2 Lots on 1 Title - is each lot independently serviced?

Hi guys,

I've just come across this website which charges $875 to convert 2 lots on 1 title, into 2 lots on 2 titles which means you could sell them separately.

The website suggests this 2 lots on 1 title situation happens because:
When land was first subdivided in Queensland it was often subdivided into standard 405m2 lots. Many of the original buyers bought 2 lots and proceeded to construct a dwelling on both Lots. The Registered Plan was not changed and the original Lot numbers remain. Over time the 2 titles were combined to form a single title and the property now consists of 2 lots on 1 title.

It also says:
You do not need permission from your lender to separate your single title into 2 titles. The mortgage held over the title will simply be held over both of the new titles.

It does not matter if you have a building or anything else on both lots, the lots already exist and so you do not need to remove any encroachments to have 2 lots on 2 titles.

There is no need to connect up a new water meter, sewerage connection or other service.

Permission from your council, private certifier or other body is not required to split your titles.

My question, then, is this: Does this mean each lot will 100% already have services connected? Or are they just saying that's not required in order to split the titles?

If the above is a 'yes' this technically means you could buy a property with 2 lots on 1 title, split the titles and sell them separately (as long as no improvements are covering both of them) with minimal cost involved in doing so.

Thoughts/comments/objections?

 

You will have to read the LEP to determine the minimum lot size for a dwelling. No point having 2 x 300m2 lots on separate titles if you require 450m2 to build a house

 

Hi mate, in this case though they were originally made as 2 separate lots... This process doesn't change the boundaries or create an extra lot.. It just allows you to have separate ownership over the 2 lots, rather than having them combined as one title...

 

No point having a 300 m2 lot if you have to combine two parcels to achieve the minimum size to build a house.

 

Gotcha. Will look into it. Cheers

 

@Jmillar possible to add a weblink to the site please?

 

Whoops, forgot the link:
2 Lots on 1 Title to 2 Lots on 2 Titles - Certus Property Lawyers Queensland

 

We don't have a minimum size in Brisbane for that. If the lot exists then you can build as long as you meet boundary setbacks. ~100m2 is the smallest I have done that way

 

There is no need to connect services where the lots already exist, it is just that at some stage the titles were combined.

If you happened to stumble on something like this in an outer suburb where there was plenty of land for sale then I would expect it to have an influence on the price you receive. In the ones we see the buyer's hardly seem to even ask if it has water and sewerage on. We have overhead power and that is typically only connected once the dwelling is built. Also Telstra won't connect until there is a dwelling.

So it is only water and sewerage to be connected. You can arrange connection if you want or think it makes a difference to the price but there is no need to do so from a planning perspective and I have never seen it influence the price.

If a buyer offered good money and wanted it connected then you could always make the contract subject to connection or hold a retention in solicitors trust until it was connected. Happens sometimes but unless the block is on a busy road, trainline etc then demand far outstrips supply and buyers will pay the same money regardless of connections.

 

Awesome, thanks for all your help.

When you say Brisbane, do you mean Brisbane Council? Or does this also apply to Ipswich and Logan councils?

Cheers

 

Brisbane City Council is what I was referring to but same applies across QLD