If your project includes works covered by the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, you must serve a Party Wall Notice on every affected neighbour (the Adjoining Owner). One efficient route through the process is the Agreed Surveyor option—this guide explains when notices are required, how responses work, and where Agreed Surveyors fit in.
When do you need to serve a Party Wall Notice?
The Act has three main triggers:
Section 1 – New walls at or astride the boundary
- Building a new wall up to the line of junction or astride it (creating a new party wall).
Section 2 – Works to existing party structures
- Direct works to a party wall, party fence wall (garden wall), or party structure (e.g., the floor/ceiling between flats).
- Typical examples: loft conversions (steel bearings), chimney breast removals, raising/underpinning, inserting flashings, demolishing/rebuilding a party fence wall.
Section 6 – Adjacent excavation
- Excavations for new foundations within 3 m of a neighbouring structure deeper than their foundations, or within 6 m where the 45° rule applies (e.g., piles, deep pads).
Minimum lead-in: 2 months (Section 2); 1 month (Sections 1 & 6). Even with consent, you can’t start before the lead-in expires.
What happens after you serve the notice?
The Adjoining Owner has three response options:
- Consent
- The formal party wall procedures pause (no Award needed).
- You still owe duties under the Act (e.g., avoid unnecessary inconvenience, make good/compensate for damage).
- Dissent & appoint an Agreed Surveyor
- One impartial surveyor acts for both owners.
- They issue a Party Wall Award setting out what may be done, time & manner, access, safeguards, and damage procedures.
- Usually faster and more economical than two surveyors.
- Dissent & appoint separate surveyors
- Each owner appoints their own surveyor; those two select a Third Surveyor as a back-stop.
- The surveyors agree (or the Third Surveyor determines) the Award.
- Offers two viewpoints—helpful for complex schemes—but typically costs more.
Why choose an Agreed Surveyor?
- Single point of contact → fewer hand-offs and quicker decisions.
- Lower overall cost → one surveyor’s fee instead of two.
- Impartiality baked in → the surveyor must act independently under Section 10.
Reality check: Consents do happen but are not the norm. Budget realistically for surveyor input.
Best- and worst-case scenarios (from a Building Owner’s perspective)
- Best: Consent (with or without conditions) or Dissent with Agreed Surveyor → streamlined, proportionate protection.
- Worst: Dissent with separate surveyors on a complex scheme with slow information flow → higher fees and longer lead-times (though still manageable with good preparation).
Practical tips to keep things smooth
- Talk early: share drawings, programme, and site logistics; answer questions openly.
- Serve valid notices in good time and keep proof of service.
- Provide complete structural info (calcs, foundation sections) to avoid back-and-forth.
Want the simplest, lowest-cost path to a compliant Award?
Email team@simplesurvey.co.uk. Simple Survey are the lowest-cost party wall surveyors across England & Wales. We’ll confirm what’s notifiable, serve valid notices, produce a clear, fair Award—keeping your project compliant, neighbourly, and on programme.