Letter to Neighbours About Building Work: Notice, Access, Hours and What to Say

A short, friendly letter to your neighbours before building work starts should tell them what work is happening, when it starts and finishes, the days and hours the trades will work, what they might notice, and how to reach you. If you need to go onto their land, ask politely and agree the details first. Some work also needs a formal notice or consent form under your State’s rules, and a friendly letter does not replace it.

Claim Done drafts a letter to your neighbours about your building work from your answers for a flat A$29. You read it first, then print it or email it yourself.

Do you have to tell your neighbours about building work?

For many renovations, a heads-up letter is simply good manners. The Queensland Government says you should always check with your local government and talk to your neighbours before starting building work close to your boundary. EPA Victoria lists advising neighbours of noisy activities as one way to manage construction noise.

Some work goes further and needs a formal step. These are the ones we read on official pages:

• Victoria: Bayside City Council explains that under the Building Act, the building surveyor who issues your permit decides whether protection work is needed. If it is, you must issue a protection work notice to the neighbour and prepare a survey of their property, and the neighbour must respond within 14 days.
• South Australia: where building work affects the stability of other land, the owner must serve a Form 1 Initial Notice to Owner of Affected Site at least 20 business days before work starts, says the Law Handbook of the Legal Services Commission of South Australia.
• Western Australia: work must not encroach on or adversely affect a neighbour’s land without their consent. Building and Energy says that consent is given on the BA20 form before a permit is granted, and the BA20A form covers things like building workers accessing adjoining land.

If your builder, building surveyor, certifier or council says you need a formal notice or consent form, the friendly letter can go alongside it, never instead of it.

Asking for access to a neighbour’s property

Sometimes the only way to render a side wall, fix a gutter or put up scaffolding is from next door. Start by asking. The rules differ by State:

• New South Wales: under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 2000, you can apply to the Local Court for an order allowing entry onto neighbouring land. The State Library of NSW says the court must be satisfied you tried to reach agreement first, and that 21 days notice of the application was given.
• South Australia: a person who reasonably needs access for building work may serve a Form 1 Access to Neighbouring Land notice. If there is no reply within 10 business days, or access is refused, they may apply to the Environment, Resources and Development Court. Access by agreement is still allowed.
• Western Australia: consent for building workers to access adjoining land is given on the BA20A form, unless the land or building is vacant. Without consent, a Magistrates Court order can be sought. So Claim Done does not sell an access request letter there.

A friendly letter is the reasonable first step. It describes the access and makes clear nothing will happen on their land without their agreement.

Dilapidation reports

People use the term dilapidation report for a record of a neighbouring building’s condition before work starts. The official pages we read did not set one general rule for ordinary renovations. Bayside City Council says that in Victoria, where protection work is required, the owner must prepare a survey of the neighbour’s property, and the neighbour must help with that survey before work starts. Elsewhere, check your approval conditions and ask your builder or building surveyor. The letter does not promise a report, but if your builder is arranging one, you can mention it when you describe the work.

Noise and work hours

Allowed hours depend on your State, your council and your approval. Put the real hours your trades will work in the letter.

For Tasmania, ask Building Standards Tasmania. In the Northern Territory, ask Building Advisory Services. In the ACT, ask Access Canberra. Your local council can tell you its own hours.

What the letter should say

• The address where the work is happening.
• What the work is, in plain words, and who is doing it.
• The start and finish dates, and the working days and hours.
• What they might notice: noise, dust, trucks, deliveries, a skip bin, scaffolding near the boundary, or services off for a short time.
• If you need access: what, where, for how long, and how you will protect or restore their property.
• Your phone number or email, so they can raise a concern with you first.

The structure of the letter

1. Your name and the property address.
2. Neighbour’s name, or “Dear neighbours” for a letter to several households.
3. Subject line: building work at your address, adding “and a request for access” if you need it.
4. Opening: you are letting them know about planned work.
5. The work: what is being done and by whom.
6. Dates and hours: exactly as you give them.
7. What they may notice: then a short thank you for their patience.
8. Access (only if needed): a polite request, saying you would like to agree the details first and nothing will happen on their property without their agreement.
9. Contact: your phone or email, inviting questions before or during the work.
10. Closing line.

The letter fits on one page. You can choose a friendly or a more formal tone.

How to send it and what to keep

Drop a printed copy in each letterbox, or email it, well before work starts. Keep a copy, note the delivery date, and keep any replies. If a neighbour agrees to access, confirm the details in writing.

If they say no, or do not reply

Talk to them. A worry about dust or parking is often easy to fix. If access is refused, ask your builder whether the work can be done from your side. The NSW and South Australian court routes are described above; in NSW the court must be satisfied you tried to reach agreement.

Mistakes to avoid

• Calling the letter a “notice” or saying it is given under an Act. It is a courtesy letter.
• Using a letter where a formal notice or consent form is required.
• Telling the neighbour they must agree, or setting a deadline to reply.
• Promising repairs, cleaning, a report or a payment you have not arranged.
• Using this letter for work on a dividing fence. It is not built for that, and Claim Done has a separate Dividing Fence Notice.
• Leaving it until the trucks arrive.

Keeping the relationship good

You will live next door long after the builders leave. Knock and say hello as well as sending the letter. Warn them before the noisiest days, ask your builder to keep the site tidy, and if something goes wrong, own it quickly.

Ready to write it? Start your letter to the neighbours for a flat A$29, read it, then download it to print or email.