Party Wall Surveyor in Havering

RM1 to RM14 — Romford, Gidea Park, Hornchurch and Upminster, with larger houses, double-storey extensions and garden walls

Grey & Associates are party wall surveyors in Havering, covering RM1, RM2, RM11, RM12, RM13 and RM14, Romford, Gidea Park, Emerson Park, Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham. We act for owners building and for neighbours receiving notice. Fixed fees start at £165 + VAT per adjoining property.

Key takeaway

Havering is the outer-east borough: inter-war and post-war semi-detached housing, larger detached houses around Gidea Park, Emerson Park and Upminster, and a much higher proportion of owner-occupied freehold homes than the inner boroughs. The work is usually one neighbour and one notice, but the larger houses bring double-storey extensions, basements and garden walls.

If a notice has arrived and you own a flat in a converted house or block, the position is usually stronger than people assume: in a dispute the Building Owner pays the reasonable fees of both sides' surveyors.

What Havering cases turn on

Romford, Hornchurch and the inter-war semi

Much of Romford, Hornchurch and Rainham is 1920s to 1950s semi-detached and terraced housing. The party wall runs the full depth of the pair and into the roof, so a loft conversion, rear extension or chimney-breast removal can touch the shared structure even when the project looks self-contained.

Most cases involve one adjoining owner and sit on the fixed fee. The notice still has to be served early enough for the two-month section 2 period.

Gidea Park, Emerson Park and the larger house

Gidea Park, Emerson Park and parts of Upminster have larger detached and semi-detached houses on generous plots. Projects can include two-storey extensions, basement schemes and new build. A new wall on the line of junction is section 1; excavation below the neighbour's foundations is section 6.

On larger plots access is easier, but the structural and drainage review is more important. A basement or lower-ground scheme is priced separately after we see the plans.

Garden walls and the conservation areas

Havering has a lot of boundary-wall work, particularly around the larger houses. Rebuilding a garden wall in brick, raising it or replacing a fence with a wall can engage section 1 or the party fence wall provisions. The deeds and the physical position of the wall decide which applies.

Conservation areas, including parts of Gidea Park and Upminster, add a heritage dimension to work that would be straightforward elsewhere. The schedule should record period fabric and boundary structures.

What catches people out in Havering

  • One neighbour is the norm, but the houses are bigger. In Gidea Park and Emerson Park, the schedule should cover the roof, drainage and garden structures as well as the adjoining rooms.
  • Check garden-wall ownership. A new wall on the line of junction is section 1; an existing party fence wall is section 2.
  • Do not assume a detached house is outside the Act. Excavation close to the neighbour's structure can still be section 6 work.
  • Record the conservation-area fabric. Period finishes and boundary walls are part of the evidence in the older parts of the borough.

For the underlying law, the Party Wall Act explained sets out the framework. Our party wall notice guide, schedule of condition guide and party wall award guide cover the three documents every case runs through.

Fees for party wall work in Havering

Fixed and published: £165 + VAT per adjoining property to serve notice, £620 + VAT per Schedule of Condition, and £350 + VAT per adjoining property for an award acting for the Building Owner. A one-neighbour dispute — notices, one Schedule of Condition and the award — is £1,135 + VAT. All prices exclude VAT at 20%.

Basement and underpinning works are priced differently. Deeper excavation, more engineering input and more extensive schedules put them outside the fixed figures above. We review your plans and the proposed works first, then present a formal written quote before anything is agreed or any notice is served.

The full breakdown, including the statutory position on who pays for both sides' surveyors, is on our London party wall surveyor page. The regional hub for this page is East London.

Havering party wall questions

Do I need a party wall notice for a loft conversion in Havering?

If the work cuts into the party wall, raises it, forms a gable on the boundary or alters a shared chimney breast, yes. That is section 2 work with a two-month notice period. A scheme that stays clear of the shared structure may fall outside the Act.

My neighbour in Gidea Park is digging a basement. What are my options?

You can consent to the work, appoint a surveyor, or dissent and let the dispute process appoint one. The excavation will normally be section 6 work, and the Schedule of Condition should record your drainage, damp and existing movement before work starts.

Does a garden wall in Upminster need a party wall notice?

It depends on the wall. A new wall on the line of junction can be section 1 work; an existing party fence wall can be section 2 work. The deeds and the physical position of the wall decide.

What does a party wall surveyor cost in Havering?

£165 + VAT per adjoining property to serve notice, £620 + VAT per Schedule of Condition, and £350 + VAT per adjoining property for an award acting for the Building Owner. A one-neighbour dispute is £1,135 + VAT. Basement and underpinning work is quoted separately.

Further reading

East London work is dominated by sub-divided terraces, conversions and regeneration boundaries. These articles go into the detail:

See also our section-by-section guide to the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, our party wall FAQs, how the notice process works and about the practice.

Talk to a Havering party wall surveyor

Grey & Associates have worked exclusively on the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 since 2008, including basement, structural and multi-owner schemes across London. The first conversation is free.

  • Fixed fees per adjoining property, agreed before work starts.
  • Schedules of Condition that stand up as evidence a year later.
  • Experience of listed buildings, conservation areas and converted houses.
  • Representation for owners building, and owners who have received a notice.

Call 020 8150 3762 or email info@greyandassociates.co.uk.

Nearby: Dagenham, Barking, Redbridge and Newham. Digging out a basement? That work has its own page: basement and underpinning party wall surveyors.

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