Subdivisions

Unfortunately, our psychic left due to unforeseen circumstances, so we now have to rely on a desktop investigation and possibly pop out to see you. Call us now and speak to our helpful surveying team or get a free quote – we would love to hear from you.

A bit of a tricky question that one – there are so many variables: age and quality of existing survey, varying Council application fees, amount of servicing required, LINZ fees, legal fees and of course the biggest expense in most developments are the Council Development Contributions. All up it can range from $20k – $80k for a two-lotter depending on where your land is situated, what council, how big and a host of other things. You really need to talk to us about this stuff – we can do a fee proposal for most projects from a desktop investigation – call us or hit the contact button now.

Let’s look at the question. Remove the words “does a subdivision take” and replace them with “is a piece of string”. The simple answer is ‘it depends’, because there are a number of variables to review and processes that have to happen in consecutive order. And for a few of those processes we are at the mercy of outside consultants and agencies. We can say from experience that it takes at least 4 – 5 months. Usually longer.

However, having an experienced team to support you through the process can help you avoid common mistakes or issues that can hold up a project. It's best if we talk to you about your particular project and your needs to access from there.

The legal fees you will pay for a subdivision will depend on a number of factors, from the ownership structure of the property, to the covenants and other instruments on the title of the property, and whether you have one (or more) mortgagee involved. Typically, the legal fees for a standard 2-lot subdivision with one owner could be as little as $2,500 plus GST and land online fees.

This depends on local council rules. If you look up your local council District Plan this info can be hard to find. We would be more than happy to investigate this for you and provide you with a fee proposal as well.

“Subdivision” means to divide land or buildings into separate parts, each with a separate certificate of title. A resource consent (known as a subdivision consent) is required for all types of subdivision.

Subdivision consent is required to ensure that:

• Any adverse effects that may arise from the subdivision are identified and appropriately dealt with
• All works and services are carried out and installed in terms of Council’s Infrastructure Design Standards
• The new allotments are suitable for the intended purpose.

Our team are extremely well versed in the legal requirements around subdividing and we can take a lot of the guess work out of the process. Engaging an expert in dealing with land development, councils and external agencies will make the entire process so much smoother.

The current (2018-19) Christchurch District Plan:

• Residential Banks Peninsula – 400m²
• Residential Medium Density – 200m²
• Residential Suburban Density Transition – 330m²
• Residential Suburban – 450m²
• Residential Hills – 650m²
• Residential Large Lot – 1500m²
• Residential Central City – The minimum residential site density to be achieved when a site is developed or redeveloped with a residential unit or units shall be not less than one residential unit for every complete 200m² of sitearea (e.g. a site area of 399m² requires 1 residential unit, a site area of 400m² requires 2 residential units).
  There are reductions in minimum areas required in some zones when a development is undertaken in conjunction with building commitment. There are also other types of development options available for some zones enabling higher density that detailed above. Enquire to find out.

Māori land is defined in the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993 (TTWMA) as “land that is held by Māori in accordance with tikanga Māori” (Māori custom and culture). The Act was set up to encourage and facilitate the development, utilisation and occupation by its owners, their whanau (extended family), and their hapu (sub-tribe or kin group linked by a common ancestor). In New Zealand, a subdivision of land is usually controlled by the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and the relevant District and City Plans, so that anybody wanting to divide the land into freehold, cross lease, unit title or company leases for more than 35 years, requires a subdivision consent. However, this isn’t always the case for Māori land, where the subdivision is largely controlled by the TTWMA and administered by the Māori Land Court (MLC).

One or more owners of Māori land can apply to separate their shares from the rest and create a separate title. In Māori land law this is called a “partition” and is a type of subdivision. Partitions must be in accordance with the RMA subdivision requirements unless it is a Hapu Partition, which is where the new land blocks are distributed among the existing owners and no land is gifted or sold outside of the existing owners. The MLC website https://www.maorilandcourt.govt.nz/ has helpful information on partitions and other types of Māori Land dealings.

The extent of any survey work required for a partition depends on Māori Land Court or Council requirements (where applicable), LINZ survey rules, existing survey work and practical on-site considerations.

For those wanting to find out more, most of the Māori Land records are held at the Māori Land Court, although some are also registered with Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). The Māori Land Online database also contains valuable information and can be used to locate individual Māori land blocks on a computer-generated map. Please contact us if you require help with this process in the Canterbury area and our specialist staff can be of assistance.