DEVELOPMENT ACT APPLICATIONS AND ASSESSMENT Click here for more Details. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS If I am building on a boundary do I need to get a survey done? Most Councils will require you to have a survey done in these circumstances as a condition of building approval. However, it is recommended that this be done in all instances to avoid the possibility of building onto your neighbour’s land and cause the building to encroach over the boundary. The remedies to encroachments can be expensive and complicated. They can also cause much ill-feeling between neighbours. What is the difference between Torrens Titles and Community Titles? Torrens title land division is a form of sub-dividing where the resulting or proposed allotments have independent services and access frontage to a public street. Community Titles involves commonly shared services and access roads. It also involves the formation of a Community Corporation and Bylaws for the control of the scheme. Council planning requirements may cause a development proposal to be best suited to one form of division or the other. Many options exist within each type of proposal and we can advise you on these that relate to your particular circumstances. My neighbour wants to put up a new fence and says that the current fence is in the wrong place. What should I do? The Fences Act sets out the legal protocol that neighbours should adopt in the cases of erecting new fences. It does not set-out protocol for having a boundary survey done. However, these costs can be mutually agreed to between neighbours along with the fence costs. A survey would avoid future boundary disputes and give you “peace of mind”. It is also wise to note that the local council will not enter into neighbours boundary disputes. I am buying a property and concerned about any problems with the title boundaries. What should I do? We would recommend that the cost of a survey represents a very small percentage of the investment you are about to make. It would be wise to have a survey done before you sign any contract to determine if in fact any problems do exist. You could also sign a contract subject to satisfactory outcome of a boundary survey. We have found many instances where properties have been bought without survey and encroachments later discovered that subsequently involves expensive remedies.