Faulkner Surveyors For Party Wall Agreement Poole
Planning building work near a shared wall or boundary in Poole?
If your project affects a wall or structure that you and your neighbour both use, you may need a Party Wall Agreement in Poole.
At Faulkner Surveyors, we make the process simple. We help both you and your neighbour understand exactly what work is being planned—and how it’s being handled fairly.
A Party Wall Agreement protects the rights of everyone involved and helps prevent misunderstandings, damage, or disputes down the line.
What Exactly Is a Party Wall, and When Does Poole Law Require an Agreement?
A party wall is simply a wall that you share with a neighbour. This could be:
The wall between two semi-detached or terraced houses
A boundary wall between two properties
A floor or ceiling between flats in a converted building
Under the Party Wall Act (which applies in Poole just like everywhere else in England and Wales), if you plan to carry out work that affects that shared structure, you’re legally required to serve a Party Wall Notice and possibly agree on a Party Wall Award before work begins.
Here are some common examples of when the Act applies:
Building a new wall on or near the boundary
Cutting into a party wall (e.g. to insert steel beams)
Raising or lowering the height of a party wall
Demolishing or rebuilding part of a party structure
Excavating within 3–6 metres of a neighbouring building, depending on depth
It’s not just major building work—even little changes to a shared wall might need an agreement. The idea is to keep things fair and make sure your neighbour knows what’s going on before anything starts.
Am I a Building Owner or an Adjoining Owner in Poole?
It can be very confusing some time, but you do not need to worry. below are easy way to figure out:
1. You’re the building owner , if you are the one who is doing the work. That could mean building an extension, converting your loft, or digging near a boundary.
Whether you fully own the place or you’re just leasing it, you’re the one responsible for sending out the Party Wall Notice and following the proper steps.
2. You’re the adjoining owner , if your property shares a wall, boundary, or structure with the building where the work is planned.
You don’t need to take action unless you get a Party Wall Notice—but once you do, you have rights that the building owner must respect.
Some time you can be both, a building owner and adjoining owner. Then things can get a bit tangled, but you do not need to worry about it Faulkner-Surveyors are here to help you.
What Happens If My Neighbour Says Yes, No, or Nothing at All?
Once a Party Wall Notice is served, your neighbour (the adjoining owner) has three options:
1. Give consent in writing – If they’re happy with the proposed work, they can give written permission, and usually, no further action is needed. However, we still recommend a Schedule of Condition to protect both parties.
2. Dissent and appoint a surveyor – If they’re unsure or concerned, they can say no (this is called “dissenting”) and appoint their own surveyor. You’ll also need one, and the two surveyors will work together to draft a Party Wall Award.
3. Do nothing – If they don’t respond within 14 days, it’s automatically treated as a dissent. This doesn’t block your project—it just means you’ll need to move forward with surveyors to get things properly documented and agreed.
The good news is, a dissent doesn’t mean there’s a problem. It just means your neighbour wants some peace of mind—and that is what the Party Wall process is there for.
How Do I Document and Monitor Works on the Party Wall?
The best way to avoid arguments later on is to get everything properly recorded before the work even starts—and that’s exactly what a Schedule of Condition is for.
It’s a detailed report, often with photos, showing the current state of your neighbour’s property.
Cracks, marks, damp patches, whatever is already there, we make a note of it. So if there’s ever a claim of damage later, you’ve got clear proof of what was (or wasn’t) there before the work began.
It just helps keep things fair and clear for everyone. Once that is done, a Party Wall Award is drawn up by the appointed surveyor(s).
This legal paper (called a Party Wall Award ) explains:
What work is going to be done
How the work should be carried out
If workers need to go onto the neighbour’s property
When the work will happen and what hours they’ll be working
A record of what the neighbour’s property looked like before the work started (called a Schedule of Condition )
While the work is going on, the surveyor might come and check on things—especially if any problems come up.
And if something does get damaged, the Award helps solve the issue fairly, without needing to go to court.