The UK Party Wall Act of 1996 was enacted to prevent and solve disputes between neighbors who share a standard boundary. It defines the rights of owner's of buildings as regards any building, alteration, renovation or repair work to boundaries and walls between adjacent properties.

MOSTLY Used Rights

The most commonly used rights by building owner's are the following:

Adjacent excavation and construction
Construction of new party and boundary walls
Cutting into walls to take beam bearings or to insert damp proofing
Demolish and rebuild a standard boundary
Raise the height of a wall
Increase the thickness of a wall
Underpin the party wall

Your Duties Beneath the Act

If you plan to perform any work to common boundaries, you need to give notice to all or any adjoining home owners. You cannot cut into your side of the party wall without informing your neighbors of one's intentions. The act will not give any specific enforcement procedures but if you fail to serve notice, you risk being served with a court injunction or your neighbor(s) may seek various other legal redress.


Your neighbors cannot stop you from exercising your rights under the Party Wall Act but they have a say in when and how the work is undertaken. The act also expressly states that you may not cause unnecessary inconvenience to your neighbors. Inconvenience in cases like this specifically refers to any extra nuisance over and above whatever would predictably occur once the work is carried out in the proper manner.

https://thehearup.com/things-to-consider-before-installing-skylights-in-your-home/34988/ of adjoining properties should take note that the main purpose of the Party Wall Act would be to facilitate development and is not meant to be considered a hindrance. In the event you fail to react to a notice given under the act, the developer/building owner may appoint a surveyor on your behalf and the dispute resolution process will proceed without your consent.

Appointing a Party Wall Surveyor

In the event an agreement cannot be reached between adjoining property owners, the legal requirement is to appoint a celebration Wall Surveyor. Surveyors are legally mandated to act impartially; they ought to not favor the appointing owner. The property owners could also appoint a surveyor each for them to come to an agreement on their behalf. However, it is a more costly and time-consuming option. In the former case, the dog owner going to undertake work pays the surveyors fees including fees reasonably incurred by his neighbor(s).

When choosing surveyor, one should be careful to appoint a professional with a track record of surveys of this nature. For the reason that this can be a highly specialized field with serious legal implications in the event one or omission is committed.

If you are planning some work as well as your neighbor has failed to respond to your notice or you're currently involved with a dispute, call AA Projects and obtain help from first class Party Wall Act surveyors.