Built for the 21st Century
Party Wall Online was created to solve a simple problem: party wall surveying had not changed in decades, despite everything else going digital. We changed that.
Our Story
Party Wall Online was founded by Ben and Rob. Ben is a chartered party wall surveyor and property developer. Rob is a technology leader who has spent his career building the digital backbones of service businesses that scale without breaking.
The idea came from their own project. Between them, they had expected the party wall process to be a formality. Instead they found a process dominated by lengthy correspondence, complex terminology and unpredictable costs, where documents that could have been signed in a day took weeks. None of it was anyone's fault in particular. It was simply how the work had always been done, and the technology had moved on without it.
Ben brought years of experience in property development and the built environment, and retrained as a specialist Party Wall Surveyor. He has spent years mapping where the traditional process loses time, and where costs can quickly escalate through traditional hourly billing.
Rob is the CTO. His background is in lean systems and future-proofed operations: the digital-first infrastructure that lets a small team do the work of a large one without dropping a detail. He architected the platform end to end, and every part of it exists to change something the client actually feels. Workflow automation is why notices go out in days rather than weeks. Live case tracking is why you can see exactly where your matter stands at any hour, instead of waiting on a callback. The pricing logic is why your quote is a price rather than an estimate. And the client portal is why everyone involved, from you to your neighbour to your contractor, is working from the same documents and the same facts, from the first quote to the final Award.
Party Wall Online is the result: the UK's only digital-first party wall service. Every case is overseen by our MRICS Principal Surveyor, who signs off each Award before it is delivered. Notices go out within 24 hours. Our fees are clearly set out before you instruct. The whole process runs through one online case portal, so nothing gets lost in an inbox and no one is left waiting for a firm that has not picked up the phone.
We built the firm we could not find, and we are bringing a long-established profession the technology its clients now expect.
What We Stand For
Digital by design
We did not take a traditional surveying practice and add a website. We built our entire service around a digital process, from the quote form to the signed Award.
Transparent pricing
Every quote we send is a fixed price for the standard scope up to and including your Party Wall Award, with no hourly rates for that work. You won't be charged more than your quote for the work we've agreed. Anything that comes up after the Award has been served (damage claims, disputes between the parties, variations) is billed separately at our hourly rates. The rare exceptions before the Award, such as a Third Surveyor referral or a court appeal, are set out in clause 6 of our Terms of Business.
MRICS Principal Surveyor oversight
Every case is overseen by our MRICS Principal Surveyor, who reviews and signs off each Party Wall Award before it's delivered. The practice operates under RICS regulation, with professional indemnity insurance and a formal complaints process for every matter we take on.
Homeowner focused
The Party Wall Act was written by lawyers, for lawyers. We translate it into plain English and guide homeowners through every step without the jargon.
Meet the Team
Every Party Wall Online case is overseen by a qualified RICS surveyor. Our team combines deep technical expertise with a commitment to digital-first service delivery.
Robert Maskell
Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer
Rob has spent his working life building and running businesses, most of it on the operational side; the systems, the admin, the bits that decide whether a customer's experience is smooth or infuriating. He came to party wall work from that angle, and it shaped how he approaches it. He lives and works in Dorset, and built the case-management platform that Party Wall Online runs on.
Benjamin ElliottMRICS
Co-Founder & Principal Surveyor
Ben is a Chartered Surveyor (MRICS), RICS expert witness and an expert in party wall matters. He has over 21 years experience in the property sector, including building new houses in his own interest and managing projects for clients. That hands-on experience gives him a practical understanding of what homeowners and developers actually need, which is clear advice, realistic timescales and a process that keeps projects moving without unnecessary cost or delay.
Desire Ifeabunike
Case Manager
As a Case Manager at Party Wall Online, Desire supports clients throughout the Party Wall process. She enjoys coordinating cases from instruction through to completion, ensuring that each stage is managed efficiently, accurately and with close attention to detail. I work closely with clients, adjoining owners and surveyors to help ensure a smooth and well-organised process,
MRICS Principal Surveyor oversightMRICS oversight. Every case, every Award.
Every party wall case we handle is overseen by our Principal Surveyor, a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS), which is the world's leading professional body for property and construction. The Principal Surveyor reviews every case and signs off each Party Wall Award before it is delivered.
RICS regulation means you are protected by professional indemnity insurance, a strict code of ethics, and access to a formal independent complaints and redress process. You get the same professional protections you would expect from any traditional surveying firm.
Verify our Principal Surveyor on the RICS public register