What Do I Need to Include in My Party Wall Notice For It To Be Legally Valid?

This blog is not an authoritative interpretation of the law; it is intended as a general guide.

In this blog Icon Surveyors will be considering what needs to be included in a Party Wall Notice for it to be legally valid. As can be seen from Icon Surveyor’s previous blogs there are 3 different types of Party Wall Notice. In this blog, Icon Surveyor’s will discuss what content is required for each.

General Content of all Party Wall Notices

Whatever section a Party Wall Notice is served under all must contain;

1. The Name and address of the building owner
2. Date of Notice
3. The nature and particulars of the proposed works
4. The date on which the proposed works will commence

Line of Juncture Notice

The first Party Wall Notice that must be served by a building owner on all and/or any adjoining owners can be found at section 1 of the Act is known as a Line of Juncture Notice. This type of Party Wall Notice covers two types of works that a building owner proposes to carry out.  These are the building of a new wall that either sits astride or adjacent to a boundary.  In other words, a new building must be built either at the line of juncture or at the line of juncture only to the extent of the boundary wall.  It should be noted that this does not include the building of a fence wall or external wall of a building.

For this type of Party Wall Notice to be legally valid, it must include the general content as stated above together with a statement of the building owner’s intention to build a wall with a full description of it. This includes a site plan foundations details. The Notice must be served on all adjoining owners at least 1 month prior to the proposed commencement of the intended works. 

Party Structure Notice

A Party Structure Notice must be served by a building owner on all and/or any adjoining owners if works pertaining to a building owner’s rights under section 2 of the Act are being carried out. Please see section 2 works here.

In order for this type of Notice to be valid, it must include the general details as stated above together with particularised works and details including any special foundations , plans, sections and details of construction of special foundations together with particulars of the loads to be carried. The Notice must be served at least 2 months prior to the intended start date of the proposed building works.

Notice of Adjacent Excavation

A Notice of Adjacent Excavation can be found under section 6 of the Act. It must be served by a building owner on all and/or any adjoining owner if the works being carried out involve an excavation That is to say, any works that include excavations that are within three meters of any part of the adjoining owners land or property and/or any works to construct foundations for a new building or structure that is within six meters of the adjoining owner’s land or property, where any part of the work will meet  a line drawn downwards at 45 degrees in the direction of the excavation from the bottom of the adjoining owners foundations.

For this type of Notice to be legally valid it must include the general particulars as stated above together with a statement of whether the building owner intends to underpin or otherwise strengthen or safeguard the foundations of the adjoining owner’s structure of building. This Notice must be accompanied by plans and sections showing the depth of any excavation being proposed and whether a structure or building will be erected. These pieces of information are referred to as a ‘site plan’ and ‘foundation details’. This Notice must be served at least 1 month prior to the commencement of any proposed excavation.   

Icon Surveyors are happy to provide a free consultation to any building or adjoining owners who may be affected by the subject matter raised in this blog.