What Are Notifiable Works?
The Party Wall Act goes into detail about the rights and responsibilities of building owners planning notifiable works for neighbours affected by those notifiable works. But people often get confused by the term ‘notifiable works’. In a nutshell, notifiable works are any construction works that require you to give notification under the Act. The Act doesn’t just cover works that directly affect a party wall – the idea is that it covers any construction work that could affect the structural strength or support of a party wall or structure, or could cause damage or significant inconvenience.
Generally speaking, when you’re doing work on a party wall, building close to a neighbouring property or along boundary lines, you should look into whether the Party Wall Act applies. The answer to this isn’t always simple, and depends on the type and location of construction you’re doing. It’s a good bet that if you’re doing work to a shared party wall, excavating within 3 metres (or sometimes 6) of your neighbour’s building, or if you’re building along the boundary line, that notices will need to be served. The Party Wall Act also covers any work done to party structures, so, for example if you’re a developer adding storeys to an existing apartment building, then you’ll need to serve notice in connection to this work too.
What Types of Works Are Notifiable?
Notifiable works fall into 3 main categories under the Act. They are:
Section 1 – Constructing new walls on the line of junction.
Section 2 – Construction works to a party wall, party structure or party fence wall.
Section 6 – Adjacent excavation and construction.
Any construction work that falls outside of these three sections of the Act isn’t deemed to be notifiable works, which means you don’t have to serve a party wall notice, and no party wall surveyors are needed.
Can you Give Me Some Examples?
Of course! We’d be happy to. Here are some examples for each of the relevant sections of the act.
Section 1: When do You Need to Serve Notice if You Are Planning to Build on the Site Boundary?
Any new construction that’s abutting the ’line of junction’ or boundary line triggers the need for party wall notices under Section 1 of the Party Wall Act. This applies whether you plan to build ‘astride’ the line of junction or entirely on your own land – which can sometimes cause confusion. If you’re looking to build astride the line of junction, then you need to have your neighbour’s approval, since you are effectively building on their land. Here are a few examples:
• If you’re building a garden wall, you’re still required to give notice as though it was a new building. But if you’re simply putting up a fence, then you don’t need to issue any notices.
• If you’re building an extension that runs right up to the boundary line, you’ll need to make sure that the eaves or gutters don’t hang over onto your neighbour’s land, as this could lead to trespassing issues, which are dealt with separately from the Party Wall process.
If section 1 applies to your works, then you will need to provide your neighbour with a minimum of 1 months’ notice before you start the work. Remember, your neighbour has the right to dissent to the work, and in this case a party wall Award would be needed. This in itself could take longer than one month, which is why we recommend serving your party wall notices as soon as possible!
It’s important to note that this section only applies to the construction of new walls. If there’s an existing wall in place that you plan to knock down and rebuild in the same place, or that your neighbour has already built as a boundary wall, then section 1 doesn’t apply.
Section 2: What Kind of Work to Existing Shared Party Walls or Party Structures are Notifiable?
The most common type of notifiable work we deal with is when a property owner wants to carry out alterations that require steelwork to be supported by a party wall. Although other similar works like removing a chimney, inserting a new damp proof course or flashing, and raising the height of a party wall are also covered by this section. Notification also needs to be made if you plan to underpin the wall, or knock it down and rebuild it.
Of course, you don’t normally need to serve a party wall notice for small things on adjoining walls – like putting up shelves, redecorating or renewing plaster to an existing internal wall. These things aren’t likely to affect the walls’ structural integrity after all! But if you find that Section 2 does apply, then you will need to give your neighbour a minimum of 2 months’ notice before work starts. Once again, it’s best to do this as soon as possible so that there are no delays in the work.
Section 6: When Would you Need to Serve Notice When Excavating?
If you’re planning to do any sort of excavation or digging, whether it’s for new foundations or other purposes, you need to pay careful attention. If you’re digging to a depth greater than the depth of your neighbours’ foundations and within 3 metres of their building (or any structure on their land), then you will absolutely need to serve notice. This is because it’s likely that laying foundations close to older buildings will mean your excavations are deeper, and permission is needed for this. You’ll also need to serve notice if you want to dig a trial pit to figure out how deep your neighbours foundations go.
In some circumstances, if you do end up excavating to a greater depth (for example to install piled foundations) within 6 metres of your neighbour’s property, this can also trigger the need for notices. You will need to figure out if a 45-degree angle drawn from the bottom of the neighbouring foundations would intersect with any part of your excavation to understand whether this kind of excavation is notifiable
If Section 6 applies to you, then you need to provide your neighbour with a minimum of 2 months’ notice before any work starts. Are you seeing the pattern yet?
Where Can I Get More Information?
If you want to brush up on the Act some more, or if you just want some more information, then you can visit the UK government website. They’ve published an explanatory booklet on the Party Wall Act, which provides some great information on notifiable work and what it covers. We also have quite a few videos and blogs that go into further detail on the Party Wall Act, so make sure you check our website and YouTube channel to see if we’ve already answered your question.
At Harrison Clarke, our team of experienced party wall surveyors can help ensure you understand what elements of your proposed works are notifiable.
Don’t forget, we also offer a 30-minute consultation for £100.00 including VAT where you can ask us any questions in relation to your Party Wall matters, including understanding whether your work is notifiable under the Act. If you’re not sure whether notices need to be served, one of our party wall surveyors would be pleased to discuss it with you. Just give us a call on 023 8155 0051.
For more expert advice on surveying and property matters, check out our range of informative videos on our website or YouTube channel. Harrison Clarke Chartered Surveyors is here to guide you every step of the way!
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