Semi-Detached...in simple terms

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by Brice, 2nd Nov, 2016.

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  1. Brice

    Brice Member

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    Hi all, I'm new on the market, and new in Australia (from Belgium).

    We just put an offer down on a house and it got accepted. That's very exciting !! There is one thing that bothers us, and we can't seem to find any "true" answer... (we're in Perth by the way)

    So, the situation : it's a house, semi-detached, with one common wall. The two "half houses" sit on a block of 1100sqm, and the land is split in two by a fence which is basically where the common wall is.

    Now, the question : who own the land ? I mean by that, is the whole terrain the property of both owners of each house ? We know that the land was not surveyed and the fence has been there for te years, by mutual agreement by the previous owners. What stops the neighbor (or us for that matter) to move, or remove that fence ? We do want to survey and "legally" chop the block in two so we each have a true half (though our backyard is somehow twice the size of his).

    If the terrain is the property of both, do I have to ask the neighbour every time I want to do something in "our side of the fence" for instance a veggie patch, some chooks, plant a tree, chop one down etc...

    Basically, we don't want to buy something that "looks like it has a backyard" but in fact does not, not really anyway.

    Hopefully I am making sense... Can anyone explain the rules around this ? Damn confusing :)

    Cheers,
    Brice.
     
  2. LifesGood

    LifesGood Well-Known Member

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    Check the certificate of title and deposited plan. This should provide a bit more info for you.
     
  3. Brice

    Brice Member

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    Thanks Lyndon, it does not really say much :(
     
  4. LifesGood

    LifesGood Well-Known Member

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    Have you asked the real estate agent?
     
  5. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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    You can get the title from Landgate and see if the land has already been divided. If not, you probably own the building and the whole yard is called common property. The good news is that you may be able to divide the land legally, after purchase. This can boost the value. The subdivision would most likely be a Survey Strata, which would give you exclusive use of your yard. A surveyor will be able to tell you if your land can be subdivided and guide you through the process.
     
  6. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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    Hit and miss with real estate agents. Last agent I spoke to was quoting me lot sizes and rules from the RCodes 2 revisions back. He didn't know the RCodes have been revised... twice!
     
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  7. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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    My answer to this is no, you don't need you neighbour's permission to do anything in the section fenced off behind your house.
     
  8. Brice

    Brice Member

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    It's a private sale, the owner has no clue either :D
     
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  9. Brice

    Brice Member

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    Thanks. No the land has not been divided (spoke to Landgate this morning but they could not really answer the rest of the question). So if the land CAN be divided, great, if not, we just leave the fence where it is and hope the neighbour stays friendly ?
    I'll ask Landgate again if it can be divided or not to be sure.
     
  10. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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    Perfect! I reckon these properties are really underrated. I have seen examples where once they are converted to survey strata either one side or both pick up development potential. If you want to PM me the address I can see if I can find out what kind of title.
     
  11. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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    A surveyor will be able to tell you. Pretty much, if you have 1,000 m2 and it is R20, you will at least be able to divide to Survey Strata.
     
  12. Marg4000

    Marg4000 Well-Known Member

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    I reckon it will all depend in the legal title to the property. Maybe your solicitor can check?
    Marg
     
  13. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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    The property is in the City of Belmont. City of Belmont City Maps has quite a lot of information about properties.

    City of Belmont

    From Belmont City Maps, the property is R20 and has a frontage of 28 metres.

    From the R-Codes, we can see that an R20 lot requires a minimum lot size of 350sqm, an average lot size of 450sqm and a minimum frontage of 10 metres (only for freehold and survey strata with no common property).

    This indicates there is potential to subdivide this block into two blocks.

    https://www.planning.wa.gov.au/dop_pub_pdf/State_Planning_Policy_3.1-Residential_Design_Codes-P.pdf

    Belmont City Maps also indicates this is a type of strata plan. Each unit will have an entitlement that is set out on the strata plan. The strata plan can be ordered from landgate. I would suggest people do not buy a property until they have read the strata plan.

    Survey or strata plans - Landgate
     
  14. thatbum

    thatbum Well-Known Member

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    I don't get how the OP has gotten this far without seeing a strata plan for the property - that would sort all this out in a second.
     
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  15. Brice

    Brice Member

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    Thank you all for your responses, and special thanks to PerthGuy for the offline convo. I'll try to sum things up for future reference if anyone needs this. This is how I understand things, correct me if I am wrong.

    1. A lot has to be of minimum 450sqm. So if a block of land needs to be strata'ed, it can't be smaller than 900sqm.
    2. Two semi-detached houses on a block are joined by a wall, that wall is also the boundary of the two lots.
    3. If not strata'ed, both owners share the entire land, though delimited by the boundary. So they may share a driveway but each has the privacy of their own backyard.
    4. If not strata'ed, neither owner is king of their own land, they need approval of the other to make any substantial mods - but a veggie patch is not a substantial mod :D
    5. You can order the Certificate of Title and Survey (or Strata) Plan from Landgate (Survey or strata plans - Landgate) for a clearer view of your property. Cost is $50 roughly.
    6. Strata takes 6 to 12 months. You need the approval of the other owner to start the process, it's up to you and him to decide who pays for it.

    That's it, in a nutshell, in simpler terms :D
     
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  16. thatbum

    thatbum Well-Known Member

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    No - if its not strata'd then you can't actually buy half of it. This is what confuses me - what are you actually buying into?

    Is it something weird like purple title or company title? @Perthguy mentioned earlier that it had a strata plan for the property - so have you seen it?

    EDIT: Assuming there is a strata plan, that should be front and centre of the documents disclosed to you before offering.
     
  17. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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    It is currently a Strata Scheme that has the potential to convert to a Survey Strata.

    Correct. As far as I know, the Strata Plan should form part of the Offer and Acceptance. I have sold one of these years ago. I remember there was additional paperwork. It was not the same as a freehold.
     
  18. Perthguy

    Perthguy Well-Known Member

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  19. Brice

    Brice Member

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    Oh I see, I understand the terms better now. Two types of strata (scheme and survey). One has completely independant lots (survey), the other (scheme) and has lots+common property.
     
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  20. Brice

    Brice Member

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    It's a strata scheme if I understand everything, so split in two lots with each owner having "shares" of the land but ownership of their house.