Authored by Attila Csaplar, Stonnington Director
Finding the right block of land for your dream home build can sometimes be a lengthy and frustrating experience. Beyond the scarcity of suitable land, you’ll need to find one for “the right price” with suitable settlement terms. And once you’ve found that elusive perfect block, there are a few potential pitfalls that need to be considered before you sign on the dotted line.
A block may look perfect at first glance: the right street, a generous frontage and plenty of room for the home you’ve imagined. Unfortunately, a land’s dimensions and area tell only part of the story. What lies beneath the ground, what surrounds the property and what grows near the boundaries can dramatically influence what may be built.
Discovering these constraints after settlement can lead to major compromises, additional costs and a home very different from the one you had imagined. Over the years, we’ve been approached by a few clients who had enthusiastically purchased land after a long search only to realise that their property had a few hidden surprises.
What’s Hiding Under the Ground
A solicitor specialising in property law should highlight the obvious constraints on a parcel of land. These are namely easements i.e. areas of the land which contain services that cannot be built over, and planning controls. What is contained in those easements and the specific nature of any planning controls should be investigated further to determine how they may compromise your plans for the site.
But here’s the scary part; a buyer should also be aware that not all services running through a property are contained within a designated easement on the property’s title. You can purchase a property without any easements only to find a shared sewer pipe is running through it. You will still need to treat the pipe as if there is an easement on your property. Approaching relevant, water, sewer, electrical & gas authorities with a direct enquiry about your property address can clarify this issue for you. So, you cannot simply rely on title easements when it comes to services running through your land.
Your Neighbours Matter More Than You Think
The surrounding properties can be just as important as the land itself. Strict design rules prevent a new home’s design from excessively overshadowing an adjoining property’s yard areas. In some cases, NO additional overshadowing of neighbours’ yards is permitted. How this may affect you largely depends on your site’s orientation as well as the size and location of the neighbours’ yards. It may mean increasing your building’s setbacks and reducing the extent of upper floor areas.
Trees Don’t Care About Your Floor Plans
Trees are another common surprise. Most trees over a given size require either planning or local law permit approval for their removal. If a tree is to remain, the new building’s design and structure will obviously need to take into account potential building movement as well as the long term health of the tree. Significant trees on adjoining properties must also be considered, as root systems and tree-protection zones likely extend across the boundary and into your proposed building area.
Zones, Overlays and the Fine Print
Planning controls can further reshape the possibilities. Every property is affected by a planning zone and may also be subject to overlays controlling matters such as heritage, neighbourhood character, flooding or other site-specific considerations. These controls can influence building height, setbacks, demolition, external materials and even the levels of your new home. VicPlan allows buyers to generate a planning property report showing the zones and overlays applying to the land, though treat it as the beginning of the investigation rather than the final word.
When the Constraints Add Up
Even when none of these issues makes development impossible, several constraints operating together can reduce the usable building area. An easement along one boundary, a protected tree at the rear and overshadowing restrictions on another side may leave a surprisingly small envelope in which to design. The result may be less floor area, fewer rooms, a compromised garden, additional construction costs or a lengthy planning process. A block that appears inexpensive compared with others in the area may therefore not be the bargain it first seems.
Fences Lie
And what about title boundaries? The fences indicate the boundaries, right? Actually, fences are rarely positioned correctly along the property’s boundaries. We’ve seen sites with boundary fences located more than a metre from a given boundary. Gaining that land back after your purchase may prove difficult or impossible. It’s worth arranging for a re-establishment survey to ensure that the parcel you intend to purchase is the same parcel contained within the property fences.
Do Your Homework First
This isn’t an exhaustive list of what could go wrong – we just wanted to flag some of the issues we see come through our office on occasion. Hopefully you can take some of this advice and feel more confident with your next purchase.
The safest approach is to investigate the property thoroughly before making an unconditional commitment, by seeking advice from suitable professionals. In some cases, it may be wise to engage a building designer to carry out a design feasibility based on the type of home you hope to build.
A little professional advice before your purchase can reveal the “land mines” early – when you can still negotiate, reconsider or walk away.