Your main rights
- To be given proper notice before notifiable work starts
- To have a dispute settled by surveyors, including one you choose
- To have your property recorded before work begins, if surveyors are appointed
- To have damage made good or be paid compensation for it
- Not to suffer unnecessary inconvenience from the work
- To request security for expenses before work starts, in appropriate cases
- To ask for extra work to be included through a counter notice, if you have your own plans
- To challenge an award in the county court, within 14 days
What you cannot do
You cannot use the Act to stop the work or to change the design for reasons unrelated to the wall, such as appearance or light. Those belong in the planning process.
Making your rights count
- Reply to any notice within 14 days
- Point out existing cracks, damp or weak spots so they are recorded
- Tell the surveyor about anything that matters to you, such as working from home or a nursery-age child who naps
- Keep a note of problems during the work and report them promptly
If a notice has just arrived, our companion site explains how to reply.
Where this comes from in the Act
- Section 4: Counter notices
- Section 7: Compensation etc.
- Section 8: Rights of entry
- Section 10: Resolution of disputes
- Section 12: Security for expenses
Links go to the official text of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 on legislation.gov.uk.