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Just chatting, not arguing about rising damp. It is a favourite topic of mine as there are so many snake oil salesmen.
Will stick a few photos up of a house with issues and see what you think. Then I'll tell you what the insurance assessor said it was.
Have seen reports claiming rising damp in a 1st floor flat!
If there is damp, there is a reason as you say.
@CYOA Hope you are wearing a mask ;) Personally I'd want to see the other side of the wall. What is the wall temperature like compared to the other walls? What is the room temperature like? Can you get a dehumidifier in there?
Can you easily remove the skirting board to see if there is anything visible behind?
Have seen lots of issues as modern plasters have been used over lime as lime breathes while modern plasters dont.
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lynx
Rising damp is real, but incredibly rare. It is commonly misdiagnosed. You're more likely to have a compounding damp issue (from old mortar, or window detailing), or just plain old condensation. Unless your house is built on very boggy ground or has encroaching water lines?
The party wall situation you're describing sounds like it might have poor breathability and that the wall might have a hard time becoming warm/dry again once cold/wet?
What mortar is present/being used on your neighbour's side? Has the external render changed since being built? Are any plants growing there? Is air free to circulate? Any guttering issues? Has the ground level increased against the wall? Have any air bricks/vents become blocked up? Any other obvious leaks/problems?
It's not terrible (and quite common) for external brickwork to become wet in Winter and then dry out again in Summer, the key thing being that the drying out actually happens, especially when there's no cavity.
The most popular/effective solution is an external application to the bricks so they stay dry (and the wall can still breathe), but I doubt that's possible in your situation and is probably overkill anyway.