Take a breath. You still have options—but you’ll need to act methodically and right now.
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is a procedural law with statutory timelines. You can’t bulldoze those deadlines, but you can minimise delay by serving valid notices immediately, engaging your neighbour constructively, and choosing the fastest surveying route available.
1) Serve valid Party Wall Notices ASAP
If your works are notifiable (cutting into a party wall, building on/at the boundary, or excavating within 3–6m to a lower depth), you must serve notices before you start. Minimum lead-times:
- Section 2 (works to a party wall/structure): 2 months
- Section 1 (new wall at/astride boundary): 1 month
- Section 6 (adjacent excavation): 1 month
Even if your programme is tight, serve today. If parts of your project are staged, you may be able to keep non-notifiable/prep works moving while the notice clocks run—but don’t start the notifiable works until you’re legally clear.
Tip: Many “rush” problems are actually invalid notice problems. Don’t DIY if you’re unsure—errors reset the clock.
2) Speak to your neighbours immediately
A friendly, transparent conversation can shave days or weeks off the human side of the process:
- Explain what you’re building, why, and when.
- Share drawings and a simple method outline (e.g., hand-tools at the wall, noisy hours).
- Offer your direct contact and your surveyor’s details.
- Ask whether they’d consider consenting or, if dissenting, appointing an Agreed Surveyor with you (see below).
Remember: your neighbour has 14 days to respond to a notice. They can reply sooner, and they can agree to shorten the statutory notice period for starting works—but only by written agreement. You cannot shorten it unilaterally.
3) Aim for the Agreed Surveyor route
If your neighbour is uneasy about simply consenting, propose a single, Agreed Surveyor to act impartially for both owners. Benefits:
- One appointment, one Award, fewer hand-offs.
- Typically faster than two surveyors plus a third surveyor safety-net.
- Lower overall cost and fewer points of delay.
Where relations are strained or the works are complex, the two-surveyor route may still be sensible—but expect more moving parts and diary coordination.
4) Make it easy to say “yes”
Speed comes from clarity. Provide, up front:
- A clean set of drawings that show exactly what touches the party wall/boundary and any excavation depths (Section 6 notices must include plans/sections with depths).
- Proposed working hours for noisy operations.
- A basic protection/method summary (e.g., “dry pack bearing pockets, hand-cut slots, dust control”).
- A realistic start date that respects the statute—or a written request to waive/shorten the period if your neighbour is comfortable doing so.
5) Know what can and cannot be accelerated
Can be accelerated;
- Your neighbour’s response time (they can answer before 14 days).
- The start date (they can waive/shorten the one- or two-month notice period in writing).
- Choice of Agreed Surveyor and rapid scheduling.
Cannot be accelerated;
- The minimum notice periods above.
- The content requirements of notices (especially excavation drawings).
- The surveyor’s duty to act impartially and produce a lawful Award.
Trying to sprint past these invariably causes re-service, delay, and cost.
6) If you’ve already started notifiable works
Stop that scope immediately. Serve notices for any remaining notifiable elements and regularise the position prospectively. Early, constructive contact with your neighbour (and their surveyor) will be vital to avoid injunction risk.
Our clear, low-cost fees
- Party Wall Notice service: £25 per adjoining ownership (multi-notice bundles discounted)
- Act administration as Agreed Surveyor (single surveyor): typically £300 fixed-fee (depends on complexity and number of notices/owners)
- Two-surveyor route (we act for the Building Owner): fixed-fee proposals from £325
(we work to keep your neighbour’s surveyor’s hourly fees reasonable and contained)
We’ll validate your drawings, draft and serve notices same/next business day, and—where appropriate—propose the Agreed Surveyor route to compress timelines legitimately.
Need this moving today?
Email team@simplesurvey.co.uk with your address, drawings and target start date. We’ll confirm what’s notifiable, serve compliant notices immediately, and map the quickest lawful path—neighbour engagement, agreed surveyor, and a pragmatic Award—so your programme gets back on track without cutting legal corners.
Simple Survey — fast, compliant, cost-effective.