To serve a party wall notice you write to your neighbour (the adjoining owner) describing the work, giving the start date and the correct notice period, then deliver it by hand, post or agreed email and keep proof. For work to a shared wall you must give at least two months’ notice; for a new wall on the boundary or for excavation near their property, at least one month. Your neighbour then has 14 days to consent or dissent in writing, and if they do nothing within 14 days a dispute is deemed to have arisen.
That single rule trips up most people: silence is not consent. This guide walks through exactly what to send, when, to whom, and what happens next, with a template you can adapt.
Do you actually need to serve a notice?
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 covers three categories of work. If your project falls into one of them, serving notice is a legal requirement, not a courtesy. Common jobs that trigger it include loft conversions that bear on a shared wall, rear and side extensions, chimney breast removals, underpinning, and digging foundations close to next door.
| Type of work | Section of the Act | Minimum notice period | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work to an existing party wall or structure | Section 2 | 2 months | Cutting in for a steel beam, raising the wall, removing a chimney breast, underpinning, demolishing and rebuilding |
| Building a new wall on or at the boundary | Section 1 | 1 month | A new flank wall on the line of junction, or astride the boundary |
| Excavation near a neighbour’s building | Section 6 | 1 month | Digging within 3 metres and deeper than their foundations, or within 6 metres and below a 45-degree line from their foundations |
If none of these apply (for example, you are working entirely inside your own property and well away from the boundary), you may not need a notice at all. When in doubt, the safest route is to check with a surveyor before assuming you are exempt.
For background on what you can build before any of this comes up, see our guide to permitted development rights, and to confirm who oversees the work, read how to find your local planning authority.
The 6 steps to serve a party wall notice
Step 1: Identify the correct adjoining owner
You must serve the notice on the owner, not a tenant or a managing agent. “Owner” under the Act is broad: it includes freeholders and anyone with a lease longer than a year, so a single flat can have more than one owner to notify. If there is a freeholder and a long leaseholder, serve both. For a building with several flats, every affected owner gets a notice. Get this wrong and the notice is invalid, which can stall the whole job.
If you genuinely cannot find the owner’s name, you can address the notice to “The Owner” of the property and deliver it to the premises or affix it to the building.
Step 2: Work out the right notice period and a realistic start date
Pick the section that matches your work from the table above, then count the notice period from the day you serve. For party structure work that is two clear months; for a new boundary wall or excavation it is one month. The start date you write on the notice must be after the notice period ends. Do not be optimistic here. If a dispute is deemed to arise, surveyors need time to prepare an award before you can lawfully begin, so build that into your programme.
Step 3: Write the notice
A valid notice does not need a solicitor, but it must contain specific information. Leave any of it out and a neighbour or their surveyor can reject the notice as invalid. Include:
- Your full name and address as the building owner (list every joint owner)
- The address of the property where the work will happen
- A full, clear description of the proposed work
- The proposed start date (after the notice period)
- A statement that the notice is served under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996
- The date of service
For Section 6 excavation notices you must also attach plans and sections showing the location and depth of the excavation, and state whether you intend to strengthen or safeguard the neighbour’s foundations.
Step 4: Include an acknowledgement form
The Act gives your neighbour three options: consent, dissent, or dissent and appoint a surveyor. Make it easy for them to reply by enclosing a simple form they can tick, sign, date and return. This is not legally required, but a neighbour who has to draft their own reply is far more likely to do nothing, and doing nothing counts as a dispute. A reply slip with a covering letter explaining the work in plain terms is the single best way to get a quick consent.
Step 5: Serve it properly and keep proof
You can serve the notice in person, by post, or by email only if the adjoining owner has said they are willing to receive it that way. Whichever method you use, keep evidence: a signed acknowledgement, a recorded delivery slip, a witnessed hand delivery, or the email itself. If a dispute later ends up in front of a surveyor or a court, you will need to prove the notice was served and when.
A friendly conversation with your neighbour before the formal notice lands almost always helps. The notice can feel aggressive arriving cold, and a warning that it is coming, and why, keeps the relationship intact.
Step 6: Wait for the 14-day response and act on it
From the date of service your neighbour has 14 days to reply in writing. What you do next depends entirely on their response, covered below.
A party wall notice template you can adapt
Use this as a starting point and tailor it to your project. It is a plain example, not legal advice, and you should confirm the detail with a surveyor for anything structural.
Party Wall etc. Act 1996, Section 2 Notice
To: [Adjoining owner’s name], owner of [their property address]
From: [Your full name(s)], owner of [your property address]
Date: [date of service]
Dear [name],
I/We give you notice under Section 2 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 that I/we intend to carry out the following work to the party wall between our properties:
[Full description of the work, for example: cutting into the party wall to insert a steel beam to support a single-storey rear extension, as shown on the enclosed drawings.]
I/We propose to begin this work on or after [start date, at least two months from the date above].
