Party wall notice deadline calculator

Work out the dates

Which notice is it? Party structure notice – work to a shared wall (section 3) Notice of adjacent excavation – digging near foundations (section 6) Line of junction notice – new wall at the boundary (section 1) Date the notice was served If it came by post, use the day it would normally have arrived. Show the key dates

How the dates are worked out

• 14 days to reply. The Act gives the neighbour 14 days beginning with the day of service. So a notice served on the 3rd must be answered by the end of the 16th.
• The notice period. Work under a party structure notice cannot start until two months after service; under a line of junction or excavation notice, one month. The neighbour can agree in writing to an earlier start.
• The 12-month limit. A party structure or excavation notice runs out if the first anniversary of service passes before any work begins, unless the work then proceeds diligently.

When was the notice served?

That depends on how it was delivered. A notice handed over in person is served that day. One sent by post is normally treated as served when it would arrive in the ordinary course of post, which is why the calculator asks for the arrival date. If a deadline is tight, do not cut it fine.