I've discussed with my neighbour and we have both agreed to put a fence up between our two properties - the previous owner decided to put a fence only up to the building only - I presume to save money. While its been fine over the last few years, it is generally a hassle a for both me and the neighbour to arrange time to gain access every time i need to do a pest control / general maintenance on that side of the property. To ensure the fence is put up in the right place, I want to engage a surveyor so there are no future issues. Can the people of PC please provide me some recommendation as well as an approximate cost of this service. Thanks!
@neK only a Registered Land Surveyor can legally mark property boundaries. the cost can depend on your location, and the availability of recent survey plans in the vicinity. expect to pay anywhere between $600 or up to $1200 for difficult areas. you will receive a written report or sketch or both. the difficulty is re-defining the boundary not putting the marks in the ground.
What do you mean by that? As in they will find their own surveyor and that might yield different results?
Possibly. Probably worth checking all boundaries while they're their. If that's what you're thinking.
@neK if you are proposing a future knock down & re-build. then you will probably need a level and detail survey to lodge with the DA. this will show all the minimum requirements for council (neighboring buildings. windows etc etc.) it will also show levels to assist design. Once you have your design approved and ready to build you will need to have the building set-out on site by a surveyor. this will ensure the building is in the right place and all minimum setbacks will meet the approved plans. but back to your new fence.just call a few local surveyors and get some quotes. after looking at the charting map we can generally get a vibe on what we think will be involved. surveyors have strict protocol and guidelines to adhere to. (see surveying Act) legislation.nsw.gov.au if....... if discrepancies are found they will advise you on the appropriate actions. regards, Surveyor
@bmc. Thanks for the info. It won't be a knock down rebuild - I don't think I could fit a decent house on it due to its narrow width. I'm starting to lean towards extending upwards instead. Is a survey necessary for that? In relation to the survey, do they mark down where the fence should be or say use the wall as a point to measure from?
@neK - you'll still need a survey to extend as you have to prepare a shadow diagram and identify neighbours windows.
@neK i think you may need a level and detail survey for your DA. But check with your local council. its unlikely you will need any set-out for the upper level unless it has a minimum setback from a boundary. as for your boundary marking i would try to place marks the fencing contractor can use and probably offset so he has a recovery. i generally show all structures with 1.0 metre of the boundary on the sketch. so an offset would be shown to the fence, wall, building etc in relation to the calculated boundary line.
Hi neK I'm surveyor located in Sydney. My advice is to contact some Registered Surveyors in your area for a quote as they will probably do the best price due to the short travel time. In regards to cost, there are a lot of variables which determines the price, but the biggest driver of cost is generally the age of the cadastre. In older areas with not many recent surveys done nearby, it can be extremely time consuming and an absolute nightmare to determine the position of the boundary due to survey marks/occupations on the plans being destroyed.
It depends on council, but most councils in Sydney that I deal with typically require a contour/detail survey as a part of the DA. The architect will use the information in the contour/detail survey to show the effects of the shadow impacting neighbouring properties at different times of the year, make sure windows don't line up with neighbouring properties, determining maximum building height requirements etc. If you are going down this path, I would be talking to your architect or builder and the local council to see what they require. In regards to the fence situation, the surveyor will generally measure the location of the fence at all corners of the property and measure the closest corners of the dwelling. Then they will give you a sketch showing offesets from the boundary to the fence/corner of the building. If you want the surveyor to place marks to show where the boundary is, that typically costs a bit more money as the surveyor will have to make a second trip to go back out and mark the boundaries after it has been calculated in the office. If you're getting this survey done, just make it clear to the surveyor for what you want them to measure and show on the sketch. If there is some certain part of the fence or a wall that you want measured, just make it clear to them. You could even place your own marks and they could give you an offset distance.
Yes or they may dispute the legal position etc if its been there a long time etc. Its very common to find encoachment on older property. My mate has a neighbours garage in theory 8 inches over his land. Its the boundary wall and the wall thickness in on his land not beside it. . As he said - Why bother. Will cost a lot to achieve nothing more. He bought his property thinking his land is what he sees not what is technically drawn on a title deed. And his neighbour didnt build it - Someone 40-50 years ago did. They both have agreed to have the title corrected so its not disputed later if either sell. Lots of old titles have incorrect boundaries back in the days when alleys and WC access was through lanes.
