21 Dec Land Divisions

Do you have land which you want to sub-divide?

Most divisions of land involve:

• Altering boundaries
• Dividing land into two or more allotments
• Large scale developments containing numerous allotments

We encourage our clients to seek our advice early in the process for example after they have made preliminary enquiries of the relevant local council and dealt with their surveyor, whose role it is to assist with the lodgement and approval process with the local council and the Development Assessment Commission.

Once the proposed land division receives the approval of the relevant local council, statutory authorities and the Development Assessment Commission, our role is to assist in the preparation and lodgement of all necessary documentation and the Plan of Division in the Lands Titles Office.

Land divisions can be achieved by Torrens Title, Community Title or Community Strata Title.

Torrens Title

Torrens title land division is the division of land into at least two allotments, which are held independently of one another. There are usually no shared facilities or infrastructure.

There are usually no shared facilities or infrastructure.

A community title is where land is divided into two or more lots together with an area of common property.  The common property is an area of land that does not form part of a lot and commonly includes shared service infrastructure and driveways.

Community Strata Title

In a community strata scheme one lot that exists above another and the lot boundaries must be defined by reference to parts of the building. The structure itself forms part of the common property and it is therefore the responsibility of the corporation to maintain and insure it. By-laws are a compulsory document for all community land divisions. The by-laws set out the obligations of the Community Corporation in administering the scheme and are the rules by which the scheme is to be run.

Strata Title

It is no longer possible to create new strata divisions but existing strata schemes can continue and are regulated under the Strata Titles Act. It is possible to amend an existing scheme or cancel and convert to Torrens Titles.

Consents required

Please be aware that you need to secure the consents of not only the registered proprietors of the land but also any registered interests on the Certificate of Title (for example, the financial institution which holds a mortgage on the land or the authority which holds an easement against the land).

Once all the necessary documentation and the Plan of Division are lodged in the Lands Titles Office, what follows is an examination procedure which may take some weeks, the Deposit of the Plan and the issue of new Certificates of Title.

Land divisions involve highly technical and potentially complex processes. Call us today if you have any queries or want us to assist you.