Consent to the notified work
Consent should identify the work and drawings being accepted. Government guidance recommends discussing the proposal before serving notice, but an informal conversation is not a substitute for the written consent required by the Act. [5]
A consent is not a general release from responsibility for damage. The building owner remains subject to the Act's duties when carrying out qualifying work, including avoiding unnecessary inconvenience and compensating for resulting loss or damage. [6]
Agreeing to the work and agreeing to an early start are also separate matters. Where the neighbour is willing to shorten the applicable notice period, record that agreement clearly rather than inferring it from an otherwise positive reply. [7][8]
Dissent and the surveyor route
For party structure and excavation notices, a neighbour may withhold consent and have the disputed matters dealt with under section 10. No written consent within 14 days also triggers a deemed dispute under those routes. [2][3]
Dissent is not necessarily opposition to the whole project. It may mean the neighbour wants the method, safeguards or potential damage arrangements settled in an award. The owners can agree on one surveyor, or each appoint one, with the two surveyors selecting a third. [4]
The procedure deals with rights and disputes arising under the Act. It does not give surveyors a general power to approve the planning merits of an extension or settle every unrelated disagreement between neighbours. [4]
Counter-notices are more specific
Section 4 allows an adjoining owner served with a party structure notice to request certain additional work for their convenience. The statutory examples include specified works to the party wall or structure and particular requirements for special foundations to which the adjoining owner consents. [1]
A counter-notice must be served within one month of service of the party structure notice and include plans, sections and particulars. It is not just another name for an objection email. The building owner need not comply where the statutory exceptions, such as injury or unnecessary delay, apply. [1]
The cost of work requested or required by the adjoining owner can fall on that owner. Discuss the engineering and cost consequences before treating a counter-notice as a free opportunity to enlarge the neighbour's project. [6]
New boundary walls follow different rules
A neighbour's written consent is needed for a new wall to stand astride the boundary. Without it, section 1 allows the building owner to pursue a wall wholly on their own land instead, subject to the section's requirements. [9]
Silence on a notice for a wall wholly on the building owner's side does not automatically create the same deemed dispute as silence on a party structure notice. An actual dispute can still arise. Establish the notice type before explaining the consequences of any response. [9]