Please Note An Updated ‘How-To’ Guide for Subdivision has been prepared for May 2020 – click here to view this. This post is left here for information purposes.
Here’s our top tips to ensure subdivision success in the Queenstown / Wanaka area
To subdivide, or not to subdivide – that is the question! Property prices within the District are currently riding absolute rocketship (Queenstown values up 22% in the last year alone!). For many the temptation to subdivide and cash out has never been greater. If you are fortunate enough to be in this position, our top tips will help you prepare for launch.
Step 1: The Planning Rules
Before you seriously consider subdividing, you firstly need to figure out whether or not you can under the Planning Rules. The Planning rules are found in the Operative District Plan. You first need to find out what Planning Zone you are in by looking at the Planning Maps and then taking a look at the Subdivision Rules
The first set of rules you need to focus on are the minimum lot size i.e. is your property large enough to subdivide? (hint: check page 15-28 onwards).
In general the rules fall into two categories:
Urban land (i.e. residential zones): You can subdivide provided you meet the minimum lot size and other related rules
Rural General land (i.e. most of the rural land in the District): There is no specific minimum lot size as the entire application to subdivide will be assessed by the Council.
Tip: Don’t spend too much time going through the rules at this stage – just enough to get a general idea of what will be required.
Step 2: Make an Enquiry With Council
Not surprisingly, the rules around subdivision are rather complicated. Once you have taken an initial look at the rules, you should make an enquiry with land professionals. Firstly contact the Council’s Duty Planner. This is a free service and they will be able to provide you with a wealth of information on how to get started.
You also want to make an enquiry with the Council’s Development Contribution Officer to get an idea on the likely financial contribution you will need to make once you subdivide. What is a development contribution? As described by the Council:
A Development Contribution is a financial charge levied on new developments. It is assessed and collected under the Local Government Act 2002. It is intended to ensure that any party, who creates additional demand on Council infrastructure, contributes to the extra cost that they impose on the community.
Tip: Make sure you obtain an estimate of the likely development contribution as this cost is a large part of the subdivision process.
Step 3: Engage the Professionals
By now the Council will have given you an idea of the likely process that you will need to go through in order to subdivide. The next step is to engage the professionals:
Planning Consultant: The Council will not prepare your application for you. Engage a trusted professional to provide advice on your proposal and to help design your subdivision. You will be required to apply for a resource consent to subdivide and this is something practically every Planning Consultant has experience in. Of course at Pragmatic Planning we would be happy to assist you in this regard, just contact us – but there are several consultants who are well-equipped to take on this work.
Surveyor: A surveyor is needed to physically undertake a survey of the land and prepare accurate subdivision plans to be lodged with the Council. They will also need to assist in designing the engineering-related aspects of the development i.e. vehicle access. Your Planning Consultant would often arrange this for you so you are only dealing with one consultant.
Tip: In order to save on consultant costs – have a go at designing the subdivision of the property yourself. Walk around your site with an aerial map and work out the most logical position for the new boundary/boundaries, access, and new services (water, electricity, wastewater connections etc).
Step 4: Resource Consent
All subdivision needs to be approved by the Council through the granting of a resource consent. The likely time taken for this process varies greatly depending on the nature and complexity of the subdivision, and location. Subdivision of rural land is often a ‘Publicly Notified’ resource consent application and can take close to a year (or more!) to be approved. Your Planning Consultant will be able to give you further information about the likely timeframes.
Tip: Consulting with your neighbours early can speed up the resource consent process.
Step 5: Survey Plan and Physical Works
Your surveyor will prepare a more detailed survey plan of the subdivision and submit this to the Council for approval.
The approved resource consent will almost certainly contain conditions requiring physical works to be undertaken. Common examples include the installation of services, forming vehicle access, and earthworks. This usually results in the majority of your subdivision cost – or close to it! Your Planning Consultant and Surveyor will often assist you in arranging these works to get underway.
Tip: Obtain quotes from multiple contractors – you may be surprised at the differences!
Step 6: Apply for Completion of Subdivision
Works are completed, the legal and survey stuff done, and the development contribution has left a decent hole in your wallet – it’s time to apply to finalise the process! Your consultants will make a formal application to the Council’s Subdivision Officer. The Council will then check that all the conditions of consent have been satisfied and issue a certificate to confirm that the subdivision can be finalised. Your consultants will then submit these to Land Information NZ (LINZ) to get the new titles issued.
Tip: Unless otherwise specified in the resource consent, you will have a maximum 5 years to have the survey plan certified by the Council, and a further 3 years to complete the physical works and complete the subdivision.
Step 7: Subdivision Success!
There you have it – the five steps to subdivision! You can now sell your newly-created property and make it all worthwhile. Provided you have obtained good advice the overall process should have been relatively stress-free and costs tightly controlled.
Remember – there’s no harm in at least trying to find out if you are likely to be able to subdivide: contact us and well let you know. As always – absolutely no commitment required, and we won’t charge you a cent for initial advice.