Party Wall Surveyor Kensington | Fixed Fees From £165

Grey & Associates are party wall surveyors in Kensington, covering W8 Kensington, W11 Notting Hill and Holland Park, W14 West Kensington, SW7 South Kensington, SW5 Earl's Court and SW10 West Brompton. We act for owners building and for owners who have received a notice. Fixed fees start at £165 + VAT per adjoining property.

Key takeaway

Three things define Kensington party wall work. Basements run deeper here than anywhere else we cover — frequently two storeys, extending beyond the footprint of the house — which makes section 6 the governing provision and turns the Schedule of Condition into the most valuable document in the case. Listed buildings and conservation areas are common rather than exceptional, so the surveyor works alongside architects, structural engineers and heritage consultants. And a high proportion of the housing is leasehold, so the adjoining owner is often a freeholder, a management company or an estate rather than the person living next door.

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

What makes Kensington different

Heritage controls and the party wall process run side by side

Lists and conservation areas are a fact of life across the Royal Borough, and they change the nature of the evidence rather than the legal test. The Act applies in full to a listed building; what differs is that the finishes the neighbour will notice — cornices, plaster, panelling, original joinery, stonework — are the ones that crack first and cost the most to make good. A Schedule of Condition here has to be written by someone who knows what those features are and can describe them precisely, because a generic record of "walls and ceilings in good order" is worthless when the claim arrives.

Garden squares, terraces and the shared flank

Notting Hill and Holland Park are built of stuccoed terraces and garden squares, where the party wall runs the full depth of the house on both sides. A rear or side extension, a new basement lightwell, or a rebuilt garden wall all engage the neighbours in fact as well as in law. A particular feature of these streets is that a project frequently affects two neighbours at once, so the notice count and the schedule count are both two rather than one.

Leasehold and estate ownership

Much of the housing in W8, SW7 and SW5 is held on long leases with the freehold held by an estate, an institutional owner or a residents' management company. That changes who the adjoining owner is. Serving notice on the occupant of the flat next door may miss the party who actually holds the interest in the structure — and a notice that misses an interest usually has to be served again, which costs time the programme will not give back. On larger estates there are also standard licence conditions and management requirements running in parallel to the Act. We check the title position before serving, not after.

Basements and underpinning under Kensington houses

Deep basements are the technical centre of gravity of our Kensington work, and they are where a party wall surveyor earns their fee. Four points matter most on a scheme here.

The neighbouring foundations are the datum. Section 6 applies where excavation is within three metres of a neighbouring structure and deeper than its foundations, or within six metres where the dig would cut a line drawn downwards at 45 degrees from the bottom of those foundations. A two-storey basement meets both tests, and the 45-degree line often reaches further into the neighbouring property than the owner expects — sometimes under their own basement.
Section 6 carries a duty to compensate. Where damage is caused by the excavation, the neighbour is entitled to be compensated for it whether or not anyone was at fault. That is why the record taken before the dig is not administrative housekeeping: it is the boundary between pre-existing condition and consequence.
The neighbours may already have basements. In W8 and W11 it is common for two adjacent houses both to have been dug out, sometimes by different contractors years apart. Their tanking, sump, pump and drainage form part of the record, and water ingress is one of the two claims that follow a neighbouring dig most often.
Temporary works and underpinning are part of the award. Secant or contiguous piling, propping and underpinning of the neighbouring foundations are themselves notifiable operations, and the award has to describe them accurately enough for the contractor to build to and for the neighbour to understand what will happen to their property.

We review the structural drawings and method statement before quoting a basement, and we run the case through the works rather than stopping at the award. More detail is on our basement and underpinning party wall page.

Fees for party wall work in Kensington

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, charged at 20%: the £1,135 figure carries £227 of VAT, so £1,362 including VAT.

Basement and underpinning works are priced differently. A two-storey basement under a Kensington house is a heavier scheduling job, with more engineering input and far longer exposure to a claim than a loft conversion, so it sits outside the fixed figures. We review your plans and the proposed works first, then present a formal written quote before anything is agreed or any notice is served. Nothing in this section is an offer.

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

Kensington party wall questions

I want to build a two-storey basement under a Notting Hill house. What does the Act require?

Section 6 notice must be served at least one month before excavation begins, because a two-storey dig passes well below the neighbouring foundations and will be within three metres of them, and frequently within the wider six-metre band measured off a 45-degree line from the bottom of those foundations. Where the scheme also cuts into, underpins or thickens the party wall — which most double basements do — section 2 applies as well, with a two-month notice. Section 7 puts the building owner under a duty to compensate the neighbour for loss or damage caused by the work regardless of fault, which is why the Schedule of Condition has to be thorough and taken before work starts.

Who do I serve a party wall notice on in a Kensington mansion block?

Normally more than one party. In a Kensington or South Kensington block the freeholder or management company is usually served for the structure, and any leaseholder whose flat touches the work may be a separate adjoining owner. Where the project involves a separating floor or the structural frame rather than a brick party wall, the flats above and below come into it as much as the flat next door. We establish the title position before serving, because a notice that misses an interest generally means the process has to be restarted.

Does listed building consent replace the party wall process in Kensington?

No, they are separate. Listed building consent and planning permission are public-law controls administered by the Royal Borough; the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is a private statutory process running between neighbouring owners. One does not substitute for the other, and having consent does not remove the need to serve notice. On listed and conservation-area property the party wall aspect usually takes longer, because the Schedule of Condition has to record historic fabric and finishes in detail — that record is what a damage argument later turns on.

What does a party wall surveyor cost in Kensington?

Fixed fees: £165 per adjoining property to serve notice, £620 per Schedule of Condition, and £350 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 all-in. All figures exclude VAT at 20%. Basement and underpinning works are priced differently because of the scheduling and engineering involved, and a formal quote is presented after we have reviewed the plans and proposed works.

Talk to a Kensington party wall surveyor

Grey & Associates have worked exclusively on the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 since 2008, including deep basement and structural schemes across Kensington, Notting Hill and South Kensington. The first conversation is free.

Fixed fees per adjoining property, agreed before work starts.
Schedules of Condition that record historic fabric properly.
Experience of listed buildings, conservation areas and mansion blocks.
Representation for owners building, and owners who have received a notice.

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

Nearby: Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Hammersmith, Chiswick and Ealing. The wider picture is on our West London party wall surveyor page.

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Party Wall Surveyor in Kensington