Fixed Price Party Wall Surveyors

We find it easiest and clearest to offer our clients straight-forward fixed party wall surveyor fees. By coupling this with clear communication throughout the party wall process, we allow our clients to budget as accurately as possible.

Our Party Wall Surveyor Cost Structure is as Follows:

1. For liaising with your design team (your architect and structural engineer) on the drawing details, conducting the appropriate Land Registry searches and serving all the appropriate Notices with accompanying plans, £85 per notice.

2. For the preparation of a schedule of condition, a highly advisable step that helps avoid potentially costly future disputes, £480 per schedule.

3. For the preparation of a formal award should a neighbour dissent to any of the Notices, £580 per Award. Where an Award for a leasehold interest is largely similar to an Award for a freehold interest in the same building, we charge £300 for the subsequent leasehold Award (this only applies where leaseholders and freeholders of the same building choose to use the same surveyor – where each use a separate surveyor, each Award will be individually negotiated and will be charged at full price).

4. For any other input, including negotiating terms of consent, negotiating and drafting licenses for anything that falls outside of the ambit of the Act, negotiating terms of access, visiting the site during or after construction etc, we charge an hourly party wall surveyor fee of £135.

The above fees are inclusive of reasonable disbursements other than Land Registry searches. I charge more for basements as the scope of work is so much more - please get in touch to discuss. Note that VAT is payable on all above sums.

If your neighbour consents to the works, I will charge paragraphs 1 and 2 above for each neighbour. If a neighbour dissents I will also charge paragraph 3 for that neighbour. Generally speaking it is rare for me to charge anything outside my fixed fee, but if I believe any further costs may be payable (under paragraph 4 above), I will let you know in advance and will explain your options.

Further Costs

You should be aware that the fixed price party wall surveyor cost above represents my fees only. There are other costs that you may become liable for throughout the party wall process and these are outlined below:

1. If any of your neighbours appoint their own surveyor you will be liable to pay their fees also, and for this you should budget between £1,500 – £2,200 + VAT per neighbour.

2. If your works require particularly complex excavations, such as basements or large-scale underpinning, it is usual to appoint a further independent structural engineer to check the drawings, known as a checking engineer. You will be liable for this cost and should budget around £1,200 - £1,500 + VAT.

3. If you are building a wall off an existing wall previously built by your neighbour, you may have to pay that neighbour 50% of the current-day cost of building that wall. This is known as an enclosure payment. I can explain this in further detail if needed.

4. Your neighbours have the right to request a payment from you to take account of potential future damage, or the cost of making good your works in the instance that you abandon them mid-way. This payment is known as Security for Expenses. The money is held in a professionally-managed escrow account and the company that holds the money charges an administration fee which you will have to pay. The sum of this fee is dependent upon the size of the payment. While this is generally not appropriate for most small-scale works, for larger works such as basements these payments become more prevalent. If your works are completed and have caused no damage to the neighbouring properties, this sum is returned (less the administration fee).

All the above costs will be explained clearly to you if your works require so that you have a clear understanding of the party wall surveyor fees you will be liable for early on in your project.