The cottage is on the Scottish coast and the survey mentions the neighbour's wall. Why is the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 the wrong statute to quote there?

What is the fuller explanation?

A shared or neighbouring wall in the report feels like a cue to download the English form. GOV.UK's party-wall guidance is about that England and Wales Act. It is the wrong citation once the house is in Scotland. The survey sentence might record cracking, a lean, or simply that the wall stands on the boundary the surveyor could see. Condition language stays condition language. It does not start a statutory timetable, and it does not tell you how far from the neighbour you may excavate. Distances from another country's guidance should not be typed into a Scottish letter.

What to do now, on a home survey, advises the buyer about the report. It does not appoint the surveyor as a party-wall surveyor, and it does not invoice the neighbour. A Home Report, if this sale has one, likewise comments as a single survey. It does not decide a boundary dispute and it does not replace Scottish advice. Take the survey paragraph to a solicitor in Scotland and ask what, if anything, must be done before work that affects the neighbour. Until that advice arrives, quote the wall. Do not quote the 1996 Act.

What should you ask your surveyor?

• What does the survey actually say about the neighbour's wall?
• Which country is the cottage in, and which statute were you about to cite?
• Are you asking the surveyor to serve a notice they do not serve?

What are the typical next steps?

1. Quote the survey's description of the wall, not the 1996 Act.
2. Ask a Scottish solicitor which rules apply before any work.
3. Do not serve an English party-wall notice on a Scottish neighbour.

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

Which pages should you read next?

• The wire that held a thatch ridge has been cut, and the straw under it looked sound. Does the cut wire rate the whole coat?
• In a timber-frame loft the party line is open above the plasterboard. What has the survey not confirmed about fire stopping in that gap?
• A Woolaway bungalow is named and the eaves have kicked on one side. What of the PRC frame was not opened to explain that kick?
• Guide: What is a party wall, and when does the Act apply?
• All UK home survey questions

Sources

• GOV.UK: Party walls and building work
• RICS: House surveys: the costs, types and benefits of an RICS home survey
• mygov.scot: Buying a home: Home Report