When proposed works carry higher-than-usual risk—think deep excavations, basement construction, significant structural alterations, or a building owner with uncertain finances—the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 gives adjoining owners a vital safety net: Security for Expenses under Section 12. Done correctly, it ensures funds are ring-fenced to put things right if works stall or cause foreseeable loss that needs prompt remedy.
Here’s how to handle it well—and get it in place early.
What is Security for Expenses?
It’s a sum of money held upfront (often in escrow or a regulated client account) to cover specific, foreseeable costs if the building owner fails to complete or if immediate remedial action is needed to safeguard your property (e.g., temporary weathering of an exposed wall, making safe an excavation, restoring essential services). It’s not a penalty; it’s practical risk management.
Three rules to get right from the start
1) Ask early—before works begin
Section 12 is most effective before the risk materialises. If you’re an adjoining owner and the scheme involves basements, underpinning, piling, deep trenches, or complex cut-and-carve, request security as soon as notices are served (or immediately after you dissent). Early requests:
- Make cash-flow planning realistic for the building owner,
- Allow surveyors time to determine a fair figure, and
- Avoid last-minute brinkmanship that delays your programme (or theirs).
2) Request a specific sum
Section 12 is not open-ended. You must request a figure. Good surveyors will help you justify it with a sensible breakdown tied to the risk profile, e.g.:
- Temporary weathering and making-safe costs if works stop mid-phase,
- Provisional reinstatement of openings or structural supports,
- Protection to exposed party elements,
- Access equipment and management for urgent safety works,
- Professional fees (engineer + surveyor) to design and verify emergency measures.
Pro tip: On larger projects, agree phased security (release in tranches as risk reduces) so the amount is proportionate throughout the build.
3) It’s an owner-to-owner right—usually administered by surveyors
Security for Expenses is requested by the adjoining owner from the building owner. In practice, party wall surveyors normally administer, evidence and determine the figure and the mechanics (where funds are held, triggers for release, oversight). This keeps it tidy and legally robust, and allows it to be embedded into the Party Wall Award for enforceability.
How much is “enough”?
There’s no statutory tariff. The right number is the reasonable, foreseeable cost to make things safe and weather-tight if the works were abandoned at the riskiest logical point. For a basement, that might include temporary works and controlled backfill; for deep rear extensions, safe shuttering and reinstatement. Most awards will also specify:
- Form of security (escrow account / stakeholder arrangement / client account of an RICS-regulated firm),
- Authority to release (often “two of the three surveyors” or the agreed surveyor),
- Milestone-based reductions, and
- Timeframe for top-ups if design changes increase risk.
What if the owners can’t agree the amount?
If owners can’t agree, the surveyor(s) determine it within the Award. Refusal by a building owner to lodge determined security can lawfully pause notifiable works until paid. That’s the whole point: to prevent unacceptable risk being pushed onto the neighbour.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Asking too late (after demolition/excavation starts). Your leverage drops and risk rises.
- Requesting a vague “security” with no figure. Section 12 expects a sum.
- Treating security as damages. It isn’t. It’s ring-fenced protection for foreseeable needs, not compensation for future disputes.
- No release mechanism. Always define how and when funds are reduced/released.
- Holding funds informally. Use a recognised stakeholder arrangement with clear, award-backed instructions.
Typical scenarios where security is sensible
- Basement excavations / underpinning (almost always)
- Piled foundations / contiguous piles close to a neighbour
- Large openings temporarily exposing the party wall
- Developers with limited UK presence or uncertain covenant strength
- Complex sequencing where temporary instability is possible
Keep it simple—and affordable—with Simple Survey
We’ll help you request (or respond to) Security for Expenses quickly, fairly and in full compliance with Section 12—framed by a watertight Award so everyone knows the rules.
Our straightforward 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 for our side (we work to keep your neighbour’s surveyor’s hourly fees reasonable and contained)
Ready to secure your security?
Email your drawings and a brief project summary to team@simplesurvey.co.uk. We’ll confirm whether security is warranted, propose a justified figure, and set up a clean escrow/stakeholder mechanism—so your project stays safe, neighbourly and fully compliant.