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Navigating the Party Wall Act

The Party Wall Act, also known as the Party Wall etc Act 1996, was introduced to prevent and resolve disputes between neighbouring parties which arise over works carried out on a ‘party wall’.

What is a party wall? This term refers to a shared property boundary comprising a wall which is either:

Part of a building
Part of the property grounds, such as a garden wall

In buildings such as flat blocks where different people own different areas of the same building, the Act also defines ‘party structures’ – boundaries within a building.

The Act does not cover wooden fences or unmarked boundaries, even if said boundaries are formally agreed.

What does the Act do?

The Party Wall Act was introduced to avoid formal disputes and litigation arising between neighbours in the course of works being carried out on a party wall.

It also allows a party doing works to a Party Wall to be allowed reasonable access to the adjoining property to complete the works, for example to erect scaffolding.

It is based on the premise of shared courtesy, requiring the party carrying out the work (or contracting someone else to carry it out on their behalf) to inform their neighbours about the work.

What must you inform your neighbours about?

To carry out work on a party wall, you must inform your neighbours about:

Building on or near the boundary between your properties
Working on an existing party wall
Cutting into a party wall
Making a party wall taller or shorter, or knocking it down
If access is required to enable works to be undertaken
Digging below the foundation level of their property
Removing chimneys from a party wall

You must give notice to your neighbours in writing of between two and 12 months before you start doing the work, and any agreement must be given in writing.

What happens next?

It is then up to your neighbours to give or refuse consent in writing, within 14 days.

If they fail to respond, this will trigger dispute resolution action.

If they refuse, this will also start the dispute resolution process detailed in the Act. If you can’t agree with your neighbour through informal discussion or mediation, you may have to appoint a surveyor to review the matter and agree on a party wall award.

This is a binding document which lays out what work is permitted, when it can be carried out and who is responsible for paying for it.

They may also serve a counter notice, requesting that additional work is done at the same time. If they benefit from these works, they’ll have to pay for it. You may have to split the cost of repairing a defect or repair highlighted by a counter notice.

As a final step, you can appeal the result of a party wall award within 14 days by filing an appellant’s notice with the county court.

Concerned about disputes around party walls? Please contact a member of our Dispute Resolution team today.