A framework for certain building works
The Act applies in England and Wales, not Scotland or Northern Ireland. It gives building owners statutory rights to carry out particular works while creating a procedure intended to protect adjoining owners. It is not a general building permission system.
The three broad areas it covers
- Work to an existing party wall or party structure.
- Building a new wall at or astride the line of junction.
- Certain excavations within three or six metres of a neighbouring building or structure, depending on their depth and relationship to the existing foundations. Proximity alone does not establish that section 6 applies.
What it means for you
If the work is notifiable, you should normally receive formal notice. Depending on the type of notice and your response, surveyors may then be appointed to resolve the statutory dispute and make an award.
What it is not
The Act is separate from planning permission, Building Regulations, boundary ownership and most private-law disputes. It does not give an adjoining owner a general veto over lawful development.
Use the Act to understand and manage the notifiable works, rather than treating it as a general mechanism for controlling your neighbour’s project.