The short answer
It depends on the repair. If the remedial work does not itself fall within section 1, 2 or 6, no fresh notice is usually needed — and where the building owner’s contractor repairs damage from notifiable works, the existing award or the surveyors’ continuing jurisdiction over damage is often enough.
Why it matters
Ordinary plaster repair, decoration or making good inside the adjoining owner’s property will not normally need a new notice; but if the repair involves notifiable work, the position needs more care. Repairs by the building owner’s contractor are usually treated as part of their duty to make good or compensate. If the adjoining owner wants their own contractor, it depends on the scope: simple making good is unlikely to need a fresh notice, but cutting into or altering a party structure should be authorised by agreement, a further award or, sometimes, a fresh notice. Owners can agree practical arrangements, but genuinely notifiable work should be documented clearly rather than left to an informal understanding.
What to do now
- Identify whether the repair is itself notifiable under section 1, 2 or 6.
- For damage from notifiable works, use the existing award or the surveyors’ continuing jurisdiction rather than restarting the process.
- Document any agreed arrangement with a written agreement, supplemental award or clear surveyor record.
- Apportion costs fairly where extra or improved works are done at the same time — no betterment at the building owner’s expense.
Common mistakes
- Restarting the whole party wall process for simple making good.
- Relying on an informal understanding where the repair is genuinely notifiable.
- Asking the building owner to pay for betterment or unrelated works.
When to call Coburns
If damage has occurred and you are unsure whether repairs need fresh authorisation, send us the details and we will confirm the cleanest route.