Your questions,
answered straight.

Do not ignore it, and do not feel pressured. You can appoint your own surveyor, usually at the building owner expense, to protect your interests. We can act for you from the first day.

If your works affect a shared wall, build on the boundary line, or excavate near a neighbour building (broadly within 3 to 6 metres), the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 usually applies. Use the checker on our home page, or ask us and we will tell you quickly.

A consenting neighbour can be resolved in a couple of weeks. Where surveyors are appointed and an Award is required, four to six weeks is typical, sooner if everyone is responsive.

Because the works benefit the building owner, they normally meet the reasonable surveying costs for both sides. We give you a clear written estimate up front.

A detailed photographic and written record of the adjoining property before works start. It is the fairest protection for both owners if a claim for damage is ever made.

The Act has it covered. A third surveyor, selected in advance, can determine the matter. In practice it is rarely needed, as most Awards are agreed amicably.

No. As adjoining owner you may appoint your own surveyor under section 10, and the building owner normally pays the reasonable fees of both. An 'agreed surveyor' acting for both owners is lawful and often sensible for simple works, but it was almost always proposed by the person doing the building, and once made an appointment cannot be rescinded.

Yes. The separating wall between two dwellings is a party wall whether it was built in 1885 or last year, and section 6 excavation provisions apply to detached properties too. Being told that no notice is needed because a house is modern is a misunderstanding we correct regularly.

No. They are entirely separate regimes and the council has no role in the Act. Works carried out under permitted development, with no planning application at all, still require party wall notices if they engage the Act.

We cover Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire from Bristol; Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Hampshire and Wiltshire from Poole; London inside the M25 from London. If you are just outside those areas, ring us anyway. We will either help or tell you honestly that someone closer would serve you better.

No. We never take card payment before speaking to you, and we do not ask adjoining owners for money at all in the ordinary case. Building owners receive a written estimate and terms of business first.