At least two months before the planned starting date for work to the party wall. The notice is only valid for a year, so do not serve it too long before you wish to start.

A person who receives a notice about intended work may give his consent in writing, or give a counter-notice setting out what additional or modified work he would like to be carried out. A person who receives a notice about intended work, and intends to serve a counter-notice, should let his neighbour know within 14 days.

If, after a period of 14 days from the service of your notice, the person receiving the notice has done nothing, a dispute is regarded as having arisen. The Section 10 procedures then should be followed.

If you receive a counter-notice you must respond to it within 14 days. If you do not, a dispute is regarded as having arisen.

As previously mentioned, your notice should not come as a surprise. If you have already ironed out possible snags with your neighbours, this should mean that they may give consent in response to your notice.

The best way of settling any point of difference is by friendly discussion with your neighbour. Agreements should always be put in writing.

If you cannot reach agreement with your neighbour, the next best thing is to appoint, jointly, what the Act calls an "agreed surveyor" to draw up an "award". The agreed surveyor should preferably not be the same person that you intend to employ to supervise your building work, as potential conflict of interest may arise.

Alternatively, each neighbour can appoint their own surveyor to draw up the award together. The two surveyors will nominate a third surveyor who would be called in only if the two surveyors cannot agree, effectively an umpire in case of a dispute between the appointed surveyors.

In all cases, surveyors appointed under the dispute resolution procedure of the Act to draw up an award must behave impartially and consider the interests of both neighbours. They do not act as advocates for each side. All such appointments must be in writing and cannot be rescinded.

The term "surveyor" is defined in the Act as any person who is not a party to the matter. This means that you can appoint almost anyone you like to act in this capacity. However, some people are obviously more suitable than others. You should look for a qualified building professional with experience and knowledge of party wall matters.

It is recommended that you and your neighbour do not choose the person you have engaged to supervise the building works to be the "agreed surveyor" - it is difficult to be the person responsible for ensuring the completion of the work at the same time as giving full regard to the rights of the neighbours.

• sets out the Act related work that will be carried out
• says when and how the work is to be carried out (for example, not at weekends if the buildings are domestic properties)
• should record the condition of next door before the work begins (so that any damage can be properly attributed and made good )
• allows access for the surveyors to inspect the works while they're going on (to see that they are in accordance with the award).

The surveyor (or surveyors) will decide who pays the fees for drawing up the award (the costs of making the award) and for checking that the work has been carried out in accordance with the award. Usually the owner who first planned the work, the building owner, will pay all costs associated with drawing up the award. This may include costs other than those of the surveyors, including perhaps a structural engineer.

Either owner has only 14 days from effective service to appeal to the county court against an award. An appeal should only be made to the county court if an owner believes that the surveyors have acted beyond their powers. Sometimes the advice from solicitors is to use the High Court, but this has the potential to be far more costly.