Subdividing Land

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Subdividing Land

Subdivision is the process of dividing land or buildings for separate ownership. It can be a complex process and it is likely that you will need to seek advice – as well as engage the services of – professionals including a surveyor, accountant, solicitor, real estate agent, architect, valuer and a suitably qualified engineer.

One of the first things you will need to do if you are thinking about subdividing a property is to investigate the subdivision rules in the New Plymouth District Plan.

These rules relate to such things as:

Minimum allotment sizes.
Whether the property can be or needs to be serviced with roads, water supply, sewerage and stormwater disposal.
Whether suitable building platform(s) exist (with no flooding or stability problems).
Whether the proposal meets other planning requirements (such as the need for existing buildings to be a minimum distance from the boundary).
Whether the proposal creates additional users on a right-of-way.
Whether the property is affected by areas or items of value or importance to the community that have been identified on the planning maps

What are the minimum allotment sizes?

The minimum allotment sizes that you may create through subdivision depend on which environment area the property is located in.

Environment area	Controlled activity	Discretionary activity
Residential A	450m²	400m²
Residential B	300m²	250m²
Residential C	700m²	650m²
Rural	Four hectares. There is also an entitlement for one 1,000m² allotment or two 4,000m² allotments, provided a four hectare balance remains. This entitlement is dependent on certificate of title details as at 5 March 1999.	Two allotments of not less than 1,000m² or three to four allotments of not less than 4,000m².
Business A, B and C	No minimum	n/a
Business D	300m²	250m²
Open space A	500m²	400m²
Open space B and C, or Port Taranaki	No minimum	n/a
Industrial	No minimum	n/a

Note: These sizes do not include the area required to provide access to rear allotments.Return to top

Controlled activities

A resource consent is required for a controlled activity.
To be a controlled activity under this plan your activity must meet the “standards and terms – controlled” for all the parameters relevant to your activity.
We may place conditions on it.

Discretionary activities

A resource consent is required for a discretionary activity. We may decide to refuse an application or grant it with or without conditions.
The assessment criteria are used, in conjunction with the relevant objectives and policies, to decide whether or not to grant the resource consent.

Building on land undergoing subdivision

Generally, building consent applications can't be lodged until the the new certificate of title has been issued.

Accepting building consent applications prior to this stage is problematic because infrastructure (such as water supply and waste disposal), earthworks, ground conditions and other requirements have not yet been finalised or conditions on subdivision consents have not been met.

However, we may accept a building consent application for land where the certificate of title hasn't been issued if certain information requirements are met. These requirements are outlined in the form below.