Your Rights Under the Party Wall Act 1996

Originally written by Jeff Durham, updated by the editorial team on 20th May 2026

What the Party Wall Act 1996 covers

The Party Wall Act 1996 sets out your rights and responsibilities when you want to carry out building work that affects a wall shared with a neighbour. It also applies to certain work near boundary lines and to excavations close to neighbouring buildings.

The Act creates a formal process for notifying neighbours about planned work and provides a way to resolve disagreements before they escalate. It applies in England and Wales but not in Scotland or Northern Ireland, where different rules govern these matters.

If you are planning work that falls under the Act, you will need to follow specific steps. Getting this right from the start can reduce the risk of delays and disputes, though some complications may still arise depending on individual circumstances.

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When you need to serve notice

You must give formal written notice to affected neighbours before starting certain types of work. This applies whether you own or lease your property, and whether your neighbour is a freeholder or leaseholder.

Work that typically requires a party wall notice includes:

Building a new wall on or at the boundary between two properties
Cutting into a party wall to insert a beam or other structural support
Raising, lowering or altering the thickness of a party wall
Demolishing and rebuilding a party wall
Underpinning a party wall or part of a building close to the boundary
Excavating within three metres of a neighbouring building where the work goes deeper than that building's foundations, or within six metres if the excavation cuts below a 45 degree line drawn from the bottom of the neighbour's foundation

Minor work does not require notice. Drilling to fix shelves, plastering, or replacing sockets on your side of a party wall can usually go ahead without formality. The criterion for requiring notice is whether the work is likely to affect the structural integrity or function of the party wall, or your neighbour's property.

For structural alterations to existing party walls, you need to serve a party structure notice at least two months before you intend to start. For new walls built up to the boundary line and for excavation work, the minimum notice period is one month. The notice period begins once your neighbour acknowledges receipt or once a deemed delivery period has elapsed. The notice must describe the work in enough detail for your neighbour to understand what you are proposing.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

What happens after you serve notice

Your neighbour has 14 days to respond in writing. They can consent, meaning the work can proceed as described. If they do not reply within this period, or if they dissent, a dispute is deemed to have arisen under the Act.

A deemed dispute simply triggers the next stage of the process, which involves appointing a party wall surveyor. You and your neighbour can agree on a single surveyor to act for both of you, or each appoint your own. The surveyors then prepare a document called a party wall award.

The award records the condition of neighbouring property before work starts, sets out what work is permitted, and may include conditions about timing, access and how any damage will be put right. Both owners are bound by its terms.

Surveyor fees are usually paid by the person carrying out the work, though the surveyors may allocate costs differently where they consider it appropriate, for example where the neighbour benefits from the work or has contributed to the need for it.

Resolving disagreements

The surveyor process is designed to resolve party wall matters, though outcomes vary depending on the complexity of the work and the relationship between neighbours. If you disagree with a party wall award, you can appeal to the county court within 14 days of the date the award is served.

Starting work without following the proper notice procedure can lead to an injunction, and you may become liable for any damage caused. It is generally easier and cheaper to follow the process than to address problems afterwards.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Pyramus and Thisbe Club both maintain lists of surveyors experienced in party wall matters, though you should verify current details before instructing anyone. GOV.UK provides template notices and explanatory booklets that can help you understand your obligations.

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Showing 20 of 431 questions

Ask Problem Neighbours a Question

ProblemNeighbours Editor 07/06/2026 at 7:11 am

@pete Sounds frustrating, but the Party Wall Act won't really help here as it covers building works, not trespass or parking disputes. Start keeping a log with dates, times and photos of the parking and the leaning on your wall. Report the obstructive parking to your local council's parking enforcement and, if his vehicle blocks the pavement, the police can act under the Highway Code. For the wall, send a short written notice asking him to keep visitors off your property, then consider mediation before going down the harassment route.

pete 07/06/2026 at 7:04 am

my neighbour sometime letting visitors sitting or leaning om my property wall and i have asked them to come of my property as the wall is built on my boundary and the neighbour is coming funny and aggressive and parking his vehicle close to my wall and sticking his vehicle half way on the path and not using his drive as he has ample parking space but not making use of it and making it difficult for me to reverse my car on my drive what can i do

