Party wall notice or planning permission
A planning permission does not let you cut into a shared wall or dig beside a neighbour's foundations. What the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires, and how its timetable fits around an application.
Party wall act vs planning permission is a comparison between a public consent and a private legal procedure that happen to concern the same building work. Planning permission is the council deciding whether your extension is acceptable in land use terms. A party wall notice is you telling your neighbour, as a matter of private law, that you intend to carry out work that affects a shared structure or the ground near their building.
Having one does not give you the other. A householder with planning permission, building regulations approval and no party wall notice who starts digging next to a neighbour's foundations is acting unlawfully, and the neighbour can obtain an injunction.
Two regimes on the same wall
Planning permission comes from the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and is granted by the local planning authority. It is a permission to develop land, and it is expressly granted without prejudice to the rights of other people. The standard decision notice says so.
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies in England and Wales and is not administered by anyone. There is no register, no council function and no application. The Act sets out a notice procedure between the building owner doing the work and the adjoining owner whose property is affected, with a dispute resolution mechanism if they disagree.
The practical difference is who decides. A planning officer weighs public interest considerations. A party wall surveyor decides the time and manner in which work that the building owner is entitled to do will be carried out, and cannot refuse the work itself.
Notifiable works under the 1996 Act
Three sections cover most domestic situations.
Section 1 applies to building a new wall on the line of junction between two properties, where nothing has been built on the boundary before. It covers both a wall built astride the line and a wall built wholly on the building owner's land but up against the line.
Section 2 applies to work to an existing party structure: cutting into a party wall to take a beam, raising it, underpinning it, inserting a damp proof course, demolishing and rebuilding it, or removing a chimney breast that forms part of it. A loft conversion with steels bearing into the party wall is the classic case.
Section 6 applies to excavation near a neighbouring structure. It bites where you excavate within three metres of a neighbouring building or structure to a depth below the level of its foundations, and separately where you excavate within six metres and a line drawn downwards at 45 degrees from the bottom of the neighbour's foundations would strike your excavation.
That six metre rule catches people. A basement or a deep piled foundation can be notifiable to a neighbour whose house is several metres away, which is why a Basement Impact Assessment and party wall advice usually start at the same time.
Notice periods and the timetable they impose
The periods differ by section and they are calendar periods, not working days.
| Notice | Section | Minimum notice |
|---|---|---|
| Line of junction notice | 1 | One month |
| Party structure notice | 3 | Two months |
| Notice of adjacent excavation | 6 | One month |
| Notice of entry onto adjoining land | 8 | Fourteen days |
The adjoining owner then has fourteen days to consent in writing. Silence is not consent. If no written consent arrives within fourteen days, a dispute is deemed to have arisen under the Act and the surveyor procedure is triggered whether either side wants it or not.
A party structure notice also has a shelf life. Work must begin within twelve months of the notice and be prosecuted with due diligence, or the notice lapses and has to be served again.
So the realistic planning assumption for an extension involving a party wall is two months of notice plus several weeks for surveyors to be appointed and an award to be prepared. Three months from serving notice to starting work is a reasonable expectation on a straightforward job.
What planning permission does not authorise
A planning permission authorises development in planning terms. It does not give you any of the following:
- A right to enter your neighbour's land, which comes from section 8 of the 1996 Act and only after notice
- A right to place foundations under your neighbour's land, which is a trespass unless the Act or an agreement permits it
- A right to cut into a shared wall
- Any answer to a restrictive covenant on the title
- Any answer to a right of light acquired by long use, which is a civil property right assessed differently from planning daylight
Nor does it override a condition or an easement. A drainage easement running under the proposed extension is a private matter that survives the grant of permission entirely.
Conversely, a party wall award authorises nothing in planning terms. An award covering a rear extension does not cure the absence of planning permission for it.
Surveyors, awards and who pays
Once a dispute is deemed to have arisen, the owners either appoint a single agreed surveyor or each appoint their own, and the two appointed surveyors select a third surveyor who can be called on if they cannot agree.
The surveyors produce an award. It records the work to be done, the time and manner of doing it, a schedule of condition of the adjoining property, arrangements for access, and the allocation of costs. The award binds both owners. Either can appeal to the county court within fourteen days of the award being served, which is a short window and one of the few hard deadlines in the process.
Costs normally fall on the building owner, since the work is being done for their benefit. An adjoining owner acting unreasonably can be ordered to bear costs, but this is uncommon.
An agreed surveyor is faster and costs less than two surveyors, and it is worth proposing. Where the neighbour is hostile or the structure is complex, two surveyors is usually the outcome. A Structural Survey commissioned early gives both sides something factual to work from and reduces the argument about existing defects.
Sequencing notices with the planning application
The order that works on most domestic projects:
- Settle the design and obtain planning permission, since the party wall notice has to describe the actual work.
- Prepare structural details to the point where beam positions and foundation depths are known, because a section 6 notice needs excavation depths.
- Serve the notices, and count two full months for a party structure notice.
- If a dispute arises, appoint surveyors and let the award be prepared.
- Start on site within twelve months of the notice.
Serving notice before the design is fixed is a false economy. A notice describing work that then changes has to be served again, and the neighbour's goodwill does not survive the second round intact.
A short Planning Statement submitted with the application that acknowledges the neighbour relationship, and a letter to the neighbour before the council's consultation letter arrives, both help. Neighbours object to surprises more than they object to extensions.
Where neighbours confuse the two
The confusion runs in both directions and costs everyone time.
Neighbours often believe that objecting to a planning application will stop work to a shared wall. It will not, because the party wall right exists independently of the permission. Equally, they often believe that consenting to a party wall notice means giving up the right to object to the planning application. It does not, and the two decisions are made by different people on different grounds.
Building owners make the opposite mistake, assuming that a granted permission settles everything. It settles the planning question only.
An illustrative case: a single storey rear extension on a Victorian terrace, foundations 1.2 metres deep, 0.8 metres from the boundary, with a steel bearing into the party wall. That triggers a section 6 excavation notice and a section 3 party structure notice. Two months notice, one award, and a schedule of condition on the neighbour's rear room before anyone digs.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which planning documents your extension needs, and browse the full report index for the technical reports a council may ask for.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
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Frequently asked questions
Does planning permission cover party wall work?
No. Permission is granted without prejudice to the rights of other people, and the decision notice says so. It gives no right to enter a neighbour's land, to place foundations under it, or to cut into a shared wall. Those rights come only from the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 procedure or from an agreement with the neighbour.
How much notice does a party wall notice need?
One month for a line of junction notice under section 1, two months for a party structure notice under section 3, one month for a notice of adjacent excavation under section 6, and fourteen days for a notice of entry under section 8. These are calendar periods, so a three month gap between notice and start is realistic.
What happens if my neighbour does not reply?
Silence is not consent. If written consent does not arrive within fourteen days of the notice, a dispute is deemed to have arisen under the Act and the surveyor procedure begins whether either side wants it or not. Surveyors are then appointed and an award is prepared before work can start.
When does the six metre excavation rule apply?
Where you excavate within six metres of a neighbouring building or structure and a line drawn downwards at 45 degrees from the bottom of its foundations would strike your excavation. Deep foundations, piles and basements can therefore be notifiable to a neighbour several metres away, which surprises most householders.
Can a party wall surveyor stop my extension?
No. The surveyors decide the time and manner in which work the building owner is entitled to do will be carried out, along with access, a schedule of condition and costs. They cannot refuse the work itself and they cannot consider design, loss of light or amenity, which are planning or civil matters.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.