If your neighbour is planning an extension, outbuilding or wall near your fence, the honest answer is: in many cases they can build right up to the boundary – but the closer they build, the more rules protect you. Here is how it works in England and Wales, and what to do right now if work is about to start.
The short answer
Under permitted development rules, a neighbour can usually build a single-storey rear extension up to the boundary line without planning permission, provided it stays within height limits (typically 4 metres to the ridge for extensions, and outbuildings within 2 metres of a boundary limited to 2.5 metres high). Anything larger, two-storey work close to the boundary, or anything in a conservation area normally needs planning permission – which you can comment on.
When the Party Wall Act protects you
Separate from planning, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 gives you real rights when your neighbour:
- builds a new wall up to or astride the boundary line;
- excavates foundations within 3 metres of your building and deeper than your foundations (or within 6 metres for very deep foundations);
- cuts into or works on a shared (party) wall.
In those cases they must serve you a party wall notice before starting. You can consent, or dissent and have a surveyor appointed – usually at the building owner’s cost – who prepares a schedule of condition of your property and a party wall award setting out how the work must be done. If your neighbour has already started notifiable work without notice, you can seek an injunction, so act quickly.
What about the fence itself?
Check your title plan: a “T” mark on your side generally indicates responsibility for that boundary feature. There is no general rule that fences must be a set distance from buildings, and no automatic “1 metre rule” – distance requirements come from planning conditions, not fence law. Fences and walls themselves are usually limited to 2 metres high (1 metre next to a highway) without planning permission.
What to do now
First, ask your neighbour for their drawings – most disputes start with guesswork. Second, check the council’s planning portal for applications. Third, if the work involves the boundary, foundations nearby, or a shared wall, take advice before it starts: our party wall surveyors act for adjoining owners across London at the building owner’s expense in most cases, and where a boundary line itself is disputed our boundary dispute surveyors can establish exactly where it runs.
Worried about your neighbour’s building work? Call 020 4579 8270 for free initial advice, or request a call back. This article is general guidance, not legal advice – boundary and planning specifics vary by property and local authority.