Party wall surveyors
in Kensington and Chelsea.
The Royal Borough is where basement excavation became a London phenomenon, and it remains the most basement-intensive borough in the country. Stucco terraces, garden squares and mansion blocks, much of it listed, and nearly all of it sharing walls with the house next door.
Had a notice from a neighbour in Kensington and Chelsea? You have 14 days to respond, and appointing your own surveyor normally costs you nothing, the building owner pays.
Covering Kensington and Chelsea, Notting Hill, Holland Park, South Kensington and the surrounding area, from London.
What party wall work looks like in Kensington and Chelsea.
A basement next door in Kensington and Chelsea means underpinning the wall you share and excavating alongside your foundations. The borough's basement policy limits what can be built, but planning permission says nothing about how your house is protected while it happens. That is the Award: the method of underpinning, the sequence, monitoring, working hours, and a detailed schedule of condition of your interior, including cornices, plasterwork and finishes that are expensive to make good. Mansion blocks and converted houses mean the freeholder and several leaseholders can all be adjoining owners. This is the work where appointing your own surveyor matters most, and the building owner normally pays.
We cover Kensington and Chelsea from London, along with Notting Hill, Holland Park, South Kensington, Chelsea, Earls Court, North Kensington and the wider Central London area. Every matter is handled by a named surveyor who is a member of the FPWS or RICS, or both.
If a neighbour has served you notice
This is most of what we do. As adjoining owner you are entitled to appoint your own surveyor, and under section 11 the building owner normally pays the reasonable fees.
- A schedule of condition of your property, before work starts
- The structural design read with your building in mind
- A binding Award controlling scope, hours and access
- A duty on your neighbour to make good any damage
- A named surveyor you can telephone
Planning works in Kensington and Chelsea?
Planning a basement or structural alterations in Kensington and Chelsea? Section 6 and Section 2 notices, a monitoring regime and a proper Award are what let the scheme proceed. We set out the position in writing first.
We identify which sections apply, check who the adjoining owners actually are at HM Land Registry, draft and serve the notices correctly, and manage the neighbour relationship so you do not have to. You get a written estimate before we start. Not a fixed fee guessed from a form before anyone has read your drawings.
Section 6 catches more schemes than people expect
Party wall questions in Kensington and Chelsea
Do I have to pay for a party wall surveyor in Kensington and Chelsea?
If you are the adjoining owner, the neighbour, then almost certainly not. Section 11 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 puts the cost of the works and the reasonable surveying fees of both owners on the building owner, because the works are for their benefit. If you are the one building, we give you a written estimate before we start rather than a fixed fee quoted from a web form.
How quickly can you get to a property in Kensington and Chelsea?
Kensington and Chelsea is covered from London. We aim to respond to all enquiries within one working day, and where a 14-day deadline is close we will take the dissent first and arrange the inspection immediately afterwards. Inspections are typically within a week of appointment.
What sort of works trigger the Act around Kensington and Chelsea?
A basement next door in Kensington and Chelsea means underpinning the wall you share and excavating alongside your foundations. The borough's basement policy limits what can be built, but planning permission says nothing about how your house is protected while it happens. That is the Award: the method of underpinning, the sequence, monitoring, working hours, and a detailed schedule of condition of your interior, including cornices, plasterwork and finishes that are expensive to make good. Mansion blocks and converted houses mean the freeholder and several leaseholders can all be adjoining owners. This is the work where appointing your own surveyor matters most, and the building owner normally pays.
I've had a notice from my neighbour in Kensington and Chelsea. What do I do?
You have 14 days to respond, and doing nothing is not neutral. After 14 days a dispute is deemed to have arisen and the building owner may appoint a surveyor on your behalf. Your options are to consent, to dissent and appoint your own surveyor, or to dissent and agree a single surveyor. Send us the notice and we will tell you whether it is even valid, free of charge.
Which areas near Kensington and Chelsea do you cover?
Notting Hill, Holland Park, South Kensington, Chelsea, Earls Court, North Kensington and the surrounding area, along with the rest of Central London, from London. We cover Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire from Bristol; Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Hampshire and Wiltshire from Poole; London inside the M25 from London.
Speak to a party wall surveyor covering Kensington and Chelsea.
Ten minutes will tell you whether the Act applies, what your deadline is, and what it will cost you. Which, if you are the neighbour, is normally nothing at all.
- The building owner normally pays your surveyor's reasonable fees
- A named surveyor on your case from start to finish
- We will tell you honestly if you do not need us
No card details. No obligation. Nothing is final until you sign the appointment. A member of our office team reads every message, and a surveyor replies, usually within one working day.
More on party wall matters
- Adjoining owner rights
What to do when a notice arrives.
- The Act explained
Sections 1, 2 and 6 in plain English.
- Other areas we cover
The South West from Bristol and Poole, and London inside the M25.