A contour and feature survey, also called a topographic or site survey, shows the levels of your property together with the features on your property such as the position of your house, fencing, vegetation and so on. This survey is usually requested by council, your builder or an architect when you conducting works on site such as building a new house, an extension to an existing house, or are building improvements that need to be designed.

There are many reasons why a boundary survey, also known as a cadastral survey, is helpful.

• If you are installing a new fence, a boundary survey will show the true position of your lot boundary and will help your fencing contractor install it in the right position.
• If you are building, a boundary survey will identify the lot boundaries and will help your builder ensure your new house is constructed within your lot boundaries.
• If you think a fence is in the wrong position or that someone has constructed a building across your lot boundary, a boundary survey will re-establish the lot boundary. Our survey report will show the position of the fence, building or relevant features in relation to this boundary.
• You are installing a new power dome and Western Power has requested you confirm the front boundary of your property before the new power dome is installed.

If you’re unsure if a boundary survey is what you need, contact our office and we will assist you with your query

The first step is to check with your council’s planning section to find out if your lot can be subdivided. Once you speak with your local government, contact our office to speak with one of licensed surveyors for more information. Even if the council advises that you cannot subdivide, we recommend contacting our office. We will look at your property in more depth to try and support the development potential of your property as well as outline the process for you. To query the subdivision potential of your lot, contact our office on (08) 9250 2261 or submit a request via our online form here.

A Residential Design Code, also called an ‘R Code’, is a zoning applied to your property. These zonings help determine whether there is potential to subdivide your property and outline the basic requirements to be met when subdividing. These codes are applicable in conjunction with Town Planning Schemes which also impact your property.

Based on our experience, we estimate between six to eight months to complete a standard subdivision. This includes obtaining approval from the Western Australian Planning Commission (which takes ninety days), completing all the works on your property including the provision of services to the lots, and receiving the clearance letters (documents stating you have completed the conditions on your subdivision approval) from the servicing authorities.

Each job has a different scope of works and each landowner/developer will work at their own pace, so it is important to understand that the time you will take subdividing land may be different compared to the estimated timeframe we have provided. We will do our best to assist with the completion of your subdivision within your desired timeframe.

Subdivision approvals are issued from the Western Australian Planning Commission. An approval for under four lots is active for three years. For subdivisions of five lots or more, the approval will last for four years. The Western Australian Planning Commission will not grant an extension on your approval so it is important to complete the subdivision before your approval expires.

The simple answer is yes. Regardless of whether you plan to build or sell, basic services including water, sewer and power must be provided to all lots. These are conditions on your subdivision approval and must be completed in order to obtain your new lot titles.

New titles do not immediately issue once your subdivision has been finalised. You will still need to apply for the new titles at the end of the subdivision process once your plan is ‘in order for dealings’ at Landgate (‘in order for dealings’ is the status of your subdivision plan when it is possible for you to lodge an application for the new lot titles; this status is achieved only once the subdivision approval works have been completed). Depending on your situation, you may be able to apply for the new titles yourself; otherwise, a settlement agent will be able to prepare and lodge your application for new titles.

There are several costs involved in the subdivision process. Some of these costs will include:

• Statutory planning fees (Landgate, council and the Western Australian Planning Commission)
• Surveying costs
• Water Corporation fees (relating to sewer and water)
• Western Power fees (relating to providing power and converting overhead to underground)
• Bushfire report (applicable to bushfire prone areas only)
• Site soil evaluation report (applicable where a connection to sewer is unavailable)
• Siteworks costs
• Contractors for works on site (plumber, electrician, demolition contractor etc).
• Other development costs*
• Settlement costs

Whilst these costs vary depending on the subdivision, we will provide an outline and indicative costs, based on our experience, as to what we believe will be applicable to your project.

* there may be additional development aspects applicable to your subdivision which are not outlined above. If you would like to know more, contact our office direct on (80) 9250 2261 or submit a request via our online form here.

Yes, we do. Our office is experienced and capable of coordinating your subdivision from start to finish. Our goal is to ensure the subdivision process is fast and efficient and meets your expectations.

A green title subdivision creates lots which are independent of one another – services for lots cannot cross lot boundaries and must be direct to each lot. A survey strata subdivision creates lots which fall under the Strata Titles Act and allow shared services. A survey strata subdivision will require unit entitlements and has the potential for common property whereas a green title subdivision does not.

Per the Strata Titles Act, the unit entitlement of a lot determines:

1. the voting rights of a proprietor; and
2. the quantum of the undivided share of each proprietor in the common property; and
3. subject to subsection (1)(c)(ii) of section 36, the proportion payable by each proprietor of contributions levied under that section.

If you have multiple residences on one lot and are looking to separate them onto individual titles, a built strata may be a better option for you instead of a subdivision. A built strata will show the position of the residences on the lots and will allocate an area, based on your development approval or the current use of the land, to each lot. This process does not go through the Western Australian Planning Commission but instead goes through council. A built strata is also an option for commercial and industrial lots and involves a similar process

We provide obligation-free quotes and are happy to assist with your query. Follow the link here to lodge an online quote request or call our office direct on (08) 9250 2261. Our quotes are free and we aim to have a quote to you right away.