What Should a Party Wall Surveyor Quote Include? The 8-Point Checklist

A complete party wall surveyor quote sets out 8 practical items: a defined scope, the fee for each stage, whether the schedule of condition is included, the award drafting cost, whether a post-completion damage inspection is included, how many adjoining owners the fee covers, payment terms, and a list of explicit exclusions. If any of these items is missing, ask the surveyor to clarify before you instruct them.

Last updated: 5 October 2026

Table of contents

• The 8-point quote checklist
• What drives the cost of a party wall quote
• 5 red flags in party wall quotes
• How to compare three quotes side by side
• 10 questions to ask before instructing
• Sample quote format you should expect

The 8-point quote checklist

Every party wall surveyor quote you receive should contain the eight practical items below. If any are missing, ask the surveyor to clarify the scope and the likely total cost before instruction.

1. Defined scope of works: the quote must state the specific works the surveyor is being appointed to handle (for example, "Section 6 notice for basement excavation under rear extension, single adjoining owner"). A generic scope leaves room for the fee to grow later.
2. Fee for each stage: the fee in pounds for each stage of the work, and a clear statement of what would cause it to change. This gives you cost certainty.
3. Schedule of condition position: an explicit statement of whether the photographic schedule of condition is included or charged separately, and if separately, the price.
4. Award drafting cost: the cost of drafting and serving the party wall award. This should be itemised separately from the schedule of condition, or explicitly stated as included.
5. Post-completion damage inspection: a statement of whether a return visit to inspect for damage after the works finish is included or extra.
6. Number of adjoining owners covered: party wall fees are usually charged per adjoining owner. A terrace or corner property can involve two or more neighbours, so check the quote states how many owners it covers.
7. Payment terms: when payment is due (for example, on instruction or when the award is served), accepted payment methods, and any interest on late payment.
8. Explicit exclusions list: everything the fee does NOT cover. Common exclusions: costs of a referral to the third surveyor, scope amendments after the award, additional adjoining owners, specialist input from a structural or checking engineer, and appeals or court proceedings.

What drives the cost of a party wall quote

A fair quote reflects the work your project actually needs. These are the factors that move the fee up or down, and a good quote should make clear which of them apply to you.

• The type of notice. A party structure notice (section 3) for works to a party wall, a line of junction notice (section 1) and an adjoining excavation notice (section 6) each involve different checks. Excavation notices need plans and sections.
• The number of adjoining owners. Each neighbour needs their own notice, and usually their own schedule of condition and award.
• For party structure and excavation notices, absence of written consent within 14 days triggers the dispute procedure. Section 1 new-wall notices have different consequences. Where a dispute arises, owners appoint an agreed surveyor or separate surveyors; section 10(4) addresses refusal to appoint and neglect for ten days after a written request.
• One agreed surveyor or two. Where both owners agree on a single surveyor, the work is done once. Where each owner appoints their own, two surveyors are involved.
• The complexity of the works. Basements, underpinning, steels into a party wall and works needing a checking engineer take more time than a simple rear extension.
• The size and condition of the neighbouring property. A larger or older property takes longer to record accurately in the schedule of condition.

The value of your property is not a factor. Reasonable fees reflect the work involved, not what the house is worth.

Our own fees

As building owner's surveyor, our fees per adjoining owner are: Party Wall Notice £100*, Schedule of Condition £500* and Party Wall Award £800*.

*Fees shown are for typical homeowner projects. More complex matters, for example those involving a checking engineer, section 10(4) notices and appointments, section 11 enclosure costs or security for expenses, and larger buildings in single ownership, carry additional charges. These are confirmed before work starts.

As adjoining owner's surveyor, our reasonable fees are normally paid by the building owner under the Act. Those fees are not fixed in advance; they depend on the work the matter needs.

5 red flags in party wall quotes

Any of these signals indicates a quote you should not accept without challenge.

1. Open-ended additional time clauses. Wording that lets the surveyor add charges for "unforeseen work" gives them unilateral power to expand the fee. The definition of unforeseen work is usually vague.
2. No schedule of condition mentioned. The schedule is the line item most often left out of low-priced quotes. A quote without it that beats other quotes on price is usually not comparing like with like.
3. No exclusions list. A quote that doesn't tell you what is NOT included is hiding the gaps. Every quote should have a clear exclusions section.
4. A price far below every other quote with no explanation. A much lower quote usually means a stage has been left out, most often the schedule of condition or the post-completion inspection. Both stages matter.
5. No statement of who the fee covers. If the quote does not say how many adjoining owners are included, or whether it covers notices, the schedule and the award, ask before you instruct.

