The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies to far more projects than most owners expect. You need a party wall surveyor when your plans involve work to a wall shared with a neighbour, such as cutting in beams for a loft conversion, removing a chimney breast, underpinning or raising the wall. The Act also covers building a new wall astride or up to the boundary line, and excavation within three metres of a neighbouring building where you dig below the level of their foundations, or within six metres where a 45-degree line drawn from their foundations would meet your excavation. Basement digs, rear extensions and structural alterations in London terraces almost always fall within scope. If any of these apply, notice must be served before work starts, and a surveyor helps you do it properly.
We handle every stage of the party wall process for owners on either side of the boundary. That includes drafting and serving valid notices, preparing a schedule of condition report to record the neighbouring property before work begins, and negotiating and serving the party wall award that sets out how and when the work may proceed. Our party wall award guidance explains what that document contains. We can act as the agreed surveyor for both owners where they are happy to share one, or separately as the building owner’s or adjoining owner’s surveyor where each party appoints their own. Every appointment is run by an RICS chartered surveyor with day-to-day experience of London party wall matters.
If you are the one planning the work, dealing with the Act early keeps your project on programme. Serving notice late is one of the most common causes of delay, because adjoining owners have fourteen days to respond and dissent triggers a formal process that takes time to complete. We review your drawings, confirm which notices are needed, serve them correctly and keep matters moving if a neighbour dissents or fails to reply. Where an award is required, we draft it so your contractor knows exactly what is permitted, including working hours and access arrangements. Our aim is simple: protect your neighbour’s rights, protect you from claims of unauthorised work, and let your builder start on a firm legal footing rather than an assumption.
Receiving a party wall notice can be unsettling, but it does not mean anything is wrong. It means your neighbour is following the correct legal route before starting notifiable work. You can consent, dissent and appoint one agreed surveyor jointly with your neighbour, or dissent and appoint your own. In most cases the building owner pays the adjoining owner’s reasonable surveyor’s fees, so protecting your position rarely costs you anything. We act for adjoining owners across London, checking that the notice is valid, recording the condition of your property before work starts and making sure the award contains sensible safeguards on access, hours and making good. If damage does occur, the schedule of condition gives you clear evidence to rely on.
Party wall fees depend on the complexity of the job rather than a flat tariff. The main cost drivers are the type of work proposed, the number of adjoining owners involved, whether one agreed surveyor acts for both parties or each owner appoints their own, and how straightforward the negotiations prove. A simple loft conversion with one cooperative neighbour costs considerably less to administer than a basement excavation affecting several properties. Remember that the building owner normally pays the reasonable fees of both surveyors. We explain the likely fee structure before you commit to anything, and our guide to the cost of a party wall surveyor covers the subject in more detail. Quotes are free and provided the same day.
We are based in west London and carry out party wall work across the whole of the capital. Much of our caseload comes from Notting Hill and the surrounding streets of Kensington and Chelsea, where terraces, stucco villas and basement projects generate a steady flow of party wall matters. We also act regularly for owners in Camden, Islington, Richmond and Hampstead, and throughout the wider boroughs of north, south and east London. Because our surveyors work in these areas week in, week out, they know the construction of the local housing stock and the issues that tend to arise, from shared chimney stacks in Victorian terraces to underpinning in conservation areas. Wherever you are in London, we can usually inspect promptly.
Not necessarily. If both owners are content, a single agreed surveyor can act impartially for both sides, which is usually quicker and cheaper. Where trust is limited or the works are complex, each owner can appoint their own surveyor, and the two surveyors then select a third to resolve any deadlock. It is worth knowing that a surveyor appointed under the Act owes a duty to the statutory process, not to the person paying, so an agreed surveyor is never simply the builder’s representative. If notices, dissent and awards are new territory, our plain-English explanation of what a party wall dispute actually is and our party wall FAQ answer the questions we hear most often.
Whether you are about to serve notice or have just received one, speaking to a chartered party wall surveyor early saves time, cost and friction with your neighbours. Tell us about your project and we will respond the same day — request your free quote.
You need a party wall surveyor when your works fall under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 and your neighbour does not consent to the notice – or when you have received a notice yourself and want your interests protected. Notifiable works include cutting into or raising a shared wall, works to a party fence wall, and excavation within three or six metres of a neighbouring building depending on depth. If your neighbour consents in writing, an award may not be needed, though a schedule of condition is still sensible protection for both sides.
A party wall agreement (formally an award) is needed once a notice has been served and the adjoining owner dissents – or simply does not respond within 14 days, which the Act treats as a dispute. At that point surveyors are appointed and an award records the condition of the neighbouring property, how and when the works may proceed, and how any damage will be made good. Read our party wall FAQs or request your free quote to get notices served correctly first time.