Canterbury & Kent

How Close Can I Build to My Neighbour’s Boundary?

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Planning an extension, garage or garden building and wondering how close to the boundary you can go? The honest answer is that two different sets of rules apply at once — planning rules and the Party Wall Act — and the boundary itself is often not where the fence says it is. Getting any of the three wrong is how neighbour disputes start.

The planning side

Under permitted development, single-storey rear extensions can generally run to the boundary, but anything within two metres of it is limited to three metres eaves height, and side extensions face tighter limits still. Two-storey extensions must typically stay seven metres from the rear boundary. Conservation areas — common across Canterbury — restrict things further, and full planning applications weigh overlooking and overshadowing of neighbours.

The Party Wall Act side

Separately from planning, building a wall up to or astride the boundary line is notifiable to your neighbour, and excavating within three metres of their building — deeper than their foundations — requires notice too. Planning permission does not remove these duties; they run in parallel.

And the boundary itself

Title plans show general positions, not precise lines. Where centimetres matter — and against a boundary they always do — a boundary survey establishes the legal line before you commit foundations to the wrong side of it.

Before you build

Check whether your project needs party wall notices, confirm the line with a boundary survey if there is any doubt, and read our guide to the three-metre rule. Building near a boundary anywhere in Canterbury or Kent? Ask us first or call 0204 579 8270 — one conversation now beats a dispute later.