The Party Wall etc. Act 1996

If you intend to carry out building work which involves:

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.

Work on Existing Party Walls

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:

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

Building up Against or Astride the Boundary Line

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.

Excavation near Neighbouring Buildings

If you plan to:

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

Additional Information

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

Explanatory Booklet

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