Basements, extensions and new foundations next door are among the most worrying things a property owner can face. If the work involves digging close to your building and below its foundations, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies, and it gives you real protections.
Notice and your right to respond
Under section 6, a building owner who plans to excavate within three metres of your building and below its foundations, or within six metres in some cases, must give you at least one month’s notice. You can consent, or dissent and appoint a surveyor. The surveyors decide who pays the reasonable costs of the process, and where the work is solely for the building owner’s benefit, that is normally the building owner.
Protections an award can include
- A schedule of condition recording your building before work starts, so any damage can be identified.
- Method statements for the excavation and temporary works, reviewed before work begins.
- Movement monitoring, with trigger levels at which the work must slow down or stop, where the risk justifies it.
- Working hours, access and insurance set out in writing.
- Security for expenses under section 12, so money is available if the work is left unfinished.
Proportionate, not excessive
Not every project needs every protection. A single storey extension with shallow foundations is not a two storey basement. The surveyors’ job is to agree protections in proportion to the risk, and to resolve disputes impartially, following the RICS professional standard Party wall legislation and procedure.
When the work is finished
The neighbouring property should be inspected against the schedule of condition, and any damage dealt with under the award. Security held under section 12 should be released only when the work is shown to be complete and safe.
For a plain English overview, see the government’s guide Party walls and building work and its explanatory booklet on the Act.
See our Party Wall Matters service.