When you’re the contractor on a scheme that brushes up against a neighbour’s wall, boundary or foundations, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is as important to your programme as the concrete wagon. Get it wrong and you risk stoppages, injunctions, and a bruised client relationship. Get it right and the site flows, neighbours stay calm, and you finish on time.
Below are practical, site-first tips tailored for contractors—what to check, how to sequence, and how to keep the job moving within the Act.
1) Run a “No Notice, No Act” pre-start check
Before mobilisation, confirm that any notifiable works have been properly notified (s.1, s.2, s.6) and that responses have been handled under s.10. If no notices were served but works are notifiable, your client risks an injunction and loss of access rights. Press pause, get the paperwork sorted, then proceed.
2) Read—and brief—the team on the Party Wall Award
If there’s been a dissent, there will be an Award. Treat it like a spec: it sets out what you can do, when you can do it, and the constraints you must follow (e.g., permitted working hours, access arrangements, protection measures, sequencing, temporary works expectations, and what to do if issues arise).
Action: Include the Award in your start-of-works brief and toolbox talks. Make it visible in the site file and reference it in RAMS.
3) Respect permitted hours and nuisance controls
Typical local hours are 08:00–18:00 Mon–Fri and 08:00–13:00 Sat (no noisy works Sundays/bank holidays). The Award may refine this. Control dust, vibration and noise—plan the noisiest tasks into windows agreed with the neighbour where practical, and keep plant maintained to reduce complaints that can escalate.
4) Plan access under Section 8—don’t wing it on the day
Rights of access for notifiable works are powerful but procedural. Give written notice (usually 14 days) and stick to the agreed access route, duration and make-good requirements in the Award.
Tip: Keep scaffolds, hoarding and plant strictly within the authorised footprint. Over-sailing or storage beyond the agreed area can be treated as trespass.
5) Detail interfaces early (and build as drawn)
Many disputes begin at the boundary line: flashing into a neighbour’s wall, exposing a party wall, cutting into a party wall for steels, or removing projections like chimney breasts. Build exactly as specified: dimensions, bearings, and fixings matter. If site conditions differ, stop and request formal clarification—do not improvise.
6) Control excavations near neighbours
Under s.6, excavations within 3 m (or 6 m for deeper works) and deeper than the neighbour’s foundations are notifiable. Once authorised, manage trenches with shoring, correct dig sequence, and keep an eye on groundwater and weather. Don’t leave partially supported ground overnight without agreed temporary works.
7) Keep variations within the paperwork
Design tweaks that change depth, location or method (e.g., switching to piles, altering wall thickness at the boundary) can flip a non-notifiable detail into a notifiable one. Flag changes early so the client’s surveyor can update the paperwork if needed. You’ll save yourself a shutdown later.
8) Be neighbour-aware on site
Simple courtesies reduce escalations:
- Keep the access route clear and clean.
- Cover openings and protect exposed edges facing the neighbour’s land.
- Coordinate deliveries to avoid blocking drives.
- Give polite heads-ups before short periods of unavoidable disruption (crane lifts, concrete pumps).
9) Know the escalation ladder
If issues arise during authorised works, the Act expects surveyors to resolve disputes quickly via additional determinations or, if necessary, Third Surveyor referral. Your role: report clearly and promptly to the client and their surveyor, follow interim directions, and log what was done and when.
10) Close out neatly
When the authorised works are complete, reinstate any temporary access points, boundaries and surfaces as set out in the Award. Return neighbours’ spaces to usable condition without delay and keep photo records of the finish.
Simple Survey’s Costings your client can plan for
Transparent, fixed pricing
- Party Wall Notice service: £25 per adjoining ownership (multi-notice bundles discounted).
- Act administration as Agreed Surveyor (single surveyor): typically £300 fixed-fee, depending on complexity and number of notices/owners.
- Two-surveyor route (we act for the Building Owner): fixed-fee proposals from £325 for our side. (The Adjoining Owner’s surveyor often bills hourly; we work to keep those costs reasonable and contained.)
- Complex works (deep excavations, multi-owner blocks): we’ll still offer the fixed pricing as above!
- No surprises, no creeping extras. You’ll know the number before we start.
Occasional add-ons (case dependent):
- Advising engineer (where proportionate/necessary): £600–£3,000
- Third Surveyor referral (if required; kept narrow and issue-focused): £750–£2,500
Contractor FAQs
Q: We’re ready to start but no one can produce the notices—can we crack on?
A: If works are notifiable, no. Proceeding without notice risks an injunction and loss of access rights. Get notices served and the process regularised first.
Q: The neighbour is refusing access on the day—what now?
A: Access must follow the Act and any Award conditions. If proper notice was given and access is still refused, escalate to the surveyors immediately. Do not force entry without the correct legal steps being followed.
Q: Can we work outside normal hours for a one-off pour?
A: Only if the Award and local authority allow (or you obtain specific written agreement). Otherwise, re-sequence.
Q: We discovered the neighbour’s foundation is shallower than expected—do we change method?
A: Pause and inform the client/surveyors. A method change can affect authorisation under the Act; get written direction before proceeding.
Q: Who pays the surveyors?
A: Typically the Building Owner (your client) pays the reasonable costs of administering the Act, as they benefit from the works.
Q: The neighbour hasn’t replied to the original notice—what happens?
A: After 14 days (plus a 10-day follow-up), a dispute is deemed to arise. A surveyor can be appointed on the neighbour’s behalf under s.10(4) so the process—and your programme—can keep moving.
Q: Can Simple Survey act as Agreed Surveyor to speed things up?
A: Yes—if both owners agree. It’s often the fastest and cheapest path to a compliant Award.
Bottom line for contractors
The Act isn’t a hurdle; it’s your permission slip to work efficiently beside a neighbour. Respect the paperwork, build exactly to the authorised details, and keep communications crisp. Do that, and you’ll avoid stoppages and finish with happy clients—and happier neighbours.
Need a fast, fixed-fee Party Wall partner who understands site realities?
Email team@simplesurvey.co.uk with the site address, the scope (drawings if available), and target dates. We’ll confirm notifiability, serve notices the same or next working day, and drive your Award to completion—without drama.
Simple Survey — quick, correct, low-cost Party Wall compliance, nationwide.