Ignoring a party wall notice: what happens next

After 14 days

For party structure and excavation notices, a dispute is treated as having arisen if you have not given written consent within 14 days. That is the law's way of making sure the work is regulated by surveyors even if you say nothing.

After a further request

Your neighbour can then write asking you to appoint a surveyor. If you do nothing for 10 days, they can appoint a surveyor to act on your behalf.

That surveyor must act impartially and properly, but they will not be someone you chose, and you will not have discussed your concerns with them.

For a new boundary wall

Where the notice concerns a new boundary wall, not agreeing within 14 days simply means the wall goes wholly on your neighbour's side. The work can still go ahead.

Why replying is better

• You choose who looks after your interests
• You can raise concerns about cracks, damp or access early
• You make sure the condition of your home is recorded before work starts
• It usually costs you nothing

If you have already missed the deadline

Do not panic. Contact your neighbour, or the surveyor named in their correspondence, as soon as you can. If no surveyor has yet been appointed for you, you may still be able to appoint your own.