Subdivision

Here is what you may need to know if you are looking to subdivide a property .

A resource consent is required for all types of subdivision. Subdivision consent is required to ensure that:

Any adverse effects that may arise from the subdivision are identified and appropriately dealt with.
All works and services are carried out and installed to required standards.
The new allotments are suitable for their intended purpose.

Online district plan enquiry

Use our District Plan Property Enquiry to search for an address to discover property specific rules.

View the online district plan

Note: The ePlan is designed for use on desktop computers and may not function correctly on mobile devices.

You'll need to apply for a subdivision resource consent when:

Dividing your land into separately owned properties
Adjusting or relocating the boundary(ies) of your land
Converting a cross-lease into a freehold title
Amending a cross-lease, unit title or company lease by making alterations or additions

There are a number of factors to take into consideration when subdividing a property:

The zone your property is in (different zones have different minimum lot size requirements)
The size of your property
Whether there are existing or consented dwellings on the land
Whether there are restrictions on the Record of Title
Whether the ground is stable or prone to hazards (e.g. flooding, erosion or contamination)
Whether new stormwater or wastewater drainage is necessary or if existing pipes need to be upgraded
Vehicle access, parking, and maneuvering
The division of Māori Land is managed by the Māori Land Court

Our subdivision resource consent process has four main steps.

Site feasibility assessment: Is the property suitable for subdivision? Consider zoning, infrastructure, and site conditions.
Consult with professionals: We recommend that you engage with a surveyor, planner, and possibly an engineer to assess the feasibility of subdivision and prepare the required plans.
Council regulations: Familiarise yourself with our Waikato District Council rules and regulations regarding subdivisions for your property address.

Prepare your subdivision resource consent application: Gather all required documentation to support your application.
Lodge your application: Submit your completed application.
Council review and approval: Council will review your application. If any further information is required to support your application, a Request for Further Information (RFI) will be sent out to you.

Survey and subdivision: Carry out the necessary land transfer survey.
Site works: Carry out any required site works such as roading, drainage, and service connections.
Service connections: Ensure the appropriate connections to essential services like water, power, and wastewater.

Obtain formal approval: Obtain formal approval from Council for your subdivision proposal.
Lodge with Land Information New Zealand (LINZ): Submit the land transfer survey for Approval as to Survey.
New property titles: Your solicitor will arrange the new property titles for your subdivided properties.

At a minimum, you'll need to supply the below information when applying for a consent:

Record of Title and legal documents
Subdivision plan
An assessment of environmental effects
Geotechnical report (in some cases)
Soil contamination report (if applicable)
Water supply and stormwater and wastewater management report
Vehicle access and traffic management assessment

Each subdivision is different, so it is not possible to give a general cost estimate. Costs can arise from:

An initial feasibility study
Consent processing costs
Development contribution payable to Council
Infrastructure connections (water, power, communications etc)
Vehicle entranceways and access
Professional fees (surveyors, planners, lawyer, engineers etc)
Land Information New Zealand fees

The above list is not exhaustive. It is recommended that you seek professional advice and get an estimate of the likely costs from someone experienced in the subdivision process before you start your project.

Development Contributions

It is also likely that you will need to pay Development Contribution fees to us.

Use our online Development Contributions Estimator Tool to get an idea of the development contributions that could apply for your proposal.

Our District Plan helps us manage the development of the district. It contains rules that may affect you if you’re building, subdividing, or making a development or land-use proposal.

Our Duty Planners can confirm the District Plan zoning and rules relevant to a specific property.

Duty Planner Service

Before you request our Duty Planner service, check out our online District Plan Property Enquiry which will provide the same information for you. This information includes rules relating to building setbacks from boundaries, subdivision and residential units (dwellings)

Online district plan enquiry

Use our District Plan Property Enquiry to search for an address to discover property specific rules.

View the online district plan

This information provides a summary about subdivision rules that create additional lot(s) within specific zones of our district.

There may be other District Plan rules that apply to your subdivision proposal. To view all the District Plan rules that may apply to your property address, use our online District Plan Property Enquiry.

Please note:

The summary of the District Plan rules below are contained within our Waikato District Plan – Operative in Part. These rules are subject to change as Council resolves appeals against this District Plan.
Some of the rules within the Waikato District Plan – Waikato Section and the Waikato District Plan – Franklin Section still have legal effect and may also apply.

