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Free Party Wall Notice Templates
If your building work affects a wall you share with a neighbour, a boundary, or the ground close to their home, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 says you must give them written notice before you start.
You can serve the notices yourself. Our templates are free Word documents in plain English. The first page of each one explains when to use it, how to fill it in and how to serve it, and you delete that page before you send it.
Pick the notice that matches your work below. Some projects need more than one: a loft conversion with steel beams into the party wall usually needs a party structure notice, and if the same job includes an extension with new foundations near next door, you may need an excavation notice as well. Not sure? Read our guide to the Party Wall Act, or just ask us. Advice is free.
Choose your notice
Each picture shows the kind of work the notice is for. Click the button underneath to download the template.
SECTION 3 NOTICE · AT LEAST 2 MONTHS BEFORE WORK
Party Structure Notice
For work to a wall you share with your neighbour. Typical examples are cutting in steel beams for a loft conversion, removing chimney breasts, putting in a damp proof course, or raising, thickening or underpinning the wall.
SECTION 1 NOTICE · AT LEAST 1 MONTH BEFORE WORK
Line of Junction Notice
For building a new wall on the boundary, or right up against it, where the boundary isn't built on now, apart perhaps from a simple garden wall belonging to one of you. The most common example is the side wall of a new rear extension built right up to the boundary, but it also covers new garden walls.
SECTION 6 NOTICE · AT LEAST 1 MONTH BEFORE WORK
Excavation within 3 metres
For digging within 3 metres of your neighbour's building, deeper than the bottom of their foundations. New foundations for an extension are the most common example. Older houses often have shallow foundations, so even an ordinary trench can be enough.
SECTION 6 NOTICE · AT LEAST 1 MONTH BEFORE WORK
Excavation within 6 metres
For deeper digging within 6 metres of your neighbour's building, where the hole would cut a line drawn down at 45 degrees from the bottom of their foundations. Basements and deep piled foundations are the usual examples. It uses the same template as the 3 metre notice.
Also worth sending
Put these in the envelope with your notice. They make it easier for your neighbour to reply, and a friendly letter usually gets a quicker, calmer answer.
Neighbour's Response Form
Gives your neighbour their choices in one place, with tick boxes and space to sign.
Covering Letter to Your Neighbour
A short, polite letter explaining the notice in everyday words.
Before you serve a notice
Serve every owner
That means the freeholder and anyone with a lease of more than a year, not just the person living there. Get the names and addresses from HM Land Registry for a small fee rather than guessing. The guidance page in each template explains the ways you can serve it.
What happens next
Your neighbour has 14 days to reply. If they consent in writing, you can start once the notice period has run out, or sooner if they agree to that in writing too. If they don't agree, or don't reply to a party structure or excavation notice, the Act treats that as a dispute, and a party wall surveyor needs to make an award before the work goes ahead. A line of junction notice is different: no reply simply means no consent, and you can then only build the wall wholly on your own land.
If it goes wrong
A notice served on the wrong people, with too little notice or with key details missing may not be valid, and that can hold up your builders. If you'd rather not take the risk, we can prepare and serve the notices for you for a small fixed fee. See our fees page.
Looking for a party wall agreement template?
There isn't one. What people call a party wall agreement is either your neighbour's written consent to the notice, or a party wall award drawn up by surveyors when they don't consent. An award is written for the particular work and the particular houses, so it can't come from a template.
The government also publishes guidance on the Act: gov.uk/guidance/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance.
Please read. These templates and the guidance in them are free and for general information only. They are not legal advice, and using them does not make Bluegrass Surveying your surveyor or adviser. Every property is different, so check the notice fits your situation before you serve it. To the extent the law allows, we accept no responsibility for notices served using these templates. You're welcome to use them for your own building project, but please don't sell them or charge others for them.
Need a hand?
Whether you want a quick question answered or the whole thing handled for you, get in touch. London 020 3633 1430 · East Anglia 01473 845191 · info@bluegrass-surveying.com