Outbuildings and conservatories
What should you ask if a summerhouse sits hard against the boundary?
Ask the solicitor about the boundary and the Planning Portal rules, and ask the surveyor only what they could see of the structure. A building on a boundary can raise party-wall and planning questions the inspection does not decide. It can also simply be rotten. Those are different sentences.
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?
The surveyor may not be able to walk behind a summerhouse that touches the fence. The hidden elevation is then not inspected. Say so rather than rating it as sound. Gutters on that side may discharge onto the neighbour. That is a condition and a neighbour issue, not a flood-map issue.
Do not serve a party-wall notice because a summerhouse exists. Notice is for certain works, in England and Wales, timed before the work starts. If you plan to rebuild it, ask before you start. This page states no fee and no permitted-development measurement.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Could you see all four sides?
- Does any gutter discharge over the boundary?
- Are you limiting your comment to condition?
What are the typical next steps?
- Tell the solicitor where the building sits.
- Do not cut back a neighbour’s fence to “complete the survey”.
- If you need the hidden side seen, get permission and a return visit.
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
Is a shed on the boundary automatically illegal?
No. The Portal has tests and exceptions. The survey does not apply them from a glance.
Does the neighbour’s signature on a sketch put the building on your land?
Not by itself. Boundary questions go to the solicitor with the title.