Sareth Build Journal UK Self-Build & Renovation

Party Wall Notice Checker

By the Sareth Build Journal team Updated 2026
Party Wall Notice Checker

Answer a few questions about your building work and this checker tells you which Party Wall etc. Act 1996 notice applies, how long before you start you must serve it, and gives you a starter notice to adapt. The single thing most people miss: a notice is a legal requirement, not a courtesy, and serving it late can stop the job. This covers England and Wales only; Scotland and Northern Ireland are not in scope.

Tell us about the works

Tick everything that applies. A single project can trigger more than one notice.

1. Will you do work directly to a wall (or structure) you share with a neighbour? A party wall sits on the boundary and is shared, like the wall between two terraced or semi-detached houses, or a shared garden wall.

2. Will you build a new wall on, or right up to, the boundary line with the neighbour? For example a new extension flank wall or a garden wall placed on the boundary itself, where no wall stands today.

3. Will you dig foundations or excavate near a neighbour's building or structure? Think strip or trench-fill foundations, a basement, underpinning, piles or large drainage runs near the boundary.

Guidance only, based on the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (England and Wales). It does not replace advice from a party wall surveyor and does not cover Scotland or Northern Ireland. Notice periods are minimum legal periods: serve earlier where you can.

If a notice applies, the neighbour (the "adjoining owner") has 14 days to reply. If they consent in writing, you can get on with the work. If they dissent, or simply do not reply within 14 days, a dispute is deemed to exist and you must appoint a party wall surveyor (one agreed surveyor, or one each) to draw up an award before work begins. Serving the notice does not give the neighbour a veto; it sets up a fair process and protects you both.

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