How to compare three quotes side by side

It is sensible to obtain more than one quote before instructing. To compare them fairly, build a simple comparison table covering all eight checklist items. The example below shows the kind of differences you will see.

In this comparison Quote A is the easiest to rely on because everything is stated. Quote B may look competitive on its headline figure, but you need to add the separately charged schedule and inspection before comparing it. Quote C may look cheapest, but the missing schedule of condition and the open-ended time clause make its true cost impossible to know.

10 questions to ask before instructing

1. Is the photographic schedule of condition included in your fee or charged separately?
2. Does your fee include the post-completion damage inspection?
3. If additional work is needed, how is it charged, and what counts as additional work?
4. How will you keep me updated from the notice through to the final award?
5. How many party wall awards have you prepared for works similar to mine?
6. What is your typical timeline from serving the notice to the award?
7. If a matter has to be referred to the third surveyor, how are those costs handled?
8. What happens to my fee if my neighbour consents and no award is needed?
9. Is your professional indemnity insurance current, and what is the cover level?
10. Can you provide two recent client references from similar projects?

Sample quote format you should expect

Below is a sample structure of what a complete party wall surveyor quote looks like. Use it as a benchmark for any quote you receive. The fee lines are left blank because the figures depend on the surveyor and your project.

PARTY WALL SURVEYOR QUOTE

Client: [Building owner name]
Property: [Address with postcode]
Project: Party structure notice (section 3) for rear extension
         affecting the party wall with [adjoining owner name]
         at [adjoining address]
Adjoining owners covered: [number]
Date: [DD MMM YYYY]
Quote valid for: [period]

--- INCLUDED ---
1. Notice drafting and service           [fee]
2. Site inspection and party wall review [fee or included]
3. Photographic schedule of condition    [fee]
4. Award drafting and agreement          [fee]
5. Correspondence and admin              [fee or included]
6. Service of the award                  [fee or included]
7. Post-completion damage inspection     [fee or included]

TOTAL:                                   [total]

--- EXCLUDED ---
- Costs of any referral to the third surveyor
- Scope amendments after the award is served
- Additional adjoining owners
- Checking or structural engineer input, if needed
- Appeals or court proceedings

--- PAYMENT TERMS ---
When each payment is due
Accepted payment methods
Any interest on late payment

--- EXPERIENCE AND INSURANCE ---
Experience with similar works: [summary]
Professional indemnity insurance: [cover level], expires [date]

Walking through a quote line by line

Below is what each line of a complete quote should cover, so you can check that you are paying for the right things.

Compare any quote you receive against this list. Quotes that bundle everything into a single "party wall fee" without explaining what is included make it hard to see what is missing.

More red flags that mean the quote will grow

Beyond the 5 red flags listed earlier, these clauses or omissions point to a quote that may cost more than the headline figure once the project is finished.

1. An "unforeseen circumstances" clause with open-ended additional charges. "Unforeseen" is defined loosely, so almost anything can trigger it.
2. Schedule of condition listed as "if required" rather than included, or excluded with a price.
3. Post-completion inspection charged per visit with no indication of how many visits are expected.
4. Travel charges on top of the fee, which add up on projects needing several visits.
5. A "subject to scope confirmation" caveat that does not say what counts as a change of scope.
6. No exclusions list at all, which leaves room to charge for anything not listed in the inclusions.
7. Full payment required upfront before any work is done.
8. A very short validity period that pressures you to instruct before you have compared quotes.

How to check a surveyor's experience before instructing

Before instructing any party wall surveyor, check three things. Each takes a few minutes and tells you far more than a headline price.

1. Experience with similar works

Ask how many party wall awards they have prepared for works like yours: a loft conversion, a rear extension, a basement. A surveyor who regularly handles your type of project will know which provisions the award needs and where problems usually arise.

2. Professional indemnity insurance

Ask for a current professional indemnity insurance certificate. Check that the policy is in date, that the cover level is suitable for your project, and that it covers party wall work.