ProblemNeighbours Editor 22/05/2026 at 9:18 am

@noodles Planning permission and party wall matters are entirely separate, so the planning office wouldn't normally flag a boundary dispute; you'll need to challenge that directly, ideally with a measured survey showing the encroachment. A party wall surveyor cannot authorise your neighbour to build on land that isn't his, the Act only covers works on or near an existing shared boundary, not land grabs. Access for scaffolding under Section 8 can be granted, but only onto your land for legitimate works, not to construct on it. Get a solicitor involved sharpish.

noodles 12/07/2023 at 11:49 am

Our neighbour has received planning permission to build a large extension and garage hard on the boundary, though his plans for a new garage cross over the current boundary. This was not picked up by the planning department in granting his application to which both we and the Parish Council objected.
We plan to dissent to the party wall agreement, putting us in dispute, which will require a party wall surveyor who I hope will pick up on this. though despite my objection does the party wall surveyor have the power to allow my neighbour to come on to my land to build his extension including erecting scaffolding? as this is a new structure to which we have strongly objected, isn’t this trespassing?

Minka 19/06/2023 at 1:31 pm

Hi, we purchased house 12 months ago and applied for ground floor single story side extension and loft extension up to party wall, and adjoining neighbour hired a surveyor and there were no objections. We completed the works and he's surveyor send over calculations and is asking excessive payment (3x times as much as other estimates we have received from other builders to carry out same works he is asking payment for). We have asked the neighbour for a copy of The Party walls he build to see if it has provisions for using that wall in the future, but he replied that is not relevant. We then found out from previous owner that the neighbour build that Party wall without permission some years ago.
We are happy to pay our builders estimate but not 3x times what it would costs according to neighbour’s surveyor (excessive amount).

Walm 11/05/2023 at 2:31 pm

Hi. We bought our house almost 24 years ago. The neighbour had an extension on the ground floor that was built 10" away from their boundary. The neighbour said that they didn't need the land and that we could lay some patio stones on the land. We have used this land as part of our patio since then with no objections from successive neighbours until the current owners who have also allowed this situation to continue for the 8 or so years that they have owned the property, decided last year to rebuild over the extension up to the boundary. They think that getting their builders to cut the patio stones at the boundary and move them along is all they need to do. We think that we could claim the land by adverse possession to stop the disruption to our patio. Another alternative is for us to get a new patio laid with them paying for the the work and us paying for everything else. They disagree. What rights do we have?

Graham 28/03/2023 at 9:23 pm

You say that the Party Wall Act 1996 relates to any work which you may want to carry out where an adjoining wall with a neighbour's property might be affected. That's not true. You need to decide if you are a 'building owner' as defined by the Act, and that, in effect, is defined as anyone who wants to exercise rights given by the Act. So, if you prefer simply to exercise your common law rights, and not bother with Party Wall Surveyors, you are not a 'building owner', you don't serve a Notice, and your common law rights continue. This was one of the discoveries from the recent Shah v Kyson and Power cases, where the Court of Appeal upheld the decisions of the County Court and the High Court only this month (March 2023). The judgements of HHJ Eyre and Lord Justice Lewison are particularly interesting. I reckon much less work for party wall surveyors in the future.

Gill 19/03/2023 at 1:02 pm

My neighbour thinks the wall,between our driveways is in his boundary. The wall and metal tailing has been there for aeoubdc40 years. There is no obstruction to either drive or garage.. he recently got gidms driveway monoblocked and as a result of this not being a good job he has Came out with this. Where do we stand

Titi 18/03/2023 at 8:08 am

My neighbour have built a new garage using my rear party wall and raised the hight by almost two meters depriving me of air and my only source of light causing serious cracks to this wall without serving a party wall notice , I can't afford legal action against them , what can I do

