Party Wall Guidance: The Basics: Part 1

What is the Party Wall Etc Act 1996, and how might it apply to my proposed extension?

You may have heard of the Party Wall Etc Act 1996, but have no idea how it relates to you, or the property you own. If you are planning a new extension at the back of your house, or maybe converting the loft into a new bedroom, the chances are that you will be required to serve notice on one or more of your neighbours before you begin the work.

The first thing you need to establish is whether or not the Act applies to the works that you are proposing to carry out, and which neighbours it is likely to affect.

While the Act is broken down into 22 separate sections, there are essentially only 3 sections which you initially need to be aware of when planning any kind of construction work.

These 3 sections relate to the different types of notices that can be served, and these are:

• Line of Junction Notice (building on the boundary line)

• Party Structure Notice

• Notice of Adjacent Excavation

It is possible that you may need to serve more than one of these notices, depending on what your proposed work involves.

Below is a brief description of when each of the above notices is required:

Section 1 – Building on the line of Junction

The Line of Junction is an invisible line that separates your land from your neighbour. In a typical domestic setting, it is likely that you are separated from your neighbour by a timber fence, and this fence would usually stand on the line of junction.

If you are planning on taking the fence down so that you can build a new extension at the back of your house, and want the side wall of the extension to stand on this ‘line of junction’, then you will need to serve a notice on your neighbour.

(NOTE: This part of the Act only applies where there is no existing structure already built on the line of junction. For example, if there is a brick wall separating you and your neighbour, and you want to knock this wall down and build your extension in its place, then a Line of Junction Notice is not required.

The Line of Junction Notice must be served at least ONE month before the work is due to start.

Section 3 – Party Structure Notices

A ‘party’ structure can take a number of forms but is essentially a wall or other structure that is usually shared between two (or more) different parties.

Taking a typical domestic dwelling as an example, if you live in a terraced or semi-detached property, the ‘party’ wall is the one which divides your house from your neighbour.

Party structures also include garden walls (called party fence walls) and the floor structures that separate flats. So, for example, if you want to demolish a garden wall in order to erect your new extension, this would need notice to be served under Section 3.

If you are planning on carrying out any work to a party structure, then chances are that you will need to serve notice on your neighbour. Note that only relatively major works will need to be notified. If you are putting up some shelves, and need to drill the wall to insert rawl plugs, this won’t require notice to be served. However, if you are converting your loft into a dormer bedroom and need to install steel beams into the party wall, you must serve notice on the neighbour that will be affected.

There is an entire section of the Act (Section 2) which gives details of all the types of work that are notifiable. The types of work covered by this section is substantial and too long to give a brief overview here. If you are unsure about whether your work invokes the Act, feel free to give us a call and we can provide advice relevant to your specific project.

A Party Structure Notice needs to be served at least TWO months before work is due to commence.

Section 6 – Notice of Adjacent Excavation

This type of notice is required if you are planning to carry out excavations on your land that may affect any neighbouring properties. A notice will need to be served when the excavation is within 3 metres of the neighbour’s property, and if it is to be deeper than their foundation.

There is a second type of notice of adjacent excavation which deals specifically with deeper excavations, and the distance of properties that may be affected is extended to 6 metres, but is dependent on the depth being significantly deeper than a normal foundation. This might apply if you are excavating for a basement.

Using the domestic extension as an example, if the foundations for the new extension are within 3 metres of the back of your neighbour’s house, then chances are that you will need to serve a notice on them. The only time a notice is not required, is if your foundations will be at a shallower depth than the neighbour’s. Depending on the age of your house, it is likely that your newer foundation will be deeper than the neighbour’s. If there is any doubt, you can always dig a trial hole to understand how deep the existing foundations are prior to serving a notice.

A Notice of Adjacent Excavation needs to be served at least ONE month before work is due to commence.

What Happens Next?

Once notice(s) have been served, you then need to wait for your neighbour to respond. Your neighbour can respond in one of two ways:

1. Consent to the notice – this means that your neighbour is happy for the work to proceed and consents to the notice. You can then proceed with the work once the notice period has expired.

2. Dissent to the notice – this means that your neighbour is in ‘dispute’ with you over the proposed works. The reasons why a neighbour might dissent to a notice are too numerous to go into here but we will cover this in a future blog

If a dispute occurs, then this is the point where Party Wall Surveyors need to be formally appointed. The surveyors will then resolve the dispute and prepare and prepare  an agreement (called an ‘Award’). Please check back for further blogs in which we will provide more details about the various aspects of the Party Wall etc Act 1996.

Should you have any queries about the Act, either because you are planning your own works, or if your neighbour has served notice on you, please give us a call and one of our experienced Party Wall Surveyors will be happy to have an initial chat and explain what your options are.