Subdivision Consent

Subdividing involves dividing land or buildings into separate parts to enable them to be sold or split into separate ownership. This requires a ‘subdivision consent’ from Horowhenua District Council.

A subdivision consent is also required to alter a boundary between two properties.

Subdivision consent is a type of resource consent and is permission from Council to:

  • alter boundaries between sites, eg your neighbour wants to buy some of your land; or
  • create new sites, eg you want to split your property into two.

The Horowhenua District Plan contains rules controlling how sites can be subdivided (for example, minimum site size). The purpose of these rules is to ensure that sites created through subdivision can be developed (ie have a house built on them) and to control any negative environmental effects arising from subdivision.

When subdivision consent is required

All subdivision of land requires subdivision consent, even if it's only a boundary adjustment.

What's a boundary?

A boundary is the legal perimeter of a site.

A road boundary is the legal boundary between the site and the road. This is usually the front boundary.

What's a boundary adjustment?

A boundary adjustment is a type of subdivision where the boundaries between two or more sites are adjusted, without creating any additional sites.

An example of a subdivision consent being needed

You own a residential property which has a total area of 1,012 square metres (m2). You want to separate the backyard from the house and sell it. You'll require a subdivision consent to do this.

If you need a subdivision consent

If you're considering subdividing and have followed Steps 1 and 2 in our Resource consent process 9-step guide, we recommend you speak to both a surveyor and one of Council’s Planners. This will give you a good understanding of the steps and costs involved.

Cost of subdivision

The costs for subdividing will depend on the size and complexity of your proposal.

Council fees are one part of the total cost - our fees and charges can be viewed on our Planning Fees and Charges page.

It's also important to be aware of external costs such as surveyors and the cost of meeting your consent conditions, ie drain laying, new vehicle crossing etc. We recommend you seek quotes from external providers before you begin your project.

Development Contributions may apply

When growth in population and business takes place, new development is carried out to accommodate it. The extra traffic, water consumption, wastewater generation and stormwater run-off from that development, all take up spare capacity in Council’s infrastructure. Unless provision is made, that capacity can be used up over time and networks start to fail. Traffic congestion, low water pressure or quality, wastewater overflows and flooding can all signal a failure to keep up with growth. In some cases, parks, libraries and other public amenities can become crowded as the capacity they were designed for is used up.

To avoid this, the Council plans ahead and puts capital spending in its budgets to provide more capacity to service growth when it is needed. While the community may welcome growth, it should not be expected to fund extra infrastructure, particularly when it is already at the right levels of service. In New Zealand, financial and development contributions are the two main sources of growth funding available to local authorities. Development contributions can be charged upon subdivision to help offset the cost of this growth.

An assessment of whether development contributions are payable will be made at the time of assessing the application. Payment will be due prior to the section 224(c) approval being issued.

The Development Contributions Policy can be viewed on our Development Contributions page.

Stages of approval for subdivision consents

Subdivision requires three stages of approvals from Horowhenua District Council:

  • Subdivision consent - decision made to grant subdivision consent
  • Section 223 (s223) approval - approval of the survey plan showing the new boundaries. A survey plan is prepared by a surveyor and shows the legal boundaries. This is required in order to obtain a s223 certificate, required as part of the subdivision process. This must be approved within five (5) years of the consent decision.
  • Section 224(c) (s224(c)) approval - completion of any physical works required to complete the subdivision, such as installing new water and sewer connections. This is confirmation that all conditions imposed on the subdivision consent have been completed to the required standard, and is the final step in the subdivision process requiring Council approval. These works must be completed and approved by Council’s Development Engineer within three (3) years of the Section 223 approval. 

Once you have your Section 224 approval, you or your agent (surveyor, lawyer etc) will deposit the plans with Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) who will create the new records of title.

Subdivision and Engineering Requirements

The Horowhenua District Council Subdivision and Development Principles and Requirements 2014 sets out the engineering requirements for subdivision and development which your subdivision or development must comply with.

HDC Subdivision and Development Principles and Requirements (Version November 2014)(PDF, 533KB)
Appendix One: Vehicle Crossings(PDF, 1MB)
Appendix Two: Stormwater Disposal to Soakpits(PDF, 512KB)
Appendix Three: Pumping Stations(PDF, 388KB)
Appendix Four: Working in Roads and Trench Construction(PDF, 1MB)
Appendix Five: As-Builts(PDF, 909KB)