
Excavation Notice for Party Wall
What is a Party Wall Excavation Notice?
If you want to dig close to your property line, the Party Wall Act Section 6 could be relevant to you. This section regulates excavations near common boundaries.
This guide will lead you through the details of Section 6 and the concerns associated with excavations. It will explain when notices must be served and delineate the respective roles of the building and adjoining owners. It will also address some frequently asked questions about the Act and its procedures.
Section 6 of the Party Wall Act 1996 is concerned with the kinds of adjacent excavation and construction work that might be done in the UK under the Act. Specifically, it tells you what you must do before you dig (as in building a new wall) very near to the property of an adjoining owner.
Under Section 6, Building Owner must give notice to the adjoining owner. The notice is to be served on any owner of an adjoining structure if that structure is 3 metres or less from the proposed works. This is also applicable if the works go below the level of the bottom of the foundations of the structure of the adjoining owner. Building Owner also has to give notice to the adverse effect directly or indirectly that the works might have on the adjoining owner’s premises. If the structure is within 6 metres, then section 6 usually only applies if you are using piled foundations. Precisely:
- Digging within 3m of any structure owned by an adjoining owner and whose new foundations go lower than the existing foundations of the adjoining owner
- Digging within 6m of the owner’s building/structure was done horizontally, where the building owner’s proposed excavation intersected a plane drawn at a 45° angle from the bottom of the adjoining owner’s existing foundations.
Generally, the notice period is 1 month. The notice prescribed by Section 6 is to inform the adjoining owner that the Building Owner is about to undertake certain works and to invite the adjoining owner to consent or dissent to those works. If the works are to be done within the above-mentioned distance (3m or 6m, as appropriate) from the boundary, then the Building Owner must serve notice on the adjoining owner before the works start.
The notice should detail the proposed work and must be accompanied by plans and sections of the work to be done. The notice informs the adjoining owner and gives them a chance to respond if they have grounds for objection.
When do you need to serve notice
What the notice must include
Your notice should include:
- Names and contact details of both you and your neighbour
- Work description and location
- Proposed start dates
- Response options for the adjoining owner
- Information that the notice is being served under Section 6 of the Party Wall etc Act 1996
How can you Serve a Notice
There are two methods of serving the notice: it can be delivered personally to the neighbouring owner or sent by mail. Once the notice is served, the neighbouring owner has 14 days in which to respond. They can respond and either agree or disagree.


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