Party Wall Services. Handled by Professional Surveyors.
If your neighbour has started work without a party wall notice, the works may be proceeding unlawfully, and you have clear rights. You can require them to follow the proper process, and in some cases apply for an injunction to pause the works until they do.
Most cases are fixable without court. Act calmly and early: record the condition of your property now and take advice before the matter escalates.
It means the proper process has not been followed, not that you are powerless. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires a Building Owner to serve notice before notifiable works begin. Starting work without a party wall notice is a procedural failure, and the Act gives you ways to respond.
It does not automatically make the works illegal in every sense. Some neighbours simply did not know a notice was needed; others were advised wrongly. The aim is usually to get the process back on track, not to punish. What matters is acting calmly and early. The sooner the missing process is addressed, the easier it is to protect your property and resolve the matter.
As the Adjoining Owner, your rights are real and specific, because the Act exists largely to protect you. You are entitled to a proper process before notifiable works affect your property. That includes a Schedule of Condition recording your property's state, an Award setting out how the works proceed, and protection if damage occurs.
Where works have started without a notice, you can require the Building Owner to follow the process now. If they refuse, or the works risk damage, your rights extend to applying for an injunction. These rights apply whether or not a notice was served, because the protection comes from the Act, not from the Building Owner's choices.
Yes, in the right circumstances. A party wall injunction is a court order that pauses the works until the correct process is followed. It is the strongest remedy available where a neighbour ignores the Act. A court will consider whether the works are notifiable, whether a notice was served, and whether stopping the works is proportionate. An injunction is not automatic, and courts prefer parties to resolve matters without one.
In practice, the threat of an injunction is often enough. Once a surveyor writes to the Building Owner explaining the position, most agree to follow the process rather than risk a court order and its costs.
If the works have begun next door, take these steps in order.
Most cases are resolved by agreement, and a good relationship helps.
Photograph your property now, especially any existing or new cracks, and date the images.
They may not realise that a notice was required.
A short call will confirm whether the works are notifiable.
This usually prompts the correct process.
Where works risk damage and the neighbour will not engage, this pauses them.
If you started works without serving notice, the position is recoverable, and acting now is far better than waiting. You can serve the notice late and follow the process retrospectively. Stop any notifiable works that are under way, then have a surveyor serve the correct notice and prepare a Schedule of Condition and Award. Putting the process in place protects you from a damage claim you cannot defend.
The risk of doing nothing is real. An Adjoining Owner can seek an injunction, and without a Schedule of Condition, any damage claim is far harder to resist. The biggest practical problem is that missing baseline record: a surveyor can still record the property's current state, even mid-works, which is far better than nothing.
In almost all cases where works have started without a notice, yes. A party wall surveyor confirms whether the works are notifiable, writes to the Building Owner, and puts the correct process in place. A surveyor can act for either side: for the Adjoining Owner, they protect your property and rights; for the Building Owner, they put the missing process right before it becomes a dispute.
At LENIO, a Chartered Civil and Building Engineer (ICE and CABE) handles these situations regularly and leads every instruction personally.
It is a failure to follow a legal process rather than a criminal offence. The Act requires notice before notifiable works, and starting without one breaches that duty, exposing the Building Owner to an injunction and to damage claims. It is unlawful in the civil sense, not the criminal one.
You cannot physically stop the works, and you should not try. The proper route is a surveyor's letter and, if necessary, an injunction from the County Court. Most neighbours respond to a clear letter explaining the legal position; court is the backstop, not the first step.
Quickly, but calmly. The sooner you record your property's condition and raise the issue, the stronger your position, especially if damage later appears. Acting early also makes an injunction more likely to succeed if it becomes necessary.
No, you still have options, though they change once works are complete. You can no longer pause the works, but you can still pursue a damage claim if your property was affected. This is where the lack of a Schedule of Condition hurts most; a surveyor can advise on the best evidence available.
Where the Building Owner has failed to follow the process, they generally bear the cost of putting it right, including reasonable surveyor's fees, and they carry the risk and cost of any injunction. The Adjoining Owner should not be left out of pocket for protecting rights the Building Owner ignored.
It does not have to. Most disputes come from silence, not from a calm, early conversation backed by the correct process. Framing it as getting the paperwork right, rather than a confrontation, usually keeps things civil, and a surveyor acting reasonably for both sides helps protect the relationship.
Send your details and a LENIO chartered surveyor will confirm your position and the next step, with free initial advice and no obligation.