3. Recent project references and communication

Ask for two client references from completed projects in the past 12 months, and speak to them rather than relying on email. Ask each reference about communication, timeliness, fee accuracy and how any problems were handled. Ask the surveyor too how they will keep you updated as the matter progresses.

A systematic method for comparing three quotes

The headline fee is rarely the right comparison point because inclusions and exclusions vary. This five-step method gives you a fair comparison of the total cost rather than a misleading headline figure.

Step one is to confirm the same scope across all three quotes. Each quote should refer to the same works, the same number of adjoining owners, the same notices under the Act, and the same property. Quotes for different scopes cannot be compared. If they differ, ask each surveyor to re-quote on the same basis.

Step two is to confirm what each fee covers: which stages, how many adjoining owners, and whether the fee is for the building owner's surveyor only. Line the quotes up stage by stage rather than by their totals.

Step three is to add the cost of any item your project needs that a quote leaves out. For projects involving excavation or structural alteration, a condition record can be useful; check whether an inspection during or after the works is appropriate to the project. If a quote excludes either, ask for the price and add it.

Step four is to look at the exclusions list. Quotes with tight exclusions, stating exactly what is not included, are more predictable than quotes with vague exclusions or open-ended additional charges.

Step five is to weigh experience and communication. A surveyor with a track record on similar works, current professional indemnity insurance, good recent references and a clear plan for keeping you updated is worth more than a slightly lower headline figure.

Negotiation approaches that work and approaches that backfire

Party wall surveyor fees are negotiable only to a limited extent. Some approaches help; others tend to produce a worse outcome than the original quote.

Approaches that work: first, asking for confirmation that the schedule of condition and the post-completion damage inspection are included. Asking the question directly removes the most common source of later extras.

Second, asking for payment terms that suit your cash flow, for example part on instruction and the balance when the award is served.

Third, asking for the fee, and the specific events that would change it, to be confirmed in writing. Many surveyors will remove an open-ended additional charges clause if you ask.

Approaches that backfire: first, demanding a discount without justification. Most surveyors will either refuse or offer a reduced scope at the lower price, which is not the same service for less.

Second, asking a surveyor to match a much cheaper rival quote. The surveyor will usually check whether the rival quote includes the schedule of condition and the post-completion inspection. If it does not, which is the most common reason for a big price gap, they will explain the difference and decline to match.

Third, threatening to go elsewhere. Finding and briefing another surveyor takes time and may give you similar pricing, so the threat carries little weight.

When to walk away from a quote

Not every party wall quote is worth accepting. Three conditions justify walking away and finding another surveyor. First, when the surveyor will not explain or break down their fee after a written request. Second, when the quote contains open-ended additional charges that the surveyor will not remove or define. These clauses give the surveyor control of the price during the project. Third, when the quote is far below the others without a credible explanation, which usually means a stage such as the schedule of condition has been left out.

Written quotes from experienced surveyors, compared on a like-for-like total cost, almost always produce a choice you can defend. The few hours spent comparing them are well spent.

The bottom line

A complete party wall surveyor quote contains 8 items: scope, the fee for each stage, the schedule of condition position, award drafting, post-completion inspection, the number of adjoining owners covered, payment terms and exclusions. Ask for any missing item before you instruct. Compare quotes on what they include and on the surveyor's experience with similar works, not on the headline fee alone.

Request an itemised party wall quote from London Party Wall Surveyors at londonpws.co.uk/appoint-londonpws-surveyor/ or call Jasmeet on 020 7050 0715. Jasmeet handles every case personally and keeps you updated at every stage, from notice to the final award.

About the author:Jasmeet Mudan BA is the founder of LONDON PARTY WALL SURVEYORS LTD, registered in England No. 14489334, and handles every case personally. Based in Fitzrovia, covering London, with most of our work in North and West London. Contact: info@londonpws.co.uk or 020 7050 0715.

Sources

• Party Wall etc. Act 1996, full text, legislation.gov.uk
• Party Wall etc. Act 1996, Section 10, legislation.gov.uk

Published fees apply to typical homeowner projects, per adjoining owner. Complex work carries additional charges; Land Registry searches and postage may apply. Additional Awards on the same project are charged at 50% of the standard fee. Scope and fees are confirmed before instruction.