DA approval to subdivide

Nit
DA approval to subdivide literally means "Development Approval (sic) approval to subdivide". This means someone has already gone to Council, had the land surveyed, had a surveyor draw up plans, submitted them to Council and Council has stamped the plans for approval for the subdivision to occur. That means someone who wants to subdivide the block can now for all intents and purposes, put fences up in line with the plan in the size and shape and area of the lots, have sewer and power run in to those lots, and build houses/units or whatever has been approved on those lots to sell.

How much does it cost? How long is a piece of string, how big is the block, where is it, who did the surveys, have they paid infrastructure charges, which Coucnil area and what are their individual charges….and so on. It could be $15K or it could be $50K plus. It is totally dependent on the things I've listed above.

The checklist for subdivision is the Town Plan for wherever you are. Easiest way is to locate a lot of a certain size, get the address, and ring the local Council that controls the area where the property is located. They'll give you a basic indication of whether you can or not, but they'll also refer you to the zoning and town plan for more details.

Hope that helps.

No problems. I should add to that that prior to actually constructing, they'd then need to get a "BA" which is a Building Approval to ensure that any construction meets with the Council's intent for the area. Eg: if its 'character' it has to be built in a certain style etc. This would involve having a builder submit plans to council for approval, much in the same way the Development Approval was done.

Good luck with your project.

Hi Nit,

Where are you looking at, because different councils have VERY different criteria.  I have been in the process of subdividing my block for 3 years and it is a real pain.  I was also under the impression that it would only cost around $30k – how wrong was I?

By the end of this month I will have council DA approval and I know that many others in my area have given up at this stage and sold out.  I haven't given up yet and maybe this is because I am insane, but the thought has crossed my mind.   If you can find something that is already DA approved then all the hard work has already been done.  Some will have already gone as far as having  civil engineering drawings, electrical and telecoms reticulation plans, survey plans, covenants, environmental plans and any other council requirements up and ready for execution.  By execution, I mean paying for the contractors and getting these services in place.

When you buy a "DA Approved" property you must consider these additional costs, which may be considerable.  In addition to the environmental end engineering costs there will be council "contributions" that need to be paid.  This is really a money grabbing exercise but one that we can't avoid.  However, the financial gains, are in many cases well worth the effort.  As I mentioned, there are a lot of people that have given up by this stage and just want to get out of it.  As I also said, all the hard has been done.  All you need to do is put all the pieces in place, pay the contractors and reap the rewards.

For example:  I have an acreage property in the Redlands Shire, Brisbane that is being divided into two half acre blocks.  because they are both  battle-axe blocks we need to put in our own fire hydrant, underground power and a proper driveway with passing bays.  Also, because it is in a Koala Habitat area (haven't seen one in years) we have to pay $100 per metre of tree that will be removed.  I am looking at costs of around $160K with around $50K of this going to the council.  If I sell both blocks with "DA Approval" I will make very little but the prospective buyer could easily make $300K+ for maybe a years investment.

I hope this helps.