Can I subdivide
my property?
Subdividing changes the title, not just the buildings, and whether it is open to you is decided by the block and the council rather than by the market. Enter the address and PiFi reports whether it is permitted, how many blocks the land could become, and what sits behind that.
An initial assessment. Speak to a professional before you make any decisions.
What PiFi reports for a subdivision
Whether it is permitted
The answer for that block under the rules that apply to it, not a general answer for the suburb or the zone.
An indicative block count
How many blocks the land could be divided into. Where the capacity for the address has not been established, this starts from a standard two block split rather than from your land, so treat it as a starting point and confirm it before anything rests on it.
What sits behind the answer
The block as recorded for that address and the dwelling capacity assessed on it, so you see what produced the result rather than being handed a bare yes or no.
An uplift figure
What the resulting blocks might be worth set against what the property is valued at now. The section below sets out what it leaves out, and it leaves out a lot.
Reconfiguring a lot, land division, subdivision
Queensland calls it reconfiguring a lot. South Australia calls it a land division. Most of the rest of the country calls it a subdivision. All three describe splitting one title into more than one, and you do not need your state's term to get an answer. Enter the address and PiFi applies the rules written where the block is.
The uplift figure, and what it is not
Where a block can be split, PiFi shows an uplift figure beside it. It sets what the resulting blocks could be worth against the value PiFi currently holds for the property.
Read it as the top line of a feasibility and nothing more. The block values come from comparable sales in that suburb, and where a suburb has few comparable land sales they are worked out from nearby houses instead and are materially less reliable there. The block count is indicative where the capacity for that address has not been established. The value it is measured against is one you can edit. And this figure subtracts no cost. Not surveying, not services, not demolition, not council contributions, not holding the land while the approval runs, and not the sale itself. Open the subdivision from your property and PiFi does put costs against it, with planning and construction lines and what is left after them. Those lines start from standard figures rather than quotes for your block, and you can edit them, so treat this figure as the question and that screen as a first pass at the answer.
What the block has to give you
Block size
The total area of the land. Every subdivision rule starts here, because each resulting block has to clear a minimum of its own.
Frontage
The width across the front in metres. This is what decides whether a block splits side by side or has to go back to front with a driveway, and the two are not equally easy.
Shape
Whether the block is square or rectangular. An irregular block can have the area for two and no way to draw a sensible line through it.
Constraints
Whether the land carries a flood risk, a bushfire risk or a heritage listing. Each is reported as a constraint on what the block allows, and each is a question for your council rather than a closed door.
If the block will not split
Subdivision is one of four residential paths checked in the same pass, so a block that will not split may still take a duplex or townhouses, and in New South Wales a granny flat. You see that in the same answer. The granny flat check runs on the New South Wales rules, so outside NSW read that one as unanswered rather than as a no.
Common questions
Can I subdivide my property?
Enter the address. PiFi reports whether subdivision is permitted for that block, the detail behind that answer, an indicative number of blocks the land could become, and an uplift figure built on that count.
What size block do I need to subdivide?
It depends on the council, which is why there is no national number. PiFi applies the rules written for that address rather than a rule of thumb, and reports the block size, frontage and shape those rules are tested against.
What is the uplift figure PiFi shows?
It sets what the resulting blocks could be worth against the value PiFi currently holds for the property. The block values come from comparable sales in that suburb, and where a suburb has few comparable land sales they are worked out from nearby houses instead and are materially less reliable there. This figure subtracts no development cost and the block count can be an indicative one, so it is a starting point rather than a result. Open the subdivision itself and PiFi does put planning and construction costs against it.
What is subdividing called in the planning rules?
Reconfiguring a lot in Queensland, a land division in South Australia, and a subdivision in most other states. They describe the same change: splitting one title into more than one.