top of page
Search
  • Clio Domenech

Types of Party Walls

In today's short blog post, we explain the two types of party walls that occur under the definition given by the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. We have come to the realisation that most people know of one type, (commonly referred to as Type A), but not many are of familiar with Type B. Diagrams are included in the explanations to provide a clearer image of each definition.


Section 20 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 defines a Party Wall to be:

(a) a wall which forms part of a building and stands on lands of different owners to a greater extent than the projection of any artificially formed support on which the wall rests; and
(b) so much of a wall not being a wall referred to in paragraph (a) above as separates buildings belonging to different owners

When someone thinks of a typical party wall, the type described in (a) would probably be imagined. The type described in (b) however, is slightly harder to visualise with the open description. Let’s delve into what each type looks like in more detail.



Party Wall Type A – The boundary line goes through the party wall, usually at the midpoint, with each half of the wall standing on the land of different owners.

This type is typically found in semi-detached and terraced houses that were built together, at the same time. Usually occurs when there is an intention from the beginning to join the two properties together in order to maximise the space each property gets.

A cross section of a party wall with boundary line running through the centre of the wall.
Party Wall Type A


Party Wall Type B – A wall entirely on the land of one owner becoming a party wall when then Adjoining Owner builds off of this existing wall. We commonly come across such cases with extensions. If we take the example from the diagram below, imagine House X building a full-width rear extension, then House Y later down the line builds an extension of their own using the extension side wall of House X (with their permission of course).


A cross section of a party wall showing the boundary line to the right edge of the wall and another house being built off of it.
Party Wall Type B

7 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Today, we will be looking in depth at the duration of validity of Party Wall Notices as stated in the Act. We will also cover other specific time periods that are given in the act on Party Wall Notice

Once a Building Owner identifies that their work is classified as notifiable under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, they are to start thinking about how to serve valid Party Wall Notice(s) on their Adjoi

bottom of page