Party walls: what you need before you build

Terraces and semis make up most of the housing across Durham, Sunderland, Newcastle and Gateshead. That means most extensions, loft conversions and knock-throughs touch a wall, or foundations, shared with next door.

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 sets out how to do that fairly. It isn't the same as planning permission or building control, and you need to deal with it even if you need neither.

When you need to serve notice

• Work on a party wall, such as cutting in steel beams for a loft conversion, removing a chimney breast attached to it, or raising or thickening it. Notice: at least two months before work starts.
• Building a new wall on or at the boundary, for example the side wall of an extension right on the line. Notice: at least one month.
• Digging foundations near next door: within 3 metres of their building and deeper than their foundations, or within 6 metres where your dig would cut a 45 degree line down from the base of theirs. Notice: at least one month.

Minor jobs, like fixing shelves, putting up plugs or re-plastering, don't normally need notice.

What happens after you serve notice

Your neighbour has 14 days to respond. They can agree in writing, or they can dissent. If they don't reply at all within 14 days, a dispute is treated as having arisen.

A dispute sounds worse than it is. It simply means surveyors are appointed to agree a Party Wall Award, a document setting out how the work will be done and recording the condition of next door beforehand. You can use one "agreed surveyor" acting for both of you, or each side appoints their own.

Who pays

Where the work is only for your benefit, you, the building owner, normally pay the surveyors' fees, including your neighbour's surveyor. That's why a friendly conversation first is worth so much. A neighbour who's been kept in the loop is far more likely to simply agree.

How to keep it simple

• Talk to your neighbours before any paperwork lands. Show them the drawings.
• Serve notices early, as soon as the design is settled. It's the most common thing that delays a start date.
• Take dated photos of their side of the wall before work starts, or agree a schedule of condition.
• If your neighbour's house is rented, notice goes to the owner as well as the tenant.

We flag party wall issues at the site visit and build the notice period into your programme so it doesn't hold up the job.

This is general guidance, not formal advice on your property. Rules change, so we check the current position at the free site visit and handle any applications as part of the job.

Useful links

• GOV.UK: Party Wall etc. Act 1996 explanatory booklet
• legislation.gov.uk: Party Wall etc. Act 1996