Party wall rights alongside planning permission
Planning permission is public law and the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is private law. Holding one does not give you the other, and section 6 excavation notices catch most rear extensions.
Planning permission does not give you the right to touch your neighbour's wall. It is a public law consent that says the council will not take enforcement action against the development it describes. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is private law, it protects your neighbour's property interests, and it operates whether or not you have permission and whether or not permission was even needed. Party wall and planning permission are two separate regimes with two separate outcomes, and a householder can hold one and still be unable lawfully to begin.
The failure mode is specific and common. Permission is granted in March, the builder is booked for April, and the two-month notice period under the Act has not started.
Two separate regimes and two separate outcomes
A planning decision answers a public question: is this development acceptable in planning terms. It is determined by the local planning authority, and a refusal can be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.
A party wall notice answers a private question: may these works be carried out to or near a structure in which the neighbour has an interest, and on what terms. It is resolved between the owners, with surveyors appointed if there is a dispute, and the resulting award can be appealed to the county court within 14 days.
Neither process can substitute for the other. A planning permission is granted without prejudice to other consents, and the decision notice usually says so in an informative note. Reading that note carefully is worthwhile, and reading a decision notice as a neighbour goes through what the various parts of it mean.
The reverse is also true. A party wall award settles the engineering and the terms of access. It confers no planning permission, and a surveyor who signs an award for works that need permission and do not have it has not made the works lawful.
Works that trigger a party wall notice
Three sections of the Act generate notices, and householders routinely miss the third.
Section 1 covers building a new wall on the line of junction between two properties, including a wall placed wholly on your own land but up against the boundary. One month's notice.
Section 2 covers works to an existing party structure: cutting into a party wall to insert a beam, raising it or deepening its foundations, removing a chimney breast, demolishing and rebuilding it, inserting a damp proof course, or cutting away a projection. Two months' notice.
Section 6 covers excavation near a neighbouring structure. It applies where you excavate within 3 metres of a neighbouring building or structure and to a depth lower than its foundations, and where you excavate within 6 metres and the excavation cuts a line drawn downwards at 45 degrees from the bottom of the neighbour's foundations. One month's notice.
Section 6 is the one that catches ordinary rear extensions. A standard strip foundation 1 metre deep, 2 metres from the neighbour's house, will usually engage it even though no party wall is being touched at all. Loft conversions engage section 2 where steel beams bear into the party wall, which is nearly always.
The notice period and the right to dissent
Serve the notice in writing on every adjoining owner, which includes freeholders and leaseholders with more than a year to run, and in a terrace can mean more than one property. The notice must describe the works, name the building owner and be dated.
The adjoining owner has 14 days to respond. Consent in writing, and the works may proceed on the terms of the notice once the notice period expires. Dissent, and a dispute arises. Say nothing for 14 days, and dissent is deemed, which is the outcome in most cases because people are cautious or simply slow.
A deemed dissent is not hostility and it is not a refusal. It moves the matter into the surveyor procedure, which produces an award. There is no mechanism for a neighbour to veto the works.
| Works | Section | Notice period |
|---|---|---|
| New wall on the line of junction | Section 1 | 1 month |
| Cutting into, raising or rebuilding a party structure | Section 2 | 2 months |
| Excavation within 3m and deeper than the foundations | Section 6 | 1 month |
| Excavation within 6m and within the 45 degree line | Section 6 | 1 month |
Surveyors and the award
Once a dispute arises, the owners either appoint one agreed surveyor to act impartially for both, or each appoints their own surveyor and those two select a third surveyor to resolve any disagreement between them. The surveyors act as statutory appointees rather than as advocates for the party who appointed them, which is a point lost on many building owners paying the bill.
The building owner normally pays the reasonable fees of both surveyors, because the works are for the building owner's benefit. That is the default rather than an absolute rule, and the award allocates costs.
