The Party Wall etc. Act 1996

If you intend to carry out building work which involves:

• work on an existing wall shared with another property (a "party wall" or a "party fence wall") - this includes a garden wall but does not include such things as wooden fences
• building on the boundary with a neighbouring property - this includes building a new garden wall that is wholly on your land but up against the boundary line
• excavating near a neighbouring building - this includes foundations for new structures/extensions and underpinning works
• work to a "party structure" (i.e. a floor or a wall separating flats).

you may find that this work falls within the Act.

If your intended work falls within the Act you are required, by law, to notify all affected neighbours.

There are minimum time periods for giving notices to adjoining owners before you can start work. These vary between one and two months depending on the type of work to be carried out. If you start work without having first given notice in the proper way, adjoining owners may seek redress through the courts.

The Act provides a building owner, who wishes to carry out various sorts of work to an existing party wall, with additional rights to do so. These go beyond ordinary common law rights.

The most commonly used rights are:

• to cut into a wall to take the bearing of a beam, or to insert a damp proof course all the way through the wall
• to raise the whole party wall and, if necessary, cut off any projections which prevent you from doing so
• to demolish and rebuild the party wall
• to underpin the whole wall
• to protect two adjoining walls by putting a flashing from the higher over the lower.

If you intend to carry out any of the works noted above, you must give notice to all adjoining owners at least two months before commencing the work. If you

If you intend to build astride the boundary line you must inform the adjoining owner or owners by serving a notice. However, there is no right to build astride the boundary if your neighbour objects. You must also inform the adjoining owner or owners if you intend to build a wall wholly on your land but up against the boundary line. For this type of work, you must give notice to all adjoining owners at least one month before commencing the work.

If you plan to:

• excavate, or construct foundations for a new building or structure, within 3 metres of a neighbouring owner's building where that work will go deeper than the neighbour's foundations; or
• excavate, or construct foundations for a new building or structure within 6 metres of a neighbouring owner's building where that work will cut a line drawn downwards at an angle of 45 degrees from the bottom of the neighbour's foundations;

you must give notice to all adjoining owners at least one month before commencing the work.

Further information on the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is given in an explanatory booklet published by Communities and Local Government (CLG).

Available from the CLG and some local authorities.

This document can be downloaded from the CLG website by clicking on the link below.

 http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/partywall

The information on this page is believed to be correct. SGT Building Design cannot accept responsibility for any inaccuracies.