Property subdivisions and consolidations

SUBDIVISION OF PROPERTIES

Subdivision is a term used when the owner of land divides his existing land into two or more portions.  He does this by requesting a surveyor to draft a subdivision diagram(s) on which he indicates the portion(s) that the owner wants to subdivide.  He submits the draft subdivision to the surveyor-general for his approval.

When an owner receives the approved subdivision diagram from the surveyor, no change in the status of the property has yet taken place in the deeds registry. The owner is still the owner of all the undivided portions in terms of a single title deed, as shown on the subdivision diagram.

There are certain supporting documents that are required to be lodged with the application for subdivision at the deeds registry, which include:

• City or township erven: Where a piece of land to be subdivided is situated within the boundaries of a municipality or other local authority, its written consent to subdivision must first be obtained (Regulation 38)
• Agricultural land: Where a piece of land to be subdivided is agricultural land the written consent of the Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs for the subdivision must first be obtained.

We specialise in obtaining the necessary consents by submitting all the supporting documents required by the authorities.  Both of the procedures described above are time consuming and it is of the utmost importance to appoint a conveyancer who has experience in obtaining these consents to avoid unnecessary delays and financial implications.