Subdividing Land in Victoria: The 5 tests your property must pass

If you own or are considering purchasing a large block of land, you have probably asked the question: “Can I subdivide?”.

This article will provide a big picture overview of the 5 tests your property must pass when subdividing land in Victoria.

Subdividing Land in Victoria: The 5 tests your property must pass

The ability to subdivide land in Victoria is determined by the following 5 factors:

1. Zone,  Schedule & Overlay/s
2. Size of land
3. Building Envelope
4. Neighbourhood character & Precedent
5. Clause 55 & 56

1. Zone, Schedule & Overlay/s

What State and Local Planning Scheme Zone, Schedule and Overlay/s apply to your property?

This information alone may be enough to eliminate some properties from the ability to be subdivided as some Zones, Schedules and Overlays place subdivision constraints (eg. any subdivided lot must be of a minimum size) and even subdivision restrictions.

This information can be obtained either by calling the Town Planning department of your local council and enquiring about your specific property or (in Victoria) visiting the Department of Sustainability and the Environment website.

2. Size of land

Assuming that your property’s Zone, Schedule and Overlay/s allows for subdivision the next question to ask is: What is the area of your property?

This information can either be found (or calculated from) your Copy of Plan attached to your Title.

For proposed multi-unit residential townhouses and units in a Residential 1 Zone (with no other schedule or overlay constraints), town planners generally like the ‘300 m2 per dwelling’ rule-of-thumb. Planners may be more or less strict depending on the other factors mentioned in this article.

It is for this reason that generally speaking, the minimum area of a block to be considered for subdivision would be 600 m2. (ie. All things being equal, such a block would be suitable for a dual occupancy subdivision).

In Victoria, you can do a Land Title search and Title download at the Landata website.

3. Building Envelope

The Building Envelope is the actual area within your title boundaries that is legally and physically possible to build on.

The building envelope can be affected (reduced) by:

• The size and positioning of easements
• Restrictive covenants
• Signficant trees
• Existing buildings/structures that can’t/wont be removed
• Neighbourhood amenities
• Driveway requirements & crossover issues
• Nature strip assets

As you can imagine, in tying all of these factors together, building envelope constraints can quickly turn a potential 4 unit development on 1200 m2 into a 3 unit development, thus severely affecting your Strategy.

4. Neighbourhood Character, Strategic Planning & Precedent

Over and above all the factors considered, your council may have set specific local Neighbourhood Character & Strategic Planning policies in place.

If your property is in a good location – close to transport, schools & shops – these policies can sometimes favour you. For example, we recently were advised by a Town Planner that council would support a higher density development than we had proposed, due to the location of the property and its alignment with council’s residential strategy. (For those interested, the property was located in a ‘Neighbourhood Centre’ as defined in Clause 22.07: ‘Housing Diversity Area Policy’ of the Local Planning Policy Framework of Glen Eira Council).

Neighbourhood precedent (other recent, similar developments in the immediate vicinity) is also a big factor that can make your subdivision application more favourable.

You can view any Strategic Planning Policies for your local council at the DSE Planning Schemes Online website.

You should also check your local council’s website for any additional Neighbourhood Character guidelines or local planning preferences.

5. Clause 55 & 56

The previous four factors can all be determined well before any serious drawing work is done. Ultimately, however the permit to subdivide will rest on the Victorian Planning Scheme’s:

• Clause 55 (Two or more dwellings on a lot and residential building) – governing any proposed dwellings you wish to put on the site, and
• Clause 56 (Residential Subdivision).

That said, the better your research (and the greater your experience) with the previous four factors, the more confident you should be of obtaining both your planning permit and subdivision permit.

You can view Clause 55 and Clause 56 in full at the DSE Planning Schemes Online website.

Assuming you arrive at the conclusion that subdivision is worth pursuing, you may also be interested in our earlier article that walks through the land subdividing process in Victoria.

Subdividing Land in Victoria: Conclusion

The ability to subdivide land in Victoria is determined by the following factors:

1. Zone,  Schedule & Overlays
2. Size of land
3. Building Envelope
4. Neighbourhood character & Precedent
5. Clause 55 & 56

SUBDIVIDING LAND IN VICTORIA?
Contact us to ensure your property passes all 5
tests and is suitable for subdivision/development.

Related links:

• Department of Sustainability and the Environment (DSE) – Planning Schemes Online
• Landata – Land  title search and title download from the Titles Office of Victoria
• Property Development 101 – our mini Property Development Course

Related posts:

1. Subdividing Land: Are you being served? Part II
2. What is the minimum size of land to subdivide in Victoria?
3. Subdividing Land: Are you being served?
4. Land Subdividing
5. The hidden cost of Subdividing Land: It’s not my job

Tagged as: Land Titles, Melbourne, Multi Unit Development, Property Development, Subdivide land, Subdividing Land, Subdividing land victoria, Surveyor, Victoria