The Party Wall Act explained simply

What problem does it solve?

Building work near a neighbour carries risk. Steel beams go into shared walls, foundations are dug beside old footings, and walls are raised or rebuilt. Before the Act, outside inner London, disputes over this kind of work often ended in court. The Act gives a cheaper and quicker route: notice, then settlement by surveyors.

The three kinds of work it covers

• New walls at the boundary, where one owner builds on or up to the line between properties.
• Work to existing shared structures, such as party walls, party fence walls and floors between flats.
• Excavations near neighbours, where foundations are dug close to and deeper than the neighbour's.

How it works, in one paragraph

The owner doing the work, the building owner, serves notice on the neighbour, the adjoining owner. The neighbour either agrees or a dispute arises. Disputes are settled by one or two surveyors, who make an award: a binding document saying how and when the work is done, recording the neighbour's property and dealing with costs. Either side can challenge an award in the county court, as long as they act within 14 days.

What the Act gives each side

What it does not cover

Planning permission, building regulations, rights of light and boundary disputes about where the line actually is are all outside the Act.