Please reply within 14 days using the enclosed acknowledgement form to confirm whether you consent to the work, or dissent from it. If I do not hear from you within 14 days, a dispute will be deemed to have arisen and surveyors will need to be appointed under the Act.
Yours [sincerely/faithfully],
[Signature, name and contact details of every joint owner]
Swap “Section 2” and the notice period for Section 1 or Section 6 if your work falls under those, and remember to attach plans for excavation notices.
What happens after you serve: the three outcomes
| Neighbour’s response | What it means | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Consents in writing within 14 days | No dispute | You can proceed once the notice period ends. Keep the signed consent on file. |
| Dissents in writing within 14 days | A dispute exists | Surveyors are appointed and produce a Party Wall Award before work starts. |
| No reply within 14 days | A dispute is deemed to have arisen | Same as a dissent: surveyors must be appointed. Silence does not let you proceed. |
If a dispute arises, the two owners can agree to use a single impartial “agreed surveyor”, which is cheaper, or each appoint their own surveyor, in which case the two surveyors select a third to settle any points they cannot agree on. The surveyors produce a binding Party Wall Award, which records the agreed condition of the wall, how and when the work will be done, and who pays. Each owner has 14 days from being served the award to appeal it in the county court.
As a rough guide, allow six to eight weeks for the notice and award process if your neighbour dissents, on top of the notice period itself. Plan it into your build programme rather than treating it as an afterthought.
The full timeline at a glance
- Day 0: Serve the notice (ideally after a heads-up conversation).
- Within 14 days: Neighbour consents, dissents, or stays silent.
- If consent: Wait out the notice period (1 or 2 months), then start.
- If dissent or silence: Appoint surveyor(s), agree a schedule of condition, prepare the award.
- Award served: A 14-day window to appeal in the county court.
- Notice expires after 12 months: Work must have started within a year of the notice date, or you have to serve again.
One detail people miss: even with consent, the notice only stays valid for 12 months. If your build slips beyond a year from the notice date, you serve a fresh one.
Common mistakes that invalidate a notice
- Serving the tenant instead of the owner. Only owners count under the Act.
- Too short a notice period. Two months for party structure work is the minimum, not a target.
- A vague description. “Some building work” is not enough; describe what you are doing to the wall.
- Forgetting joint owners. A married couple or co-owners both need naming and serving.
- Treating silence as a green light. No reply in 14 days is a dispute, full stop.
- No proof of service. Without it you cannot show the notice was ever valid.
Frequently asked questions
Do I legally have to serve a party wall notice? Yes, if your work falls under Sections 1, 2 or 6 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. There is no fine for skipping it, but the adjoining owner can apply for a court injunction that stops your work immediately until you follow the Act, and you lose the protection the award gives you if any damage is disputed later.
How much notice do I have to give my neighbour? At least two months for work to an existing party wall or structure (Section 2), and at least one month for a new wall on the boundary (Section 1) or for excavation near their property (Section 6). Count from the date you serve, and the start date on the notice must fall after that period.
What if my neighbour ignores the notice? If they do not reply within 14 days, a dispute is deemed to have arisen. You serve a further request asking them to appoint a surveyor, and if they still do nothing within ten days you can appoint a surveyor on their behalf so the process can continue. You cannot simply start work because they stayed quiet.
Can I serve a party wall notice by email? Only if the adjoining owner has confirmed they are willing to receive it by email. Otherwise serve it by hand or by post, and keep proof of delivery either way.
Do I need a surveyor to serve the notice? No. You can write and serve a valid notice yourself, and if your neighbour consents you may never need a surveyor at all. A surveyor only becomes necessary once a dispute arises, whether by dissent or by silence.
Who pays for the party wall surveyor? Usually the building owner doing the work, because it is your project. The neighbour may have to contribute if the work is needed because of a defect on their side, or if they ask for extra work that benefits them. The award sets out exactly who pays what.
How long is a party wall notice valid for? Twelve months from the date of service. Work must have started within that year, though it does not have to be finished. If you do not begin in time, you serve a new notice.
Before you serve
Serving a party wall notice is mostly about getting three things right: the correct owner, the correct notice period, and a description clear enough that nobody can call it invalid. Have a conversation first, enclose a reply form to make consent easy, and keep proof of everything. If your work is structural or involves excavation near a neighbour’s foundations, get a chartered surveyor to check the notice and the drawings before it goes out, because a rejected notice costs you far more time than the advice does.
Once the party wall side is squared away, the rest of the build follows. Read up on the building regulations that apply to your project so the notice and the regs approvals run in parallel rather than one holding up the other.
You can read the law itself in the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 on legislation.gov.uk, and the government’s plain-English explanatory booklet on preventing and resolving party wall disputes on GOV.UK.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules and the way the Act is applied can change, so confirm the current position with a chartered surveyor or building control before you act.