Fed up 18/02/2023 at 1:34 am

For years we've had problems on two shared walls in our downstairs bathroom. On both there are downstairs bathrooms with showers, and on one there is a 90cm area of wall that faces onto my neighbours garden.
For years we have been told the mould and damp is likely to be condensation which we have battled to control.
However because of recently discovering a leak through the plug in our shower which appeared to have rotted the interior of a stud wall. Once rebuilt and the area replastered we waited for it to dry, but it hasnt and three months on we've had damp proof company come amd do a survey.
We discovered neighbour A has a guttering down pipe that expels water directly into the soil, the shared walls bricks are soaking and this area coresponds to the big patches of wet we can see in out barlthroom, we have been told all the damp will be because the water is being soaked up through the wall. The mortar between the bricks where the wall meets the neighbours extension had broken down. He has had that re pointed but refuses to have the gutter downpipe rerouted to a drain. He doesn't accept that this is causing our issues. I sent him the report and the quote for tanking and water proofing the wall.
The other wall which adjoins this is my other neighboirs bathroom wall and we are not sure but believe they may have had a leak which was a contributing factor of the other issues in our bathroom. Again patches that after 3 months haven't dried out. But this neighbour has cut off the plumbing to the downstairs bathroom. But he isn't sure if it was leaking although suffering from mould akd damp in thier bathroom.
So long story but where do I stand legally, the cost for tanking is in excess of £3,000.
Can I expect neighbpurs to contribute on our shared wall? And what can I do to get them to remedy the cause of the wet patches, especially the neighbour funneling water into the spoil for the last 35plus years? We've got on with our neighbours for the 22 years we've lived here so really disappointed with reponse from them both.
Thanks for any advice.

Craig 03/12/2022 at 6:06 pm

Hi,

My neighbour has built a media centre on our party wall, I have checked with my partner and no paperwork was received regarding any agreement, 95% of the time we do not notice however, on occasions the noise and vibrations are excessive and be heard in our living room.

We do not have a positive or negative relationship with them and have not had any dispute previously, would this be a party wall issue or a noise complaint? Both houses are shared ownership new builds.

Philthefluter 15/09/2022 at 8:49 pm

My neighbours have built a boundary wall on their property close to our boundary. It is constructed with concrete blocks and looks terrible on my side of the wall. They are going to render their side and have told me to do whatever I like with my side. Should they not finish the wall on my side? I have already spent a lot of money constructing a fence to block windows facing into my property following a large extension they built. Should they finish my side of the wall which is 2.4metres high and twenty five meters long

Bens mum 31/05/2022 at 4:39 pm

We purchased our house in 1998. It is semi detached and an ex council property. Next door is a council property. In 2007 the council installed a platform wheelchair lift against our internal walls. You can hear the lift clearly in two bedrooms and two living rooms. The council also changed the layout next door on he first floor, they made the main bedroom next door smaller and put a corridor that acts as an extension to the hall against our main bedroom wall. So basically we have a bedroom wall and the hall extension against our bedroom wall, meaning we get a lot of noise from the hallway, running up the stairs etc Also, there is clearly a bedroom door next door that is extremely close to the party wall and we can hear it being slammed a lot. Did we need a party wall agreement at the time? I now want to sell my property and I believe that this could hinder any chance of a sale, I have asked the council about this and it has now been over a year with no answer from them. All that I received at the time that the lift was being installed was a handwritten note from our then neighbour telling me that we would have noise from building works that would take about two weeks. Should the council have changed the layout of the house against our party wall without a PW agreement? The lift does not bother us but obviously talking in the hall downstairs, people running up and down the stairs etc, especially in the early hours can be a nuisance,

AR67 25/07/2021 at 10:55 am

I have lived in my linked detached property for 22 years, ,my home is attached to my neighbours property via my garage and their lounge wall.

7 years ago my neighbours came round to tell me they were building a conservatory on the back of their lounge and would be using a party wall (my dining room wall along the boundary with their garden) as one side of their conservatory.

I was told they were going to do this and they said they
only needed to tell me out of courtesy but I couldn't do anything about it.

I was uncertain about this at the time but I am a younger woman living alone and my neighbour is an older, ex professional, self righteous man, who I find quite intimidating.

