, is a legal question the inspection has not answered.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A flying freehold is a part of one house that projects over land belonging to someone else. A chimney that rises on the boundary and oversails the neighbour is a classic physical overlap. Seeing the brick does not show the right. The right, if it exists, is in a deed: support, repair, and access. Party-wall legislation is a separate route about work on a party structure. It is not a substitute for reading the title, and the survey has not done either job.
Ask the solicitor to read the title for a flying-freehold right over this stack, including any duty to repair and any right of access onto the neighbour's side. The neighbour's title may need to be checked as well. Do not assume the pots you can see from this garden settle the ownership. If work to the stack is likely, the solicitor can say whether the party wall route applies. The survey has only recorded that the stack is shared and oversails.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which part of the stack sits over the neighbour?
- Have you left any flying-freehold right unread in the deeds?
- Did you record the stack as shared masonry, without deciding ownership?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the oversailing stack as a physical overlap, not a proved right.
- Ask the solicitor to read the deeds for a flying-freehold clause.
- Keep any party-wall procedure separate from the title question.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If both owners use a flue in the stack, is the flying freehold agreed?
No. Two live flues show that both houses use the stack. They do not show a deed. The survey has not read a flying-freehold right, and shared use is not the same as a right to keep masonry over the neighbour or to enter for repair. Ask the solicitor to read the titles. Do not treat smoking chimneys as a legal agreement.
Can you rebuild your half of the stack without asking anyone?
The survey cannot tell you that. It has not read the deed, and it has not decided which half is yours. Part of the stack sits over the neighbour, so work on it can affect their building. Ownership, access and any party-wall notice are for the solicitor. The report only records the shared stack as seen.