The Legal Steps for Subdivision of Land (Reconfiguration of a Lot)

The land subdivision process (known as ‘reconfiguring a lot’) can be an excellent way to create new accommodation options and improve capital gains for your Queensland property, but it involves a number of steps.

Unless you have experience in this area, you will need to engage a consultant, town planner, surveyor or other qualified professional to help you with the application and approval process.

You should also appoint a lawyer to support the legal aspects of your project.

The earlier your lawyer and your planner/surveyor are introduced and can liaise with each other through the land subdivision process, the better.

Take a look at the following for an overview of the legal steps to subdivide land:

Step 1: Development application / Council approval

You will need to obtain approval from the local council to subdivide land that you own. The requirements and end to end process will vary according to the local area the land is in and the size of the starting and final lots.

This process from initial planning to approval can take several weeks or months, so prepare to be patient and methodical.

Your property will need to meet certain conditions as part of the approval process, generally to ensure the proposed lots can be fully serviced (allowing access from each proposed lot to the local road, connection of water/sewerage services, connection of other services such as electricity, etc).

Work with a professional to check that your development application won’t be rejected because it doesn’t match requirements. The land subdivision process will take far longer if council comes back with questions or requires changes.

Step 2: Survey plan

A surveyor will prepare the final version of the new survey plan, which will define the boundaries of the subdivided property.

Step 3: Plan sealing

Once council is satisfied that all conditions have been complied with, they will ‘seal the plan’ by providing a signed Queensland Titles Office “Form 18B - Planning Body Approval of Survey Plan”.

Step 4: Registered owner consent

The next step of the land subdivision process is for all registered owners of the original lot to consent to the survey plan by signing a “Form 18A – Registered Owners Consent to Survey Plan”. This confirms the property isn’t being subdivided without your knowledge.

Step 5: Mortgagee consent / other consents for the land subdivision in Queensland

If there is a mortgage over the original lot, the mortgagee must also consent to the survey plan by signing a "Form 18 General Consent". If there are any other registered interests (such as a registered lease, a grantee of an easement) they must also consent by signing a "Form 18 General Consent".

Your local property lawyer from NPR Law can guide you through this part of the land subdivision process so all the correct documents are signed.

Step 6: Registration of plan & creation of new lots

Once the final survey plan has been prepared and all required approvals and consents are obtained, the survey plan can be lodged with the titles office for registration and issuing of new titles for the new lots.

These steps are essential to legally complete the land subdivision process and avoid issues with approval once construction commences. To ensure you complete them correctly, connect with an experienced property lawyer in Queensland.

Land subdivision: NPR Law can help

If you have any questions or would like us to assist you with a land subdivision project, please call 07 3555 6333 or contact us here.