I am now considering selling my home because he keeps climbing onto my dining room roof to clean his conservatoryroof and says he doesn't need permission to maintain his property. He is also drilling into my wall to attach trellis and grow plants, again he says it is his right.

I have since been told he should have served a Party wall notice to attach his conservatory to my dining room and I could have raised objections if I had any.

Can I get an award retrospectively? Can his conservatory devalue my home because it has effectively changed it from a detached into a semi detached property?

Sami 25/06/2021 at 6:34 pm

Hi i built a small extention just under 3 meters i wasnt aware of the party wall until after my builder had filled the foundation. I spoke to my neighbour he was also unaware of the party wall agreement which i didnt need in the end but needed one for the foundation which i was too late for now my extention has been complete for over 1 year should i be worried as my neighbours now have a problem but he has a similar extention and a conservatory on the boundaries we did leave a gap of 4inches

Rozel 11/06/2021 at 2:06 pm

My neighbour has built an exterior party wall without telling me. The wall was mostly built before she told me about it, I was not at the property at the time. No notice, warning, nothing. What can I do about it? Thanks.

Anom 03/06/2021 at 3:52 pm

Some development work has commenced at the front of our road, which runs alongside our garages. The work carried out has already caused considerable damages to garages. The demoliltion team is trying to avoid resolving the issues, therefore I am exploring other avenues to work along. The development intends to develop a retaining wall, that if constructed, may further increase the damage, but also prevent repair work as a result of the small cavity. Does the Party Wall Act cover retaining walls, and if so are there any guidelines where the cavity distance means its not covered? Any info would be a great help. Many thanks

Friendly 02/03/2021 at 5:54 pm

My neighbour extended both in length and height the existing party wall a few years ago to enable her to build a single storey extension to the terraced property. The additional section was then, after a number of months, painted but within 12months all the paint began to peel and crumble, the upper parts of which fall onto a clear flat roof of my property, and the lower parts peeling and dropping onto plant pots outside my door.
Having politely asked her on several occasions of the past, now 2 plus years, when she might be getting the wall re-painted, she has still completely ignored my requests, and because all the damage is on my side of the party wall extension and is not in her vision, it gets ignored.
I would just add that it is very frustrating because, whilst my nature is to always get on with neighbours, and have never had any problems in the 18 years I've lived in this house, this lady is the first to complain about the least little thing and has a very narsasistic personality, which makes it extremely difficult to discuss anything with her. I am all for negotiation and believe if people communicate a solution can always be found, but I am at a loss in this case as to how to proceed, having found that polite requests do not work.
I cant seem to find anything in the Party Wall Act to help me so any reply you can give would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Dina 29/12/2020 at 2:53 pm

I am an elderly tenant with various disability, and lived here over 21 years, and have enjoyed my sunloungeall these years by relaxing and cloning propagating and germinating plants in the sun lounge with my enjoyment and freedom, my right my freedom and disability.and elderly rights taken away by my neighbour who did extension beyond 3 ft side ways and in height as well 3 ft above my sun longe in June 2020, my plants have died and my health is deteriorating my hobby of doing plants has been snatched,also I used to relax eon couch in sunlounge not becose it was my luxury but because I need the morning sun as I sufferbrittle bone dicease rumotoid artheritese , fibromayalgia and COPD I very much want to challenge this in court get this wall b demolished, a woman who built said she is doing for her son who is disabled has got ms and not only that she got 2 bedrooms at bottom and two at the top of the bungalow and she , now she wants a main door to be put next to my bedroom, I need help if some can help me on legal aid as I m not reach or another kind of funds

Rajesh 16/10/2020 at 9:44 pm

Hi,
I am on a semi detached house, recently got a new neighbour. They served a party wall notice for removing fire place. I already signed agreement as they promised.

After the work, I can hear adults talk and kids noise into my bedroom. I believe after demolishing their chimney and fire place not maintained properly.

Please advise how I can stop their noise issue. What are the legal rights I have. Any third party can investigate their work.

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