Land Development Questions
Answering some of the common Land Development Questions. Please feel free to contact us if you have other questions.
I have a Building Consent and I’ve been told I now need to employ a Surveyor, why?
A Council officer or someone you know may have told you to contact a surveyor to carry out any of the Building Certification issues detailed in our services pages. Basically a surveyor is an expert in measurement. Our surveyors have the knowledge and skill to solve most problems that you might have relating to Land Development. We also have an excellent knowledge of the law relating to land and can help you interpret the District Plans that belong to various local Council’s.
I have already got my Resource Consent and Council has told me I now need Subdivision consent. What is that?
You have probably already got a Land Use Resource Consent which enables you to build a second dwelling on to your property. However if you want to subdivide your property so that the 2 houses are on separate certificates of title, you will need to obtain a Subdivision Resource Consent from Council. This means preparing a new application in terms of Council’s District Plan Rules and making sure your development meets the necessary requirements. We can prepare the Subdivision Resource Consent for you. See Planning page.
I have organised a Drainlayer to build my new drainage and Council has said that I must get you to arrange a meeting. Why?
Council requires that the construction of new public drainage is supervised and certified by a qualified person. We have a recognised qualification – Registered Professional Surveyor which allows us to certify the works for council to accept. We will arrange the meetings between the Contractor and Council observe the construction of the works – drainage, driveway, services – As built the drainage and certify all the works to Council standards. See Supervision of Engineering works and administration of Contract page.
What is the difference between Cross Lease and Freehold Subdivision?
See Urban Subdivision page
I am considering developing my property, does it have potential?
This question is very complex and involves careful research of records in Council, LINZ and Utility companies. Most projects will require both Resource Consents and Building Consents. Our knowledge and experience can identify relevant issues and their impact on your proposals, plus professional opinion would be needed to determine the feasibility of development. We would encourage an initial consultation with one of our Registered Professional Surveyors. For more details see the Surveying and Planning pages.
