How much does a party wall surveyor cost?

Party wall surveyors are typically self-regulating and their fees vary.

Fee structure

Party wall surveyors may charge on an hourly basis or provide fixed fee proposals.

An Agreed Surveyor can act for both the Building Owner and the Adjoining Owner; however, their fee is usually paid by the Building Owner. If the Adjoining Owner appoints their own surveyor, the Building Owner must pay their fees.

Determining fees

Agreed Surveyors will usually give a quote before they are appointed and this limits the possibility of fees becoming too high for the Building Owner.

Surveyors who are appointed by Adjoining Owners will charge on an hourly basis and their fees can be negotiated by the party wall surveyor that has been appointed by the Building Owner.

How to challenge unreasonable fees

If a surveyor’s fee seems unreasonably high you should first have a discussion with them about it.

If this doesn’t resolve the issue then you can refer the matter to the Third Surveyor if one has been selected by the two surveyors representing both sides. They have authority over all other surveyors in terms of dispute resolutions, including setting fees if they deem it necessary. Note: a Third Surveyor will not be selected if you have an Agreed Surveyor.

Extra costs for complex works

Complex projects such as basement developments often result in an adjoining owner appointing their own surveyor. This can be because these project are complex and surveyors feel more comfortable working in tandem. 

The Adjoining Owner’s surveyor may also request another engineer to check the designs and structural calculations.

Also, movement and vibration monitoring often becomes necessary on larger more complex engineering schemes – our party wall surveyors have experience with Senceive for example and it is not cheap!

In summary

It’s important to know what potential costs there could be for the Building Owner and this requires research. The Third Surveyor is a fair and unbiased authority who can be referred to for any disputes including those relating to fees, but this only applies if each neighbour is represented by their own individual party wall surveyor (i.e. there is no Agreed Surveyor between them). Please contact us if you would like more information about party wall surveyor fees and need a quotation.