Who pays: the two rules the Act actually sets out
Two different bills, two different rules
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 does not put one price tag on a job. It separates the cost of resolving a dispute from the cost of the building work itself, and each is governed by its own section.
Section 10(13) covers the costs of the award, the document a surveyor or surveyors produce when the building owner and the adjoining owner (the neighbour whose property is affected) do not simply agree in writing. It gives the surveyors discretion to decide who pays those costs, and it states no default. There is no rule in the Act saying the building owner always pays the surveyor's fees. The surveyors making the award are the ones who decide it, case by case.
Who pays for the work itself
Section 11(1) is separate again. It makes the building owner, meaning the person carrying out the work, liable for the cost of the works described in the award. That rule sits apart from section 10(13) and is not subject to the same discretion.
So a reader asking who pays is really asking two questions at once: who pays for the surveying, and who pays for the building work. The Act answers them in different sections, with a different rule attached to each.
Where a job needs a surveyor at all is a separate decision, covered on the page about whether you need a party wall surveyor. Where the surveyor's involvement follows from a notice, the routes that notice can take are set out under what a party wall agreement actually is in law.
Telling a legal rule from a cost estimate
Anyone researching surveyor costs runs into a mix of legal rules and market figures. This sets out how to tell which one you're looking at.
| What you're looking at | What it actually is | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A section number in the ActCheck the wording against legislation.gov.uk | A rule that applies to your job whether or not anyone quotes it | Whether the section you've been told about actually matches your situation |
| A fee figure in a professional body's guideA figure moves out of date faster than a section number does | A published estimate of typical market fees, not a legal amount | Who published it and when, since fees move with the market |
| A quote from a surveyor or builderAsk for this in writing before you commit | A price for the specific job in front of you | Whether it covers one surveyor or the appointment of two |
| A line in a solicitor's letterAsk what the letter is actually citing | Often a reference to the surveyor role under section 20, not a cost | Whether it states a requirement or just estimates what you'll pay |
This is general guidance on reading the information you'll come across, not a set of published fee figures.
Who decides how the costs are split?
An award is the document surveyors produce under section 10 when the building owner and the adjoining owner (the neighbour whose property is affected by the work) haven't agreed matters between themselves. Section 10(13) gives the surveyors discretion over who pays the costs of producing that award, and it sets no default split. Nothing in the Act says the building owner always pays, or that costs are shared equally.
What the surveyors actually decide
The surveyors look at the circumstances of the dispute and allocate the costs of the award between the parties as they see fit. In practice this covers things like the surveyors' own fees, and any costs incurred in producing the award itself. Because section 10(13) leaves this open, the outcome can differ from one job to the next even where the underlying work is similar.
This is a separate question from who pays for the building work. Section 11(1) makes the building owner liable for the cost of the works themselves, including any related expenses the Act specifies. Confusing the two rules is easy, because both involve money changing hands around the same project, but they're governed by different sections and answer different questions.
Can you challenge the allocation?
An award can be appealed to the county court within fourteen days of being served, and cost allocation under section 10(13) is part of what the court can look at along with the rest of the award. Outside that route, the discretion sits with the surveyors, not with either owner unilaterally.
Whether a surveyor is needed at all, and how the two appointment routes under section 10(1) work, is set out on Do You Need a Party Wall Surveyor?. What triggers the notice that leads to an award in the first place is covered on What Is a Party Wall Agreement?.