Party Wall Surveyor in Richmond

TW9 and TW10 — riverside period houses, conservation areas and large plots where basements and garden walls matter

Grey & Associates are party wall surveyors in Richmond, covering TW9, TW10, Richmond Hill, Petersham, Ham and the Kew border. We act for owners building and for neighbours receiving notice. Fixed fees start at £165 + VAT per adjoining property.

Key takeaway

Richmond is not a terrace borough in the usual sense. Houses are larger, plots are wider and more of the work is to detached or semi-detached period property near the river, the Park and the Commons. That produces three recurring cases: basement and lower-ground excavation, listed and conservation-area schemes, and party fence walls between large gardens.

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 Richmond cases turn on

Riverside ground and the basement question

The closer a Richmond house sits to the Thames, the more the ground conditions matter. Low-lying riverside plots can have high water tables, old drainage and shallow or variable foundations. A basement or lower-ground extension will usually engage section 6, and the Schedule of Condition has to record the neighbour's drainage, damp and existing movement before work starts.

On the hill and away from the river the ground is different, but the principle is the same: the deeper the dig, the more the case depends on what was recorded beforehand.

Conservation areas and listed buildings

Much of Richmond, Petersham and Ham sits inside conservation areas, and a significant number of houses are listed or within the setting of a listed building. Planning and heritage consent sit alongside the party wall process rather than replacing it.

For the surveyor, that changes the quality of the Schedule of Condition. Original windows, cornices, panelling and garden walls are part of the record, and the award may need to describe protections and sequencing that a standard terrace case would not require.

Garden walls and party fence walls on large plots

Richmond has more boundary-wall work than the dense inner boroughs. Rebuilding a garden wall in brick, raising it, or building a new wall along the line of junction can bring section 1 or the party fence wall provisions into play even where no building is touched.

Whether the wall is a party fence wall, who owns it and whether notice is required turn on the deeds and the physical position of the wall. We look at both before advising.

What catches people out in Richmond

  • Basements need a ground-and-drainage record. Riverside plots can have high water tables and old drainage. Existing damp and drainage runs should be recorded before excavation.
  • Heritage consent is separate. Listed building consent and conservation-area consent do not replace party wall notices. The schedule still has to record the fabric the work may disturb.
  • Check the wall before assuming it is shared. Garden walls in Richmond are often owned outright or straddle the boundary. The deeds decide whether this is section 1, section 2 or no notice at all.
  • Access over large gardens still needs agreement. A bigger plot makes plant access easier, but it does not give the Building Owner a right to cross the neighbour's land.

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 Richmond

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 South West London.

Richmond party wall questions

Do I need a party wall notice for a basement in Richmond?

Almost always. Excavating within three metres of a neighbouring structure and deeper than its foundations is section 6 work, and the wider six-metre case may also apply. If the shared wall is altered or underpinned, section 2 applies as well. Riverside ground conditions make the Schedule of Condition particularly important.

Can you deal with a notice about a garden wall in Richmond?

Yes. A wall on the line of junction can be section 1 work, and an existing party fence wall can be section 2 work. Whether the Act applies depends on the deeds and the position of the wall, so we check both before advising.

Does listed building consent remove the need for a party wall notice?

No. They are separate statutory processes. Listed building consent deals with the heritage and planning position; the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 protects the neighbouring owners. One does not replace the other.

What does a party wall surveyor cost in Richmond?

£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

South West London work runs from terrace side returns to riverside basements and garden walls. 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 Richmond 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: Twickenham, Sheen, Kingston upon Thames and Putney. Digging out a basement? That work has its own page: basement and underpinning party wall surveyors.

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