If you are planing on doing a loft conversion, extension or a basement excavation and you know about your party wall obligations, you are probably asking yourself what the party wall agreement cost (also called the party wall award) will be.
It is a very good question indeed because these costs can quickly escalate if you have multiple neighbours and this cost is often forgotten until your architect or builder mentions it to you.
This spend needs to be included in your overall budget at an early stage because it can cost you thousands of pounds.
The party wall agreement cost will depend on a few factors, namely the nature of the works you will want to do; the answer that your neighbour will give to your party wall notice (i.e. consent or dissent); your location; and the experience of the surveyor you and your neighbour (if this is the case) have appointed.
A question that surveyors get all the time is who pays for a party wall surveyor? To put it bluntly, its the Building Owner. Please note that if your neighbours (the Adjoining Owners) decide to appoint their own surveyor, you will have to cover these costs as well as the cost of your own surveyor. This is why we always recommend talking to your neighbours first. They’ll be more sympathetic and more likely to agree on appointing your own surveyor as Agreed Surveyor.
The friendlier your relationship with your Adjoining Owners, the lower the party wall agreement cost will be. This is because, in case your neighbours still want to appoint their own surveyor, you can discuss and agree on certain aspects of the party wall award instead of relying on the surveyors to discuss them and charging you for it.
Below is a table that gives you the estimated cost in each scenario based on an hourly rate of £120. The party wall surveyor hourly rate will vary depending on the experience of the surveyor, whether he or she is chartered and, of course, their location. In London, prices are higher than in the regions by 20% to 50% and you can pay anything from £150 to £270 or more an hour.
Even if prices seem high, the expertise that some of these surveyors will bring to the table is invaluable especially in more complex projects such as basement excavations.
Party Wall Agreement Cost
In case your neighbours agree to appoint a single surveyor that will impartially represent both of you (the Agreed Surveyor) the average party wall agreement cost will be:
| Type of work | Time Spent | Hourly Rate | Total Cost |
| Loft Conversion | 7-10 hours | £120 | £840-£1,200 |
| Extension | 9-11 hours | £120 | £1,080-£1,320 |
| Basement Excavation | 15-20 hours | £120 | £1,800-£2,400 |
In case your neighbours appoint their own surveyor (two surveyors) the average party wall agreement cost will be:
| Type of work | Time Spent – Building Owner Surveyor | Time Spent – Adjoining Owner Surveyor | Hourly rate (per surveyor) | Total Cost (for both surveyors) |
| Loft Conversion | 7-10 hours | 6-8 hours | £120 | £1,560-£2,160 |
| Extension | 9-11 hours | 7-10 hours | £120 | £1,920-£2,520 |
| Basement Excavation | 15-20 hours | 12-15 hours | £120 | £3,240-£4,200 |
Please note that the above total figures are the party wall agreement costs per adjoining owner. If you have multiple adjoining owners, the party wall agreement costs will have to be multiplied by the number of adjoining owners. If you have three or four neighbours affected by the works, the surveyor fees could quickly add up to a hefty five-figure bill.
You can however save costs on issuing the notices yourself using our do-it-yourself party wall notice creator. Answer a few questions and in a few clicks you’ll create enforceable party wall notices at no cost.
Not, only will this help you save money, it will help you better understand the process and push you to go talk to your neighbours.
Why is that a good thing? Because a lot of people ask if they can serve a party wall notice themselves. The answer is definitely yes. So once you’ve issued the notices yourself you can then deliver them to your lovely neighbours in person by hand and get the ball rolling.
Try it here.