Our online District Plan Property Enquiry will help you to find what zone your property is in.

Proposed lots must have a minimum net site area, excluding access legs (the land that provides legal and physical access to a rear lot or site from a public road) of 450m².
Proposed lots must be able to connect to public constructed water supply and wastewater.
Every proposed lot with a road boundary needs to have a width along the road boundary of at least 15m.
Every proposed lot, must be capable of containing a building platform with either a circle with a diameter of at least 18m exclusive of yards; or a rectangle of at least 200m² with a minimum dimension of 12m exclusive of yards.

Proposed vacant lots must have a minimum net site area, excluding access legs (the land that provides legal and physical access to a rear lot or site from a public road) of 200m², except where the proposed lot is an access allotment, utility allotment or reserve to vest; and
Proposed lots must be able to connect to public constructed water supply and wastewater.
Every proposed vacant lot must be capable of containing a building platform with a rectangle of at least 100m² with a minimum dimension of 6m, exclusion of yards.
Every proposed vacant lot with a road boundary, must have a width along the road boundary of at least 10m.

The minimum lot size requirement is generally between 200-300m² dependent on whether the lots are vacant or developed, or whether they are located within or outside the Outer Intensification Area (shown on our planning maps).
Every proposed vacant lot with a road boundary must have a width along the road boundary of at least 11m, provided that for lots with a frontage of less than 12.5m, a legal mechanism restricts the width of a garage and vehicle crossing for any further building development to a single car width.
Generally, it needs to be demonstrated that all the proposed lots are able to contain a residential unit that complies with District Plan standards MRZ2 Section 2 to MRZ2 Section 9.

Proposed lots must have a minimum net site area of 2,500m².
Every proposed lost must have at least 20m frontage to a road boundary.
Every proposed lot, other than an access allotment must be capable of containing a building platform upon which a dwelling could be sited as a permitted activity, with the building platform being contained within either of the following dimensions:
- A circle with a diameter of at least 15m exclusive of the boundary setbacks from a road, being 3m and from every boundary other than a road, being 1.5,; or
- A rectangle of at least 200m² with a minimum dimension of 12m exclusive of the boundary setbacks from a road being 3m, and from every boundary other than a road being 1.5m.

All proposed lots must have a net site area, excluding access legs (the land that provides legal and physical access to a rear lot or site from a public road) of at least 5,000m².
Every proposed lot with a road boundary, other than an access allotment or utility allotment or lot accessed via an access leg, must have a width along the road boundary of at least 50m.
Subdivision must provide a building platform on every proposed lot that has an area of 1,000m² exclusive of boundary setbacks.

The Record of Title to be subdivided must have been issued prior to 6th December 1997.
The Record of Title to be subdivided must be at least 40 hectares in area.
The proposed subdivision must create no more than one additional allotment.
The additional allotment must have a proposed area of between 0.8 and 1.6 hectares.
Where the land to be subdivided contains high class soil, the additional allotment created by the subdivision, exclusive of the balance area, must not contain more than 15% of its total land area as high class soils within the allotment.
Every proposed allotment as part of the subdivision with a road boundary must have a width along the road boundary of at least 60m.
Subdivision must provide a building platform on every proposed allotment being a shape factor of either:
- An area of 1,000m² exclusive of boundary setbacks; or
- A circle with a diameter of at least 30m exclusive of boundary setbacks; and
- Containing a building platform being a circle with a diameter of at least 18m.

Please note: In some cases, subdivision in Rural Zone is prohibited. To check the prohibited rules, use our online District Plan Property Enquiry.

We recommend engaging with a licensed surveyor. They can help with a variety of aspects through the consenting process, including:

Crafting a subdivision design for your property
Site specific zoning
Clarifying the need for stormwater, wastewater, sewer connections
Identifying power, water, telecommunications connections
Vehicle access
Providing a detailed breakdown of all subdivision costs associated with subdividing your section from the design, consent and development stages through to issuing of new titles.

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Last updated 30 May 2025, 10:48 am

Subdivision

Online district plan enquiry

Development Contributions

Online district plan enquiry

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