The award records the condition of the adjoining property before works start, usually with a photographic schedule of condition, specifies how the works are to be carried out, sets out working hours and access arrangements, and provides for making good or compensating for damage. A schedule of condition is the single most useful document in the whole process, because it is what settles an argument about a crack two years later.
What an award can require
An award can require underpinning, temporary support, specific sequencing, protection of the adjoining property, hours of working, notice before particular operations, and a security for expenses deposit where the adjoining owner would be at risk if the works were abandoned part-built.
It can also require things that change the build cost materially. Hand digging near a foundation rather than using a machine, a different foundation design, or temporary works designed by an engineer are all realistic outcomes. Budget for the possibility rather than assuming the award will simply bless the drawings.
Access rights under section 8 allow entry to the adjoining land to carry out the works, with notice, which is why the Act is useful to the building owner as well as protective of the neighbour. Without it, a wall on the boundary could not be built at all without a civil agreement.
Why permission does not authorise works to a party wall
The point is worth stating plainly because the misunderstanding is so persistent. A local planning authority has no jurisdiction over private property rights. It does not check ownership of walls, it does not adjudicate boundaries, and the ownership certificate on the application form says nothing about party structures.
Nor does the planning consultation process do the job. A neighbour who objects to an application and is ignored has not lost any party wall right, and a neighbour who supports an application has not consented to anything under the Act. Where plans change after consultation the position on reconsultation is a separate question, covered in whether neighbours are reconsulted on amended plans.
Note that a party wall surveyor's report is not a planning document and is not one of the report types PlanScope produces. It sits outside the planning application entirely.
Sequencing both processes
Run them in parallel, with the party wall process starting earlier than instinct suggests.
- At the point the drawings are fixed enough to describe the works, identify which sections of the Act are engaged and who the adjoining owners are.
- Serve notices as soon as the structural approach is settled, which can be before the planning decision, since the notice describes works rather than relying on permission.
- Allow two months from service for a section 2 notice, then 14 days for the response, then time for the surveyors to inspect and prepare the award. Six to ten weeks beyond the notice period is a realistic allowance.
- Do not start on site until both the permission and the award are in place, and keep the schedule of condition with the build file.
One honest uncertainty: how long the surveyor stage takes varies a great deal with how engaged the adjoining owner is, and there is no statutory deadline for an award. That is the part of the programme you cannot control, which is why it should start first.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. For the planning side of a householder scheme, the full list of report types shows which documents an authority is likely to ask for.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a party wall notice if I have planning permission?
Permission is irrelevant to the question. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies to the works themselves, so if you are building on the line of junction, cutting into a party structure or excavating close to a neighbouring foundation, a notice is required whether or not permission was needed or granted. The two regimes operate independently.
Does a rear extension trigger a party wall notice?
Very often, through section 6 rather than section 2. Excavating within 3 metres of a neighbouring building to a depth below its foundations engages the Act, and so does excavating within 6 metres where the dig cuts a line drawn down at 45 degrees from the bottom of those foundations. A standard strip foundation close to a boundary usually qualifies.
What happens if my neighbour does not reply to the notice?
After 14 days dissent is deemed and a dispute arises, which moves the matter into the surveyor procedure. That is the usual outcome and it is not a refusal. The surveyors produce an award setting out how the works are to be carried out. There is no mechanism allowing a neighbour to veto works covered by the Act.
Who pays the party wall surveyors?
The building owner normally pays the reasonable fees of both surveyors, because the works are for that owner's benefit. It is a default rather than an absolute rule, and the award allocates costs. Appointing a single agreed surveyor to act impartially for both owners is usually quicker and less expensive than two appointments.
How long should I allow for the party wall process?
Allow the statutory notice period, which is two months for works to a party structure and one month for excavation or a wall on the line of junction, then 14 days for the response, then time for inspection and the award. Six to ten weeks beyond the notice period is realistic, and there is no statutory deadline for an award.
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.