Subdivision Surveying in Auckland
The survey side of subdividing land, from the first feasibility check through to new titles. If you want to subdivide a section in Auckland, this is the part a Licensed Cadastral Surveyor has to sign.
Can you subdivide?
Most subdivision enquiries are really this question, and it is cheap to answer. We would rather check it first than take a fee for work that was never going to stack up.
- The zone under the Auckland Unitary Plan, and what it allows on a site your size.
- Site area, shape and frontage, and whether a sensible lot can actually be made.
- Access, whether that is a new crossing, a shared accessway or a right of way.
- Services. Where the drainage, water and power are, and what it takes to get them to a new lot.
- The existing buildings, their setbacks, and whether they still comply once a new boundary goes in.
- Anything on the title that bites, such as easements, covenants or a limited title.
Send us the address. We will look at the title and the zone and tell you whether it is worth taking further.
How a subdivision runs
Every subdivision follows roughly this path. The two council certificates in the middle are where most of the waiting happens.
- 1. Feasibility. Title, zone and site constraints, so you know what you are working with.
- 2. Topographical survey. Levels, contours, boundaries, buildings and services, which everything else is designed on.
- 3. Scheme plan and resource consent. The proposed lots, access and easements. We can prepare the assessment of environmental effects, or work alongside your planner.
- 4. Engineering and works. Services, vehicle crossings and any retaining, designed by a civil engineer and built before sign-off.
- 5. Section 223. The council certifies that the survey plan matches the consent.
- 6. Section 224c. The council certifies that the conditions of consent have been met.
- 7. Cadastral survey dataset. Prepared and lodged through Landonline, certified by a Licensed Cadastral Surveyor.
- 8. New titles. LINZ issues the titles and your lawyer completes the transfers.
Only a Licensed Cadastral Surveyor can certify a cadastral survey and lodge it through Landonline. What the surveying certifications actually mean.
Fee simple, unit title, cross lease
- Fee simple. Also called freehold. Each lot gets its own title with nothing shared. This is what most subdivisions create and what most buyers want.
- Unit title. Used where a building or structure is shared, such as apartments and many townhouse developments. Comes with a body corporate and needs principal and accessory units defined. Unit title surveys and plans.
- Cross lease. A legacy structure, rarely created now, and a lot of owners are converting out of it. Converting a cross lease to freehold.
What drives the price
- How many lots, and how much easement and parcel definition each one needs.
- Terrain. Flat and open is quick; steep, bush-covered or heavily built-up is not.
- How good the existing survey record is. Old or sparse records mean more fieldwork.
- Whether services already reach the new lots or have to be extended.
- Consent conditions, consent notices and any engineering works the council requires.
- Whether the title has limitations that need removing first.
Council fees, development contributions and LINZ fees are statutory and sit outside our fee. We itemise them separately in the quote.
Subdivision work we have done
Land transfer subdivisions through to titles, across Auckland, Northland, the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.
Frequently asked questions
Can I subdivide my section?
It depends on the zone, the size and shape of the site, the access, the services and where the existing buildings sit. Under the Auckland Unitary Plan some zones allow it comfortably and others make it difficult or not viable. Send us the address and we will check the title and the zone and tell you straight whether it is worth taking further, before you pay anyone for a design.
How many lots can I get?
That comes out of the zone rules, the site area and the practicalities of access and services. The honest answer is that the theoretical maximum under the rules and the number that is actually worth building are often different, because each extra lot brings more servicing and more cost. We would rather tell you that at the start than at the end.
What is section 223 and section 224c?
They are the two council sign-offs between your subdivision consent and your new titles. Section 223 is the council certifying that the survey plan matches the consent that was granted. Section 224c is the council certifying that all the conditions of the consent have actually been met, which is the one that usually waits on engineering works and fees. Once both are issued, the survey can go to LINZ for new titles.
How long does a subdivision take in Auckland?
For a two lot fee simple subdivision with no significant engineering, usually nine to eighteen months from start to titles. Council processing, requests for further information and any physical works are what drive it. Anything with retaining, new drainage or a new vehicle crossing takes longer.
What does it cost to subdivide?
The survey fee depends on the number of lots, the terrain, how much of the existing survey record is usable and what the consent conditions require. Council fees, development contributions and LINZ fees sit on top and are charged at cost. We quote the survey work as a fixed fee once we have seen the title and the zone, and we set the statutory fees out separately so you can see what is ours and what is not.
Do I need a planner as well as a surveyor?
Often, but not always. We can prepare the assessment of environmental effects for subdivisions that sit within the zone rules. Where the proposal needs a planning argument, for example a non-complying activity or something that pushes against the zone rules, a planner earns their fee. We will tell you which situation you are in.
Do you do the civil engineering design too?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who says they do both without holding the design qualification for it. Civil design for subdivision is engineering work, not survey work. We do the survey, the scheme plan, the cadastral survey and the certification, and we coordinate with a civil engineer for the design of roads, drainage and retaining. See the certifications page for what each one actually covers.
Can I keep the existing house?
Usually yes, and most subdivisions we do keep the existing dwelling on one lot. What matters is whether the house still complies once a new boundary runs past it, particularly for yard setbacks, height in relation to boundary and its services and access. We check that early, because it occasionally decides where the boundary has to go.
What is the difference between fee simple, unit title and cross lease?
Fee simple, also called freehold, gives each lot its own separate title and is what most subdivisions create. Unit title is used where buildings or structures are shared, such as apartments and many townhouse developments, and it comes with a body corporate. Cross lease is a legacy structure that is rarely created now, and plenty of owners are converting out of it.
Need a surveyor?
Send the site address and what you need delivered.