The short answer
It is legally possible to prepare and serve your own party wall notices, but whether it is wise depends on the work, your grasp of the Act and how likely your neighbour is to have concerns. For simple, low-risk jobs it can be manageable; for anything structural, contentious or time-sensitive, a surveyor is usually safer and cheaper overall.
Why it matters
The Act may apply where you build a new wall at or astride the boundary, work to a party wall, party fence wall or other party structure, or excavate close to and below a neighbour’s foundations. A notice must be valid — served on the correct owner, containing the required information, at the correct time. If it is wrong, the process can stall and the neighbour may lose confidence and seek their own advice, which the building owner then usually pays for. A proper schedule of condition is also valuable evidence if damage is later alleged.
What to do now
- Confirm whether the Act actually applies to your work.
- Identify the correct notice type, the correct owners to serve, and the correct notice period.
- For simple jobs you may serve yourself — keep proof of service and a copy of everything.
- For excavation, structural alterations, chimney breast removal, loft conversions, steel beams or basement works, instruct a surveyor.
- Arrange a schedule of condition before work starts.
Common mistakes
- Serving an incomplete or inaccurate notice, or serving the wrong person.
- Underestimating a project’s complexity and going DIY on structural work.
- Alarming an anxious neighbour with a poorly drafted notice, prompting dissent.
- Skipping the schedule of condition and weakening your position on a later damage claim.
When to call Coburns
If your project is structural, near the boundary, involves a party wall, or your neighbour is already concerned, send us your plans and we will confirm what notices are needed and prepare them correctly.