Are you looking to dig near to a boundary you share with a neighbour? Then you may need to know about the Party Wall Act Section 6 and what it means for you.
This, guide will take you through the specifics of Section 6 and what concerns are around excavations, when notices need to be served and who does what when it comes to the building and adjoining owners. We also take a look at some frequently asked questions about the Act and its related procedures.
The aim of section 6 of the Party Wall Act 1996 is to deal with the various adjacent excavation and construction activities that may be carried out in the UK as outlined in the Act. This section of the Act tells you what you have to do before you excavate (for building a new wall) which would be close to an adjoining owner’s home.
Section 6 of the Act requires that the party undertaking the works (“Building Owner”) should serve a notice on the adjoining owner. The notice required under Section 6 shall be served on any adjoining owner of a structure that is 3 metres or less from the proposed works and extends below the bottom of the foundations of the adjoining owner’s structure. If the structure is within 6 metres, then section 6 usually only applies if you are using piled foundations. To summarise:
The notice period is typically 1 month. The purpose of the notice under Section 6 is to inform the adjoining owner and invite them to consent or dissent to the works. If the works are within the above mentioned distance then the Building Owner must serve notice before the work starts.
The notice is to be accompanied with plans and sections of the proposed works and a copy of section 6 of the Act. The notice is served either by delivering it by hand to the adjoining owner or by post.
If you are a building owner proposing to do any excavations covered by the Act, you must serve with at least 1 month’s notice to the adjoining owner(s) before you start your work. The notice allows the parties to discuss and agree the works or agree the appointment of a surveyor if they can not agree.
Your notice should include:
Your notice can be served in two ways: it can be given personally to the adjoining owner or sent by post. The adjoining owner then has 14 days to respond with either their consent or dissent.
