A lot has to be taken into account when dividing land! What has long been tolerated in communities comes to light during new surveys!

Sounds simple, but it's not!

When building on a property, the boundaries are often not taken very seriously: Communal areas are also fenced in, the neighbour has built on a few m² of the neighbouring property or has not placed his fence exactly on his property boundary or the air boundary to the neighbour has been exceeded when a garage is newly insulated. None of this is a problem as long as the property is not sold and there is no separation of land or remeasurement of the property.

All building sins come to light when plots are divided and there is often a rude awakening for the neighbour who has not respected the property boundary and suddenly has to pay a purchase contract to buy a few m² of land from his neighbour.

How are property divisions carried out?

The first step is the surveying office, which must precisely measure the new property to be divided. The surveying office then draws up a draft division plan that can be used for a purchase contract. This is followed by a negotiation with all neighbours, after which a 14-day objection period must be waited for.
As soon as the authorisation has been received from the surveying authority, this is forwarded to the municipality, where the approval must be awaited.

This can make a purchase agreement take quite a long time. Although the purchase contract can be signed with the draft division, this is a condition precedent and the seller will only receive their money once all authorisations have been obtained.

It is also important to consider whether the local authority is making a partial transfer of the property (which is often the case) and whether the local authority is demanding an additional levy. I always clarify these points before signing so that there is no rude awakening, as recently happened to a customer of mine who sold part of a plot of land on her own initiative and suddenly had to pay 10,000 euros to her local authority.

A complex matter where many factors have to be taken into account!