You come home to find scaffolding up next door, or the unmistakable sound of drilling through the shared wall – and nobody served you a party wall notice. It is one of the most common calls we take, and the good news is that the law is firmly on your side. Here is what actually happens next.
First: does the Act apply to their work?
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 covers three situations: work directly to a shared (party) wall – cutting in beams for a loft, removing a chimney breast, raising or thickening the wall; new walls built up to the boundary; and excavation within 3 metres of your building that goes deeper than your foundations (or within 6 metres for deep digs). Loft conversions, rear extensions and basements almost always qualify. Internal redecorating, shelving and minor fixings do not.
Your options when no notice was served
1. Ask them to stop and regularise. Most neighbours genuinely do not know the Act exists. A calm conversation – or a letter – pointing out that notice is required often results in work pausing and a surveyor being appointed properly. The building owner pays the surveyors’ reasonable fees, not you.
2. Seek an injunction. If work continues without your consent, the courts can and do stop unnotified party wall works with an interim injunction, because the building owner has no right to interfere with your property without following the Act. The credible threat of an injunction is frequently enough on its own.
3. Protect the evidence. Whatever route you take, have a schedule of condition prepared quickly – a photographic record of your property’s condition now, so any damage that appears during their works is provable rather than arguable.
If damage has already happened
Without the Act’s protections in place, damage claims fall back on common law – which is slower and more expensive. An independent surveyor’s report documenting the damage and its cause puts you in a strong negotiating position, and where matters escalate to court, we can arrange a party wall expert witness to provide CPR Part 35-compliant evidence.
Get the right surveyor involved early
Kingston Surveyors arranges experienced RICS party wall surveyors across London and the UK – for adjoining owners in exactly this position, usually at the building owner’s cost once the Act is engaged. Enquiries are answered the same working day: call 0204 579 8270 or see our party wall surveyor cost guide for what fees look like.
