Subdivisions
Information Sheet – Planning
What is Land Subdivision?
Each parcel of land in private ownership in New Zealand has a Certificate of Title granted to the
owner.
Subdivision of land is dividing the Title so that a part of the land may be sold or owned separately
from the rest of it. When land is sold, the Title to the land is sold. If you wish to sell part of the land in
your Title you must first get a new Title to the portion of land which you want to sell. This process is
known as subdivision.
Subdivision can either:
Divide up a piece of land; or
Provide a Title for a building or part of a building on a site;
Adjust the boundaries of a property.
All subdivision requires a Resource Consent from the Council.
The Council controls subdivision to ensure that each piece of land is provided with all the necessary
services, has adequate access, can be safely used for its intended purpose and will not cause any
adverse effects on the environment.
Subdivision Process
A Subdivision Plan
The first stage in subdividing land is to submit a plan to the Council showing boundaries of the
existing Title and the boundaries of the proposed new lots.
This plan needs to accurately identify the size and location of each piece of land. It must also show
the general location of buildings, access, rights-of-way, drains, water mains, rivers, streams or lakes
which cross or adjoin the site, topography of the area and any other information needed for the
Council to assess the subdivision’s effect upon the environment.
Assessment of Effects
Accompanying the Resource Consent Application must be an assessment of the effects of the
subdivision. The information in the assessment will depend upon the type of subdivision.
For a subdivision of a house site in town, a simple statement is all that is needed. For a subdivision in
the Coastal Protection Area, a major subdivision in a rural area or one involving a large number of
lots, a detailed assessment is needed. This assessment is to identify the potential effects upon the
environment. If there are adverse effects, the assessment must state how they will be dealt with to
reduce the potential impacts.
The types of effects that normally arise with subdivision are:
Stormwater/sewage disposal.
Loss of trees or bush cover and the erosion of land.
Increased motor traffic on roads around the site.
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Written Approval of Affected Parties
There are specific circumstances in which written approvals of affected parties are required as
part of an application for subdivision. These are:
Iwi and the Historic Places Trust, where the land proposed for subdivision contains an
archaeological site as identified in the Maps Section of the District Plan.
The Historic Places Trust, where land proposed for subdivision contains a heritage
item listed in the District Plan.
The Department of Conservation and Iwi, where land proposed for subdivision abuts
the coastline.
Ngati Ruanui, where subdivision is adjacent to or impacts on Statutory Areas.
Transit New Zealand, where subidivison fronts a State Highway.
Adjacent landowners and occupiers, where lots of less than 2,000 m² are proposed in
the Coastal Protection Area.
Council Assessment
An application for Resource Consent for subdivision may proceed through the non-notified,
limited notified or publicly notified processes. This will depend on the effects on the
environment and whether the affected parties’ approvals have been obtained.
Conditions
The Council may impose conditions on a Resource Consent for subdivision. On most residential
subdivisions, the subdivider has to pay a contribution towards providing parks and reserves or
set aside a park within the subdivision.
If services are needed or have to be upgraded, the subdivider will have to pay for the cost and
arrange for the services to be installed. Among the items for which the subdivider might have to
pay are:
Vehicle entrances and rights-of-way
Road widening or reconstruction
Sewer and water mains
Telephone and electricity wiring
Construction of footpaths
Installation of stormwater disposal systems
The Council may ask for easements and/or esplanade strips to be created and shown on the
plans.
Survey Plans
Once the Council has granted Resource Consent for subdivision, it is valid for five years. Within
that time the subdivider may arrange for a registered surveyor to survey the land and prepare a
survey plan. This survey plan is submitted to the Council for approval. If conditions were
imposed on the consent by the Council, the subdivider will need to demonstrate to the Council
that the conditions have been met.
Once this is done, the surveyor submits the plan to Land Information New Zealand, who will
deposit the plan and notify your solicitor for the legal requisitions to enable new Titles to be
issued. When these are complied with, a new Title can be issued, completing the subdivision
process.
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