Property Update – Subdivisions

It’s not uncommon for land owners to approach agents about selling subdivided property before the subdivision is complete.

In this blog post, I’ll briefly describe the subdivision process to give you an idea of the steps involved before the settlement of subdivided properties can be completed.

The first part of the subdivision process is due diligence. The developer finds out whether the land is suitable for subdivision, and what type of property it should be subdivided into – strata, survey strata, or green titled?

Second, the developer prepares an initial plan for the subdivision.

Third, the application for the subdivision is submitted to the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC). WAPC then send the relevant information to government agencies such as the local government, Western Power, and the Water Corporation.

Fourth, WAPC delivers conditional approval. Often, this approval is conditional upon things such as the block being levelled, demolition of a building, or the developer contacting Western Power.

Fifth, a legal survey needs to be carried out.

Sixth, the surveyor lodges the plan with Landgate. From here, I’ll let this diagram (based on a handout from the Department of Commerce), explain the rest.