Once a party wall notice is served, the clock starts. The adjoining owner — the neighbour — has 14 days to respond, and there are only three ways it can go.
Option 1: Consent
The neighbour signs to say they're content for the works to go ahead. This is the end of the formal process: no surveyors, no Party Wall Award, no fees. Around 45% of notices end this way.
Consenting doesn't mean giving up protection. The Act still applies in full — the building owner must avoid unnecessary inconvenience, and remains liable for any damage the works cause. Many consenting neighbours also agree an informal schedule of condition (photos and notes of the existing state of the wall) so any damage is easy to prove later. Consent simply means: no dispute, so no need for the dispute-resolution machinery.
Option 2: Dissent
Dissenting doesn't mean the neighbour can block the works — the Act gives the building owner the right to do notifiable works. Dissent means a "dispute" has arisen, and surveyors are appointed to resolve it with a Party Wall Award.
The neighbour has two routes:
- Dissent and agree a single Agreed Surveyor — one impartial surveyor acts for both owners. Faster and roughly half the cost.
- Dissent and appoint their own surveyor — each owner has a surveyor, and the two produce the award together. The building owner normally pays both sets of reasonable fees.
Either way, the outcome is an award that records the condition of the neighbour's property and sets rules for the works. For the building owner this typically costs £900–£2,700 and adds a few weeks to the timetable.
Option 3: Silence — the deemed dissent
If the neighbour does nothing for 14 days, the Act treats the silence as a dissent. It is not a consent by default, and it doesn't make the notice go away. After a further formal request, if the neighbour still won't engage, the building owner can have a surveyor appointed on their behalf so the process can move forward without them. Ignoring a notice never stops the works — it just removes the neighbour's voice in how they're managed. We've written a full guide to what happens when a neighbour ignores a notice.
Which response should a neighbour give?
If the works are modest, the drawings are clear and the relationship is good, consent (ideally with a photographic schedule of condition) is usually the sensible answer — it keeps goodwill and costs intact for both sides. If the works are structural, involve deep excavation, or the neighbour has genuine concerns about the building, dissenting and agreeing a single Agreed Surveyor gives formal protection at proportionate cost.
For building owners: you influence the answer
The response you get is heavily shaped by the notice you serve. A correct, plain-English notice that explains the neighbour's options — served after a friendly conversation, not instead of one — is your best chance of a consent. Generate a compliant notice in minutes, with the response forms included.