The timeline when a neighbour stays silent
| Day | What happens | Act |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Notice served on you | s.3, s.6(5), s.15 |
| Day 14 | No reply: you are deemed to have dissented, and a dispute is deemed to have arisen | s.5, s.6(7) |
| After day 14 | The building owner (or their surveyor) serves a written request asking you to appoint a surveyor within 10 days | s.10(4)(b) |
| 10 days after the request | If you still have not appointed, the building owner may appoint a surveyor on your behalf | s.10(4) |
| Following weeks | The two surveyors select a third surveyor, inspect, prepare a Schedule of Condition and agree an Award | s.10(1)(b), s.10(10) |
| Award served | You have 14 days to appeal to the county court if you disagree | s.10(14), s.10(17) |
What deemed dissent means
Deemed dissent is not a penalty. It simply means the Act treats the matter as one for surveyors. The words of s.5 are that if an owner served with a party structure notice does not serve a notice indicating consent within 14 days beginning with the day of service, “he shall be deemed to have dissented from the notice and a dispute shall be deemed to have arisen”. s.6(7) says the same for excavation notices.
You cannot be deemed to have consented. Consent under the Act must be positive and in writing.
The 10-day request and the s.10(4) appointment
Once a dispute exists, both owners should either agree on an Agreed Surveyor or each appoint their own. If you neglect to appoint a surveyor for 10 days beginning with the day the other party serves a request on you, “the other party may make the appointment on his behalf” (s.10(4)). The surveyor appointed for you has the same duties as one you choose: they must act impartially, inspect your property and make sure the Award properly deals with the work. Their reasonable fees are normally paid by the building owner (s.10(13)).
The practical drawback is that you have not chosen them, may not have met them, and may not have told them your concerns. You can still contact them, give them access, and share information about your property. Doing so is strongly in your interests.
Line of junction notices are different
For a s.1 notice to build a new party wall straddling the boundary, the question is whether you consent to the wall being partly on your land. If you do not consent within 14 days, the building owner may only build the wall at their own expense, wholly on their own land (s.1(4)). They may still place projecting footings under your land where necessary, between one and twelve months after the notice (s.1(6)), and must compensate you for any damage (s.1(7)). Any dispute is resolved under s.10 (s.1(8)).
Why ignoring a notice is a mistake
- You lose the choice of surveyor. The building owner chooses for you.
- Your concerns may not be recorded. If you do not give access for the Schedule of Condition, the record of your property may be incomplete, which can make later damage claims harder.
- Access can be required anyway. Surveyors may enter your land during usual working hours to carry out their duties, after the building owner gives notice (s.8(5), s.8(6)). Refusing entry knowingly can be an offence (s.16).
- The Award still binds you. Unless appealed within 14 days, it is conclusive (s.10(16)).
- Time runs against appeals. If you also ignore the Award, the 14-day appeal window closes quickly.
Mr G owns a rented house and lives overseas. A notice for a rear extension with s.6 foundations is posted to his letting agent and to the property, addressed to “the owner”. He does not reply. Fourteen days later a dispute is deemed to have arisen; the building owner’s surveyor sends a 10-day request, then appoints a surveyor for Mr G under s.10(4). That surveyor arranges access through the tenant, records the condition of the house and agrees an Award. When Mr G returns months later, he contacts his appointed surveyor, who confirms that the final inspection found no damage. The process protected him, but he had no say in who acted or what was recorded.
This is an illustrative scenario to show how the Act works in practice. It is not a real case, and the outcome on any real project depends on its own facts.
If you have just found an old notice
- Check the date of service and whether 14 days have passed.
- If not, reply now with your chosen option.
- If 14 days have passed but you have not received a 10-day request, you can still appoint your own surveyor or concur in an Agreed Surveyor. Write to the building owner immediately.
- If a surveyor has been appointed on your behalf, contact them, introduce yourself and arrange access.
- If an Award has been served, read it at once: you have 14 days from service to appeal (s.10(17)).
Related: the 14-day rule, the s.10(4) ten-day request and what to do when you receive a notice.
Key points
- Silence is deemed dissent for s.3 and s.6 notices; it is never consent.
- A 10-day written request precedes any appointment on your behalf under s.10(4).
- The surveyor appointed for you must act impartially and the building owner normally pays.
- You keep your right to compensation for damage (s.7(2)) and your right to appeal the Award (s.10(17)).
- Engaging early gives you control over who acts and what is recorded.
If you are simply busy or unsure, a one-line reply consenting subject to a Schedule of Condition, or asking for more time to consider while appointing an Agreed Surveyor, is far better than saying nothing.
What the appointed surveyor will do
A surveyor appointed for you under s.10(4) will write to you, ask for access to prepare a Schedule of Condition, review the drawings with the building owner’s surveyor, and agree an Award. If you engage, tell them about anything you are worried about, such as fragile ceilings or a garden wall, so it is addressed.
Owners who cannot be traced
Where the adjoining owner genuinely cannot be found, notices can be addressed to “the owner” of the premises and delivered there or fixed to a conspicuous part of the premises (s.15(2)). The deemed dispute and s.10(4) procedure then follow in the normal way, and the surveyor appointed on the absent owner’s behalf records the property and agrees the Award.
How we can help
We have handled party wall matters on more than 750 projects, acting for building owners and adjoining owners. If you have received a notice, we can prepare a Schedule of Condition of your property, act as Agreed Surveyor for both owners, or act as your own surveyor. In the normal case the building owner pays the reasonable surveyors’ fees, including ours when we act for you (s.10(13)). Call free on 08000 487897 or see your options as a neighbour.
- Received a notice? Your options as an adjoining owner
- Fixed fees: party wall agreement cost
- Do I need a party wall agreement? (1-minute check)
Areas we cover include Party Wall Agreement Surrey · Party Wall Agreement Sussex · Party Wall Agreement Birmingham and more.
Sources: Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (legislation.gov.uk) · The Party Wall etc. Act 1996: explanatory booklet (GOV.UK) · Faculty of Party Wall Surveyors (FPWS). Last reviewed 27 October 2026. General guidance on the law in England and Wales, not legal advice.