Have you received Party Wall Notice(s)?

If the answer is yes then it is more than likely that your neighbour(s) are planning on carrying out works which may affect your property. They may be inserting a beam(s) into the Party Wall/structure or are excavating in order to carry out a rear/side extension or even a basement within 3 or 6 metres. If they meet the above criteria then you will no doubt have been served with Notices.

Don’t feel afraid that you have received these notices, as it is your neighbour(s) duty under the Party Wall Act to serve you Notice(s) if their works entail the above. They are merely following procedure.

If you are uncertain or slightly taken aback, then we always say it’s probably best that you speak to your neighbour(s) about their proposed work - just to make sure you gain a better understanding of what exactly they wish to carry out.This in most cases presents reassurance.

You may be thinking why didn’t my neighbour(s) inform me of their proposed works? A completely valid question, however, they themselves may have been informed (or told by a surveyor) to leave all matters to the surveyor acting for them. The reasoning could also be that they didn’t feel comfortable informing you directly.

Different Party Wall Notices That Can Be Served

Now that we have established why you would receive Party Wall Notice(s), we can begin to understand the 3 most common Notice(s) that you may receive...

Section 1 Notice (Line of Junction Notice) – This notice is commonly known as a line of junction notice. A line of junction Notice basically means that your neighbour(s) wish to either build up the line of junction (Boundary Line), or that they wish to build astride (build a wall half on their land and half on yours). To build astride they would require your consent before proceeding, but building a wall up to the line of junction requires no consent.

Section 2 Notice (Party Structure Notice) – This notice is served when one wishes to insert a steel beam(s) into a Party Wall for the purpose of a loft conversion, chimney breast removal, underpin the Party Wall, cut away projections (the list goes on!).

Section 6 Notice (Adjacent excavation Notice) – This notice is served when one wishes to carry out any excavation works for the purpose of a rear/side extension (within 3 metres), basement excavation (within 6 metres) of your property and to an assumed lower level than your foundations. To put it in simpler terms, if I myself were to build a rear extension and my proposed extension is within 3m of my neighbour, (also assuming that my foundations will be deeper than theirs) then I would be required to serve my neighbours notice.