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The Act covers:

• New building work at or astride the boundary line between properties.

• Various work directly affecting an existing party wall including extending it; underpinning it; rebuilding it; cutting into it to take the bearing of a beam; repairing it; or reducing its size.

• Excavating or constructing foundations for a new building within three metres of a neighbouring owner’s building where that work will go deeper than the neighbour’s foundations.

• Excavating or constructing foundations where that work will go deeper than the neighbour’s foundations, within six metres of a neighbouring owner’s building where that work will cut a line drawn downwards at 45degrees from the bottom of the neighbour’s foundations.

A wall is a party wall if:

• It stands astride the boundary of land belonging to two or more different owners.

• It belongs totally to one owner but is used by two or more owners to separate their buildings. Where one person has built the wall in the first place and another has butted their building up against it without constructing their own wall, only the part of the wall that does the separating is ‘party’ – sections either side are not ‘party’.

The Act also uses the expressions:

• ‘party fence wall’ – a wall which is not part of a building, that stands astride the boundary line between lands of different owners and is used to separate those lands. This does not include such things as wooden fences.

• ‘party structure’ – a wider term which includes a floor partition or other structure separating buildings, or parts of buildings approached by staircases or entrances.

• The Act defines an owner as anyone (other than a mortgagee) with an interest greater than a tenancy from year to year. This means that there may be several ‘owners’ of one property.

Our friendly surveyors will listen to your proposed project, assessing what stage you are at as well as the nature of the work, and provide helpful guidance on the Party Wall etc. Act, outlining typical timeframes and costs to you. If you are an adjoining owner and have received a party wall notice, we will also help guide you through your rights and responsibilities under the Act.

Remember that anybody can call themselves a ‘party wall surveyor’ so look for: a person who has experience as a background as construction professional- a building surveyor, an architect or a structural engineer. Whilst professional qualifications are, sadly, not always a guide to competence, they are a good place to start. Also, as with any professional service, word of mouth and testimonials are key factors. Making the wrong decision at this stage can be expensive.