Get a party wall surveyor to handle next door so your build can start

Surveyor and building owner beside a semi-detached house with a new side extension, a notice heading for the neighbour

For homeowners and developers in England and Wales who are doing the work. Compare quotes from party wall surveyors who prepare the notices, agree terms with the neighbour’s surveyor and get the award signed.

If you are the person having the work done, you are the building owner under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, and it is your job to give notice and follow the Act. A building owner’s surveyor guides you through it. They prepare and serve the notices, arrange a schedule of condition, work with the neighbour’s surveyor (or an agreed surveyor) and settle the party wall award that lets work start. They must act fairly to both owners, even though you appoint them, but they know your design and programme. The building owner normally pays the reasonable fees of both sides.

How a professional can help

Notices from the start: Often a surveyor first helps you as your adviser: working out which notices are needed, preparing them with your drawings and serving them in good time. They are formally appointed under the Act if a dispute arises.
Working with the neighbour’s surveyor: Where the neighbour dissents (does not agree), each owner appoints a surveyor. Yours handles the technical conversation with theirs, answering questions about the design, method and timing, so you aren’t doing it yourself.
Recording next door before you start: Your surveyor records the neighbour’s property before work starts, usually with photographs and notes of the rooms and walls nearest the work, so any damage claim can be judged against a clear record.
Drafting an award to suit your build: The surveyors agree and sign a party wall award setting out the work, how and when it will be done, access, protection and who pays. Your surveyor drafts it so that it fits your design and your builder’s programme.
Keeping to your timetable: Surveyors know the notice periods and how long each stage usually takes, so they can tell your builder when a start is realistic and chase replies and sign-offs promptly.
Closing out when the build is done: At the end, your surveyor and the neighbour’s revisit next door and compare it with the schedule of condition. Agreeing any repairs then means there are no loose ends after your builder has left site.

Is this right for you?

You’re planning a loft, extension, basement or new build that affects a wall or boundary shared with a neighbour.
Your neighbour has dissented or hasn’t replied, and you need surveyors appointed.
You want one professional to handle the notices, the neighbour’s surveyor and the party wall award.
You’re a developer or landlord and want one adviser to coordinate several neighbouring owners.
You’re not sure whether to propose an agreed surveyor or to appoint your own.

How the project usually runs

Brief the surveyor: Share your drawings, the structural design, your builder’s dates and what you know about the neighbours, so the surveyor can advise on notices and likely issues.
Notices and responses: Notices are prepared and served. If the neighbour consents, you may be able to proceed. If they dissent or don’t reply within 14 days, surveyors are appointed.
Appoint and inspect: Your surveyor is formally appointed in writing. The surveyors then visit the neighbour’s property together and prepare the schedule of condition, with photographs of the rooms nearest the work.
Agree the party wall award: The surveyors negotiate and sign the party wall award, which is served on both owners. If they can’t agree on a point, a third surveyor decides it.
Build to the award, then check: The builder works to the party wall award, with your surveyor on call if something changes. When the work ends, the surveyors revisit next door and agree how any damage is made good.

What affects the cost

How many neighbours and owners there are, because each adjoining owner may have their own surveyor.
Whether you propose an agreed surveyor and the neighbour accepts, or each owner appoints their own.
The scale and complexity of the work: a single beam compared with a basement and underpinning.
How often your design changes after the notice, which may need extra notices or a revised party wall award.
Whether your surveyor and the neighbour’s disagree on a point, which can add a third surveyor’s time and fee.
The building owner normally pays the neighbour’s surveyor’s reasonable fees as well as their own.

Your duties as the building owner

As a building owner, your duties under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 apply in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland follow different rules, though surveyors across the UK can advise.
You serve the notices and normally pay the reasonable surveyors’ fees. Starting without proper notice can leave you open to a claim from your neighbour.
Planning permission and Building Regulations approval are separate from the party wall process. Having one doesn’t remove the need for the other.
Structural work next to a neighbour should be designed by a chartered structural engineer first, so your surveyor can describe it accurately.

Questions people ask

Do I have to appoint a surveyor?

Not if your neighbour consents in writing to the notice. Surveyors become necessary when the neighbour dissents or doesn’t reply within 14 days, because the Act then requires the dispute to be settled through surveyors. Many owners still ask a surveyor to prepare the notices, to be sure they are right.

Can my surveyor also act for my neighbour?

Only if the neighbour agrees to appoint them jointly as an agreed surveyor, who then acts impartially for both owners. If the neighbour wants their own surveyor, you appoint yours separately, and the building owner normally pays the reasonable fees of both.

How impartial is a surveyor I appoint?

Surveyors appointed under the Act have a duty to act fairly between both owners, even though the building owner chooses one. They can explain your design and programme, but they must not simply do whatever you ask. That is what makes the party wall award fair to both sides.

How long does the process take?

It depends on your neighbour. Notice must be served at least two months ahead for work to a party wall, or one month for excavation and boundary walls. If the neighbour dissents, appointing surveyors, recording condition and agreeing the party wall award add more time, so start early.

What if the neighbour won’t appoint a surveyor?

The Act has a process for this: if an owner doesn’t appoint a surveyor when asked, it lets the other owner make the appointment for them, following set steps. Your surveyor can walk you through those steps, which need to be followed carefully.

Available across the UK

Party wall surveyors cover the whole of the UK. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies in England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have different rules, and a professional can tell you what applies to your property.