What is the smallest size a section can be for subdivision?
Under the Christchurch City Plan
The minimum site size varies between the different residential, rural and business zones, with differing minimums within each zone dependent on whether there are buildings existing on the site, buildings committed to the site, or the creation of vacant allotments. The Subdivisions team will advise you on the minimum area required for your zone.
Under the Banks Peninsula plan
You will need to speak to a planner at our Lyttelton office.
How do I change the tenure of my property from being cross lease titles to fee simple titles?
Your first major step is to ensure that all owners of the underlying fee simple title are willing to participate in the change. A cross lease title cannot be changed unless every owner is in agreement to the change.
The next step is to engage a Surveyor who will measure up the existing occupancy, prepare a resource Consent application plan and apply to Council for subdivision consent. Right of way easements will replace the common driveway areas and drainage easements may need to be created over existing services.
Once subdivision consent is obtained it is valid for five years. When the new pegs are in the ground, your surveyor will apply to the council for the issue of a section 223 Resource Management Act 1991 certificate for the title plan.
Once the conditions of approval of the consent are satisfied, your surveyor will apply for a section 224 certificate which is in effect the Completion Certificate. Your plan is lodged with Land Information NZ and your solicitor will prepare the Transfer documents and request for new titles and register them with Land Information NZ.
I have a cross lease property - do I need to get my cross leasee's consent to add a conservatory?
Generally, whenever any building work is proposed in a cross lease situation, the consent of the other composite title owner(s) to do the work will be required because all the other parties to your cross lease will own a share of the freehold upon which you wish to build.
Similarly with unit titles, consent will be necessary from the Body Corporate (all other owners) for any new building work.
There may be occasions where your cross lease document specifically excludes the requirement for their consent, however, before committing yourself to any professional fees relating to building work, you should first obtain a copy of your cross lease documents from the Land Titles office, and then discuss your proposal with your solicitor.
If I subdivide do I need to fire rate an existing building that is close to a boundary?
Subdivisions for cross lease title and unit title tenures are required to comply with fire rating of buildings as described in Section 116A of the Building Act 2004. Council is required to issue its certificate of compliance before the new titles can be issued.
Non compliance with the fire rating requirements of the Building Act 2004 do not apply to fee simple title subdivisions as it is not a requirement of the Act. However, any fire rating infringement can be noted on the Council’s property register and would appear in a Land Information Memorandum (LIM) which is usually obtained by a purchaser’s solicitor before advising their client whether or not to proceed with the purchase of a property.
- Fee Simple or Freehold Subdivision - If the new boundary is to be located in close proximity to the existing building, the wall adjacent to the new boundary may become non-complying in relation to fire rating. While upgrading the fire rating of that wall will not be a condition of the subdivision consent a note of the non-compliance will be recorded on the property register and appear in any Land Information Memorandum (LIM) requested for the property.
- Unit Title and Cross Lease Subdivisions - The certification for these types of subdivision requires compliance with the fire rating requirements, therefore any non-complying wall will have to be upgraded in respect to fire rating before the subdivision can be certified.
Note: The fire rating only applies within 1.0 metres of a boundary.
How wide does a shared or exclusive access strip to a rear site need to be if I subdivide my site?
The legal width and the formed width depends upon whether the access is to a residential site or to a non residential site. In both cases the City Plan specifies a minimum legal width and a minimum formed width:
- The legal width is the width of the access strip as shown on the title for the property. This width is the entire area to be shown as a right of way easement or common property (as the case may be) on the survey plan and includes the formed driveway plus any additional space for services, footpaths, landscaping or the like.
- The formed width is the width of the vehicle carriageway and excludes any footpath area.
- Where the access strip is serving 1-3 units only, then the formation must as a minimum be metalled and drained except where the gradient of the access is steeper than 1 in 10 where a sealed and drained surface is required.
- In all other cases a sealed and drained surface is required
- If it is a driveway to a residential site then the width of the drive depends upon the number of houses or units accessed from the drive. The relevant minimum dimensions are shown in the table below:
No. of Units | Minimum Legal Width | Minimum Formed Width | Minimum height clearance | Passing Area
(minimum width 5.5 metres) | Turning Area |
1-3 | 3.0m | 2.7m | 3.5m | No | Possibly* |
4-8 | 4.0m | 3.5m | 4.0m | Yes | Yes |
9-15 | 6.0m | 5.0m | 4.0m | Yes | Yes |
- * On site turning is required for any residential development if the development is accessed from an arterial road. On site turning is also required or if there is two or more units on a common driveway that is accessed from a collector road.
- The shared access can be used to provide on-site turning provided the unit has rights to use the access.
- If the access is to more than residential 15 units then a legal road is required to be formed. For advice on this contact the subdivisions team.
- If the access is to a non-residential site then the following minimum dimensions apply:
All non-
residential
uses | Minimum Legal Width | Minimum Formed Width | Minimum height clearance | Passing Area
(minimum width 5.5 metres) | Turning Area |
Any | 6.0m | 4.5m | 4.0m | No | Yes |
