Short answer. Yes, with one important exception. You may exempt yourself from contributing to repair and maintenance costs by renouncing your part-ownership of the party wall — unless the wall supports a building that belongs to you, in which case you cannot walk away from the obligation.
What the law says
The cost of repairs and construction of party walls and the maintenance of fences, live hedges, ditches, and drains owned in common, shall be borne by all the owners of the lands or tenements having the party wall in their favor, in proportion to the right of each. Nevertheless, any owner may exempt himself from contributing to this charge by renouncing his part-ownership, except when the party wall supports a building belonging to him.
Civil Code, Article 662 — Sharing the Cost of Upkeep. Read the full provision →
How upkeep costs are shared by default
When a party wall separates two properties and is owned in common — which is the presumption for walls on the boundary line — the cost of repairs, reconstruction, and maintenance is shared by both property owners in proportion to their interest. Neither owner can simply refuse to pay their share of necessary repairs while still benefiting from the wall's existence. Article 662 makes this the default rule: shared ownership means shared responsibility for the physical and financial upkeep of the structure.
The escape route — renouncing part-ownership
The law offers an alternative to ongoing cost-sharing: renounce your part-ownership of the wall. If you give up your co-ownership interest in the wall, you no longer bear its upkeep costs. This makes sense — the obligation to contribute is tied to the benefit of ownership. Once you relinquish that ownership, your neighbor takes on full ownership of the wall and bears its costs alone. The renunciation should be formalized to be effective; an oral statement is unlikely to hold up if the neighbor later demands contribution for future repairs.
The critical exception — when your building rests on the wall
The escape route closes completely when the party wall supports a building that belongs to you. If your structure uses the party wall as one of its walls or as a foundation element, you cannot renounce ownership to escape repair costs. The logic is straightforward: your building derives direct structural benefit from the wall's integrity. Allowing you to abandon ownership while your building continues to lean on the shared structure would be inequitable to the neighbor who would then bear the full cost of maintaining something that keeps your building standing.
Practical considerations before renouncing
Before making any decision about renouncing a party wall interest, consider what you lose. Your right to use the party wall — to place beams in it, to support structures against it, to benefit from its height for privacy or security — comes with co-ownership. Renouncing that ownership removes those rights as well as the obligations. If the wall is in good condition and the shared costs are minimal, renunciation may not be worth the loss of rights. If the wall is aging and expensive repairs are anticipated, the calculation changes. Either way, the decision and its consequences should be thought through carefully before committing.