Party walls and solar

When it applies, and when it does not

The cable routing case is the one that catches people. It is a decision made on the day by an electrician looking for the neatest run, and nobody thinks of it as party wall work — but a hole drilled through a shared wall to get a cable from one part of a building to another is cutting into a party structure.

What the Act gives you

Section 2(2) sets out the rights a building owner has over party structures. Two are relevant here.

(f) to cut into a party structure for any purpose (which may be or include the purpose of inserting a damp proof course)

(a) to underpin, thicken or raise a party structure, a party fence wall, or an external wall

Note the framing: these are rights, not permissions to be sought. Your neighbour does not get to refuse. What they get is notice, and a process for resolving disagreement about how the work is done and who pays for any damage.

The notice

Where section 2 work is proposed, a party structure notice is required under section 3. It must state:

• your name and address
• the nature and particulars of the proposed work
• the date on which the work will begin

and it must be served at least two months before that date.

Two further points from the section:

Written consent removes the need for notice. If the adjoining owner and occupier consent in writing, you may proceed without serving one. Get it in writing even where you are on good terms — that is what the Act contemplates, and a verbal agreement dies with the sale of the house next door.

The notice lapses. It ceases to have effect if the work has not begun within twelve months, or is not pursued with diligence. On a solar project that has slipped, check the date before starting.

If your neighbour dissents

Silence is not consent under this Act. If the adjoining owner does not consent, a dispute is deemed to arise and it is resolved by surveyors — either one agreed surveyor or one appointed by each side, who then produce an award setting out how the work will be done, when, and who pays for what.

The building owner normally pays the surveyors’ fees, because the work is for their benefit. On a domestic solar installation this can easily cost more than the cable run was worth, which is the practical argument for designing the route to avoid the party wall in the first place.

What this Act does not do

It does not give your neighbour a veto over solar. They cannot object to the panels themselves. The Act is about the structure you share, not about what you put on your own roof.

It does not deal with overshadowing or reflected light. Those are separate questions — the first a planning and common law issue, the second usually neither.

It does not cover scaffolding on their land. Standing scaffold on a neighbour’s property needs their permission as a matter of ordinary property law, and there is no statutory right to it under this Act for section 2 work. Ask early; scaffold access is a more common cause of delay on terraced installations than anything in this Act.

It does not apply in Scotland, which has no equivalent statute and deals with mutual walls under common law and title conditions.

Practical sequence for a terraced or semi-detached house

1. At survey, ask where every cable goes. Establish whether anything passes through a shared wall.
2. If nothing does, the Act is irrelevant. Note it and move on.
3. If something does, ask whether it can be rerouted. Usually it can, and that is the cheapest answer.
4. If it cannot, talk to your neighbour early and ask for written consent. Most people say yes to a hole for a cable.
5. If consent is not given, serve a party structure notice at least two months before the work, and budget for surveyors.
6. Separately, sort out scaffold access if the installation needs it.