Neighbour Started Work Without a Party Wall Agreement?

My Neighbour Has Started Work Without a Party Wall Agreement — What Now?

If your neighbour has begun notifiable works — cutting into the shared wall, digging foundations for an extension, removing a chimney breast — without serving you a party wall notice, you are not powerless. But your options, and how quickly you use them, matter.

Step 1: Check the Work Is Actually Notifiable

Not every project needs a notice. Painting, plastering, shallow drilling and most internal work do not. Works to the party structure itself, new walls at the boundary, and excavation within 3 or 6 metres (see our 3 and 6 metre rule guide) generally do.

Step 2: Raise It in Writing, Fast

Write to your neighbour immediately, noting the works, the date you noticed them and the absence of any notice. Many building owners genuinely do not know the Act exists; most disputes settle at this stage once a surveyor becomes involved and a retrospective schedule of condition is agreed.

Step 3: Injunction as a Last Resort

Where works continue and risk your property, the courts can grant an injunction stopping them — often within days. Critically, a building owner who ignored the Act loses its protections: if damage occurs, the burden effectively shifts to them to prove they did not cause it.

Evidence Wins These Disputes

Photograph everything, date every message, and get a chartered surveyor’s assessment early. Our expert witness team regularly acts in party wall disputes that reach court. Call Prince Surveyors today for urgent, practical advice.