- Places covered
- Reigate
- Redhill
- Horley
- Merstham
- Earlswood
- Salfords
- Planning authorities
- Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
Period homes, Victorian terraces and newer estates
Reigate, Redhill and Horley sit close together but do not look alike. Reigate has older streets and period houses. Redhill has Victorian and Edwardian terraces and flats near the station. Horley, Salfords and Earlswood are mainly twentieth-century suburbs, and new housing is being built in and around Horley, Redhill and Merstham.
The age of the house matters to a surveyor. A Victorian party wall is usually solid brick and may be sharing a chimney stack with the house next door. An interwar semi has a cavity construction around a solid party wall. A new house has a purpose-built separating wall. Each takes beams, flashings and chimney work differently, and the award has to reflect that.
Projects that need a notice in Reigate
- Loft conversions in terraces and semis, where steel beams bear on the shared wall. See the loft conversion guide.
- Chimney breast removal in period houses, where the stack above may be supported by the breast. See chimney breast removal.
- Rear and side extensions, where new foundations may go deeper than a neighbour’s. Parts of the borough sit on clay, where foundations tend to be deeper, so it is worth checking with a Section 6 test before you assume that you are clear.
- Flats and maisonettes, where a floor or ceiling between flats with separate entrances or staircases can be a party structure, and your lease may need the freeholder’s consent as well.
New building next door
If a developer is building next to your house, the Act protects you in the same way. You can have a surveyor appointed at the developer’s cost, have your home recorded in a schedule of condition and have monitoring and working hours written into the award. See help for neighbours.
Planning in Reigate is separate from the Act
Reigate, Redhill, Horley, Merstham, Earlswood and Salfords fall under Reigate and Banstead Borough Council for planning. Planning permission, building regulations approval and a party wall notice are three different things, and a project can need all of them. Start the notices when your drawings are settled so that they do not hold up your builder.
Party wall surveyor fees in Reigate
Our fees are the same here as anywhere: £70 for a notice, £350 for a schedule of condition and an award from £600, quoted in writing, with no VAT. Call 0800 999 1947 for a free first conversation.
Party wall services in Reigate
- Party wall notice in Reigate£70 fixed. We search the Land Registry, prepare the notice and follow it up.
- Schedule of condition in Reigate£350 fixed. A photographed record of the neighbouring property before work starts.
- Party wall award in ReigateFrom £600. We act as agreed surveyor for both owners.
- All our fixed feesNo VAT, and a written quotation before you commit.
Reigate is part of our Surrey service area. See every area we cover.
Reigate, Redhill and Horley questions
Do I need a party wall notice for a loft conversion in a Redhill terrace?
Usually yes. In a mid-terrace house the steel beams normally bear on both party walls, so you serve a Section 3 notice on both neighbours, at least two months before work starts. Each neighbour can respond differently. See loft conversions and the Act.
My house in Horley is quite new. Does the Act still apply?
Yes. The Act applies to modern homes in the same way. Modern party walls are often built with a cavity to meet sound-insulation rules, which can affect how beams are bedded and what the award says about making good, so the engineer’s details matter.
My Reigate house is in a conservation area. Does that change the notice?
No. Conservation area status is a planning matter and can lengthen the planning process, but it does not change the party wall notice or its timetable. Serve the notices once your drawings are settled.