Party Wall Agreement Birmingham: notices, schedules & awards
Planning an extension or loft conversion in Birmingham, or been served a party wall notice? Local, fully qualified RICS and FPWS surveyors serve your notices and get you a party wall agreement at a fixed fee, invoiced on completion.
- Notices for all your neighbours: £150 + VAT
- Professionally qualified: RICS · FPWS · CABE
- Free initial advice for building & adjoining owners
Do I need a party wall agreement in Birmingham?
When you carry out works covered by the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, you as the Building Owner have to serve notices and get consent from the neighbouring Adjoining Owners. If consent isn’t given, the matter is deemed to be in dispute and surveyors must be appointed to resolve it with a Party Wall Award. In everyday use, either the consent or the award is your “party wall agreement”.
From notice to agreement in four steps
The Building Owner (the person doing the works) has to serve notice and get consent from each Adjoining Owner before work starts.
Talk to your neighbour
We always advise speaking to the Adjoining Owner before notices are served, so they know what to expect.
We serve the notices
We prepare and serve the correct notices after Land Registry checks, with a consent form and a stamped envelope.
Neighbour consents, or a Schedule
If they consent, you can proceed. We always recommend a Schedule of Condition to record their property before work starts.
Award if there’s a dispute
If they don’t consent within 14 days, a dispute is deemed to have arisen and surveyors settle it with a Party Wall Award.
Which notices do common projects need?
Typical only. The 1-minute checker or a free call will confirm what applies.
The party wall timeline
Section 1 and 6 notices: at least 1 month before work. Section 3 notices: at least 2 months.
0
Notices served
Served on every adjoining owner, at least 1 or 2 months before work depending on the section.
days
Consent or dissent
Your neighbour has 14 days to consent. For Section 3 and 6 notices, no reply means a deemed dispute.
days
Request to appoint
A further notice under s10(4) gives them 10 days to appoint a surveyor, or one can be appointed on their behalf.
Schedule of Condition
The neighbour’s property is inspected and photographed to record its condition.
Party Wall Award
Surveyors serve the Award. Either owner may appeal to the county court within 14 days.
Work starts
Once the notice period has run and consent or an Award is in place.
Source: Party Wall etc. Act 1996, ss.1, 3, 5, 6 and 10 (legislation.gov.uk). General guidance only; we’ll confirm what applies to your project.
Everyone starts with notices
The rest of the process depends on how your neighbour responds, so you only pay for what’s actually needed. No hourly billing, no travel charges and nothing to pay up front: every fee is fixed and invoiced on completion.
Party Wall Notices: £150 + VAT (£180 inc VAT)
One fee covers ALL your neighbours, including Land Registry checks, bespoke notices, explanatory notes, a consent form, a stamped reply envelope and follow-up ‘Ten Day Notices’ if needed.
What happens next depends on your neighbour’s response
Neighbour consents
- Your neighbour signs the consent form
- The consent is your Party Wall Agreement
- You can proceed with the works
- We still recommend a Schedule of Condition to protect you
Consents, subject to a Schedule of Condition
- Notices for all neighbours + Land Registry checks
- Site inspection of your neighbour’s property
- Detailed photographic Schedule of Condition
- Protects you against claims for damage that was already there
- Each additional Schedule: £399 + VAT (£478.80 inc)
Neighbour dissents: an Award is needed
- Notices for all neighbours + Land Registry checks
- 1 Schedule of Condition
- 1 Party Wall Award
- Sets working hours, access & damage provisions
Agreed Surveyor — we act for both owners
£50 + VAT Currently waived
| Total with Agreed Surveyor | + VAT | inc VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Full package | £899 | £1,078.80 |
| London | £999 | £1,198.80 |
No extra cost while the waiver runs.
70% of our projects use one surveyor acting for both.
DIY notices at partywall-notices.co.uk
Our sister service, also run by Konstruction (UK) Ltd, helps you prepare and serve your own party wall notices correctly, with templates for Section 1, 3 and 6.
Schedule of Condition only: £450 + VAT (£540 inc)
We’ll record your neighbour’s property before work starts. If an Award is needed later, it can be added for £400 + VAT (£480 inc) per dissenting neighbour.
Not sure how the Act applies to your project? Call free on 08000 487897 for an initial chat of up to 30 minutes.
Areas we cover in Birmingham
The same fixed fees apply across Birmingham.
Local party wall surveyors in Birmingham
Your enquiry is handled by a local qualified surveyor from our team. In Birmingham that is Carl Brady MFPWS MPTS, with 25+ years’ experience in party wall matters.
Party wall agreement questions, answered
What is a party wall agreement?
In everyday use, a party wall agreement is either your neighbour’s written consent to your party wall notice, or, if they don’t consent, a Party Wall Award drawn up by surveyors under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. Both let the work go ahead lawfully and protect both owners. The Act itself never uses the word ‘agreement’, which is why the terms get confused.
Do I need a party wall agreement?
You need to serve a party wall notice if you plan work to a shared wall (such as steel beams, a loft conversion or chimney breast removal), build a new wall on the boundary, or dig foundations within 3 or 6 metres of a neighbour’s building. You then need either their consent or an award before you start. Our free 1-minute checker tells you which notices are likely.
How much does a party wall agreement cost?
Our fees are fixed. Notices for all your neighbours cost £150 + VAT. If your neighbour consents subject to a Schedule of Condition, the total is £499 + VAT. If an award is needed, the total is £899 + VAT (£999 + VAT in London) for domestic extensions and loft conversions. Every fee is invoiced on completion.
What is a party wall notice?
A party wall notice is the formal letter the Act requires a building owner to serve on each adjoining owner before starting notifiable work. There are three types: a Section 1 line of junction notice, a Section 3 party structure notice and a Section 6 notice of adjacent excavation. Each has a minimum notice period of one or two months.
Can I use a party wall notice template?
Yes. You can serve notices yourself, but self-served notices are often invalid, and an invalid notice can delay your build. If you want to do it yourself, our sister service partywall-notices.co.uk gives you correctly worded templates. Otherwise we can serve them for all your neighbours for £150 + VAT.
What happens if my neighbour doesn’t respond to the notice?
If there’s no reply within 14 days, a dispute is deemed to have arisen. We then serve a further notice giving them 10 days to appoint a surveyor (s10(4)). If they still don’t, a surveyor can be appointed on their behalf, and the award is made in the usual way.
Who pays for the neighbour’s surveyor?
Normally the building owner carrying out the works pays the reasonable fees of the adjoining owner’s surveyor (s10(13)). That is why it usually costs a neighbour nothing to get a party wall agreement that protects them.
Do I pay online or up front?
No. We don’t take payment online. Each fee is fixed and quoted in advance, and the surveyor who handles your job invoices you on completion.
Does the Party Wall Act apply to your project in Birmingham?
Tell us about your project and a local qualified surveyor from our team will confirm which party wall notices you need and your fixed fee. Nothing to pay until the work is done.