Can I serve a party wall notice myself? (DIY vs surveyor)

Serving your own notice can save money on simple projects with friendly neighbours. It can also cost you months if a defective notice has to be re-served. This guide sets out what the Act actually requires, how to serve, and when it is worth handing over to a surveyor.

What the Act requires of a notice

The Act does not prescribe a form, but it does prescribe content. Get any of these wrong and the notice may be invalid.

Section 3 party structure notice (works to a party wall)

• Your name and address as building owner (s.3(1)(a)). If the property is jointly owned, name every owner.
• The nature and particulars of the proposed work (s.3(1)(b)), including plans, sections and details of any special foundations and the loads they carry.
• The date the work will begin (s.3(1)(c)), at least two months after service (s.3(2)(a)).

Section 6 notice (excavation near a neighbour)

• Your proposals, and whether you propose to underpin or otherwise strengthen or safeguard the neighbour’s foundations (s.6(5)).
• Plans and sections showing the site and depth of the excavation and the site of any new building (s.6(6)).
• Served at least one month before excavation begins (s.6(5)).

Section 1 notice (new wall on the line of junction)

• A notice indicating your desire to build and describing the intended wall, served at least one month before (s.1(2) or s.1(5)).

Our party wall notice template sets out working wording for each.

Who to serve

Serve every “owner” of each affected property. Under section 20 that includes the freeholder, anyone in receipt of rents, a leaseholder with more than a year left, and someone under contract to buy. Check the title register at HM Land Registry for each property; it costs a few pounds and avoids serving the wrong people. If the property is jointly owned, name and serve all the owners. For section 6, remember that “adjoining owner” extends to anyone within the 3 m or 6 m distance, not only the immediate neighbour.

How to serve

Section 15 allows service:

• In person, by handing it to the owner (s.15(1)(a)).
• By post to their usual or last-known residence or place of business in the UK (s.15(1)(b)).
• To a company by delivering or posting to the secretary or clerk at its registered or principal office (s.15(1)(c)).
• By email only if the recipient has stated they are willing to receive notices electronically and given an address for that purpose (s.15(1A)). An email to a neighbour who has not agreed in advance is not valid service.
• Addressed to “the owner” of the premises (naming them), delivered to someone on the premises or fixed to a conspicuous part of them (s.15(2)). Useful for empty properties or when the owner cannot be traced.

Keep proof: a certificate of posting, a photograph of the notice being fixed, or a signed acknowledgement. Many disputes start with “I never received it”.

Timing

• Two months for section 3, one month for sections 1 and 6, counted from the day of service.
• The neighbour has 14 days to consent in writing. Silence is a deemed dispute (section 5, s.6(7)).
• Notices lapse if the work does not start within twelve months and is not prosecuted with due diligence (s.3(2)(b), s.6(8)).
• Do not set the start date earlier than the notice period allows; that alone can make a notice defective.

Where DIY notices go wrong

• Only one owner named when the house is jointly owned, or only the occupier served instead of the owner.
• Vague descriptions such as “rear extension” with no detail of what is being done to the party wall.
• Section 6 notices without plans and sections, or without saying whether underpinning is proposed.
• Wrong section cited, or works under several sections squeezed into one notice without the required content for each.
• Email without prior agreement, so not validly served.
• No reply form, so the neighbour does not know how to respond and the 14 days pass into a deemed dispute.

If your neighbour dissents

A dispute is then resolved under section 10: either you both appoint one Agreed Surveyor, or each appoints their own. You cannot be your own surveyor; nor can anyone who is a party to the matter. If the neighbour fails to appoint within ten days of a written request, you can appoint for them under section 10(4). See the section 10(4) ten-day notice. You will normally pay the surveyors’ reasonable fees (s.10(13)).

When to use a surveyor from the start

• Basements, underpinning or deep foundations near the neighbour.
• Several adjoining owners, or flats with freeholders and leaseholders.
• Neighbours you expect to be cautious or who have had a bad experience before.
• Tight programmes where a defective notice would be costly.

Serving notices through us costs £150 + VAT for all your neighbours, and the notices name a surveyor who can act as Agreed Surveyor if needed, which often makes neighbours more comfortable.

DIY checklist

• Download the title registers for your property and each neighbour’s.
• Identify every section that applies to your works.
• Prepare a separate notice for each section and each owner (or each property, naming all owners).
• Attach drawings; for section 6 attach plans and sections.
• Include a reply form with the consent, consent-with-schedule and dissent options.
• Include a link to the government’s explanatory booklet.
• Serve correctly and keep proof; diary day 14 and the earliest start date.

Worked example (illustrative)

Illustrative only. Not a real case.

A couple planning a loft conversion in a semi serve their own section 3 notice on the attached neighbour, naming only one of the two owners shown on the neighbour’s title, and set a start date six weeks away. The neighbour’s surveyor later points out both defects. The couple have to re-serve correctly, and the two-month period restarts from the new service date, putting their builder’s start back by several weeks. A correctly prepared notice in the first place would have avoided the delay.

DIY or surveyor at a glance

Check first whether notice is needed at all

Minor chases for sockets and wiring are not notifiable, and roof works such as rooflights may not need notice where nothing goes into the party wall. Notice is needed for the works listed in sections 1, 2 and 6.

Sources and further reading

• Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 1: New building on line of junction (legislation.gov.uk)
• Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 3: Party structure notices (legislation.gov.uk)
• Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 5: Disputes arising under sections 3 and 4 (legislation.gov.uk)
• Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 6: Adjacent excavation and construction (legislation.gov.uk)
• Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 10: Resolution of disputes (legislation.gov.uk)
• Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 15: Service of notices etc. (legislation.gov.uk)
• Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 20: Interpretation (legislation.gov.uk)
• The Party Wall etc. Act 1996: explanatory booklet (GOV.UK)

This guide is general information on the law in England and Wales, written from our surveyors’ practical experience. It is not legal advice; for a specific dispute, take advice on your own facts.

Sources: Party Wall etc. Act 1996 (legislation.gov.uk) · The Party Wall etc. Act 1996: explanatory booklet (GOV.UK). Last reviewed 27 October 2026. General guidance on the law in England and Wales, not legal advice.