The Party Wall Act and structural repairs

The Party Wall Act is a 1996 law in England and Wales that sets out how you must notify your neighbour before certain work to a shared wall or excavations close to their building. It often applies to structural repairs such as underpinning a party wall, but not to minor work, and there is no equivalent Act in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

What is the Party Wall Act?

The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 gives a framework for work to walls shared with a neighbour, and for excavations close to a neighbour’s building, in England and Wales. It lets you carry out certain work even without your neighbour’s agreement, provided you serve the right notice and follow the procedure, and it protects the neighbour if the work causes damage. It covers party walls between houses, party fence walls such as shared garden walls, and some excavations. It sits alongside building control, which it does not replace.

Which structural repairs need a party wall notice?

Structural repairs need a party wall notice when they involve certain work to a party wall itself, or excavation near a neighbour’s foundations. Underpinning a party wall is the clearest example. Cutting into a party wall, for example to insert a damp-proof course, cutting away a projection such as an old footing or chimney breast, and demolishing and rebuilding a defective section can also need notice. Your surveyor or engineer can confirm which applies to a particular job.

• Underpinning or thickening a party wall
• Rebuilding part of a party wall
• Cutting into a party wall, such as for a damp-proof course
• Cutting away old footings or projections
• Digging within 3 m of a neighbour’s building, deeper than its foundations
• Deeper excavations within 6 m, under the 45-degree rule

How do the 3 m and 6 m rules work?

The 3 m rule applies when you dig within 3 metres of a neighbour’s building or structure and your excavation will go deeper than the bottom of their foundations. The 6 m rule applies to excavations within 6 metres where the dig would cut a line drawn down at 45 degrees from the bottom of their foundations. Both are common with underpinning and mini-piling near adjoining houses. An excavation notice is normally needed in either case, even if the work is entirely on your own land.

How much notice do I have to give?

You normally have to give two months’ notice for work to a party wall, including underpinning it, and one month’s notice for excavations under the 3 m or 6 m rules. The neighbour can agree to work starting sooner. The notice must be in writing and describe the proposed work. A notice usually lapses if the work does not start within a year. A neighbour who does not respond within 14 days is treated as being in dispute, which brings in the surveyor procedure.

What does a party wall surveyor do?

A party wall surveyor settles a dispute under the Act by drawing up a formal, binding document setting out what work may be done, how and when, and usually recording the condition of the neighbour’s property beforehand. The owners can appoint one agreed surveyor, or each appoint their own, who then select a third if needed. Surveyors act impartially under the Act rather than for one side. The owner carrying out the work normally pays the surveyors’ reasonable fees.

Which repairs usually don’t need notice?

Minor work on your own side of a party wall, such as replastering, repointing, rewiring or fixing shelves, usually does not need party wall notice. Work of this kind is generally treated as too minor to fall under the Act. Crack stitching on your own side of a party wall is often in the same category, but stitching that cuts deep into the wall may not be, so check first. Work to a wall that sits wholly on your own land, away from your neighbour, may still need notice if it involves excavation near their foundations.

What about Scotland and Northern Ireland?

Scotland and Northern Ireland do not have a Party Wall Act. In Scotland, shared walls are governed by common law and the title deeds, and tenement buildings have their own rules on common parts and repairs. Structural work there generally needs a building warrant from the local authority verifier before it starts. In Northern Ireland, the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 apply through council building control. In both places, talk to neighbours early and get advice from a solicitor or surveyor where a shared wall is involved.

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