Dual Occupancy Subdivision: A tale of two developments

Imagine that you’re a Property Developer.

The picture above represents two different suggestions for how you should approach your dual occupancy development.

Which suggestion would you take?

PS. Yes, this is a trick question

Dual Occupancy: A tale of two developments

Note: For the purpose of this illustration, consider that the street is running East-West along the South boundary of each property.

Development A

• Development A is a classic ‘battle axe’ dual occupancy subdivision/development.
• Unit 2 is completely seperate from Unit 1 (both units have their own separate driveway access to the street).

Development B

• Development B is a dual occupancy subdivision with a single driveway
• Both Unit 1 and Unit 2  share the same driveway (Common Property, C.P.)

Implications

The implications of proceeding with Development A over Development B are:

• Town Planning will need to approve the creation of an additional crossover to support the two separate, independent driveways.

The implications of proceeding with Development B over Development A are:

• The formation of an Owner’s Corporation (formerly Bodies Corporate in Victoria) for the Common Property will be necessary
• The management of the Owner’s Corporation is necessary
• Additional costs for surveying, land titles and legal costs as well as lifetime maintenance
• There may also be a shared brick party wall between the rear of Unit 1 and the front of Unit 2 (common for this configuration). If this is the case, subdivision certification must be held up until the development reaches base stage so that Council can check that the subdivision is, in reality, as per the subdivision planning permit issued. This can delay release of separate titles for several weeks.

Conclusion

Even for a simple dual occupancy development, one can see that a seemingly straight-forward decision to have a shared driveway can potentially (& unnecessarily) add thousands in terms of additional legal work, surveying and time not to mention the lifetime ongoing owner’s corporation management fees, costs and time.

And driveways are just one decision among many.

PLANNING A DUAL OCCUPANCY?
Ask us how a Land Use Plan can help keep your development simple and your lifetime costs down.

Related posts:

1. Two up: Dual Occupancy Developments – Part 1
2. Two up: Dual Occupancy Developments – Part 2
3. How to get an Additional Crossover: Think Parking Part III
4. Dual occupancy home designs: Don’t short change yourself!
5. The Corner Block Advantage

Tagged as: Dual Occupancy, Melbourne, Multi Unit Development, Planning Permit, Subdividing Land, Victoria