Shared boundary walls are the defining feature of Surbiton’s older streets, so the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 deserves a straight explanation. Excavating a post foundation within 3 metres of a neighbouring building or structure, deeper than that structure’s foundations, requires a Section 6 notice served at least one month before work starts. A Victorian garden wall often has footings barely below the turf, so a raised deck’s foundations can genuinely engage this rule even a couple of metres inside your own garden.
Equally relevant in Surbiton: fixing to the wall itself. A shared garden wall astride the boundary is a party fence wall, and cutting into it, bearing a beam on it or raising it needs notice under the Act. Our default is to design decks freestanding, clear of the walls, which usually keeps the project outside the Act entirely. Where bearing on a wall is genuinely the better solution, we say so, explain the notice process, and build only once the position with your neighbour is settled. A notice is a notification with a 14-day response window, not a request for planning permission, and most are consented without dispute.
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is a legal framework between neighbours. This is general guidance, not legal advice. Where a project engages the Act, we recommend confirming the position with a party wall surveyor.
