Subdivision design
Subdivision Design and Advice
Topo4D has experience in designing and advising on subdivision projects for both private individuals and property developers. We always do this in consultation with the client to meet their specific requirements. We assist the client with advice on how to subdivide the project land as optimally as possible to create an attractive lot for both the future resident and the seller.
The design approach is always discussed with the client first to achieve the most optimal use of the land.
In addition to classic subdivision applications, we are also able to perform solar studies using a digital elevation model. This allows us to ideally position elements such as swimming pools or terraces within the subdivision, and we can clearly determine where the future resident will receive the most sunlight.
No one may subdivide a piece of land without a prior subdivision permit. Subdividing is defined as voluntarily dividing land into two or more lots in order to sell or lease at least one of these lots for more than nine years, to establish a long-term lease or a right of superficies, or to offer one of these forms of transfer, even under a suspensive condition, for residential construction or for the placement of fixed or movable installations that can be used for habitation. (Decree of May 18, 1999, art 101, §1)
In plain language, this means that a subdivision permit is required when an owner wishes to split their terrain with the intention of designating parts of it for residential construction. The owner cannot sell the new plots as building land without a subdivision permit. The subdivision permit provides buyers with the certainty that they are allowed to erect a dwelling on those lands.
A subdivision permit can also be obtained for the layout of lots for the construction or installation of industrial, artisanal, or commercial buildings, structures, or sites.
Submitting a subdivision application
The application is addressed to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen of the municipality where the property is located and is submitted by means of a registered letter or delivered against a receipt. However, it is almost never the case that the department where you submit the application is prepared to issue a receipt immediately. You generally receive that receipt after the relevant department has reviewed your file and verified it for completeness (legally within 14 days after submission). If your file is not deemed complete, you will be notified of this by registered mail within the same period.
Exception to this: for public legal entities or for works of general interest, the subdivision permit is applied for at and issued by the Flemish Government or its delegate.
More information can be found on the Omgevingsloket.
Who prepares the file
The law does not state that the cooperation of a specialist in the field is required. You may therefore prepare the file yourself. However, many details can only be properly provided by a land surveyor-expert. Most people therefore choose to have this done by a land surveyor-expert.
The processing period of the application
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen will issue a decision within a period of 150 days from the date of the receipt. This period will often be extended by the duration of the public inquiry, if a public inquiry is required. You generally escape a public inquiry if your plot is located within an approved municipal spatial implementation plan (RUP) or a special plan of construction (BPA).
Obtaining advice
Sometimes the municipality must obtain advice regarding a subdivision application.
The following recommendations are even binding, insofar as they are negative or impose conditions:
– 1° applications for plots along regional roads are submitted for advice to the Roads and Traffic Administration;
– 2° applications for plots along provincial roads are submitted for advice to the provincial administration that manages the road;
– 3° applications regarding provisionally or definitively protected monuments or applications located in provisionally or definitively protected townscapes, villagescapes, or landscapes are submitted for advice to Monuments and Landscapes;
– 4° applications for plots located in provisionally or definitively protected archaeological monuments and zones are submitted for advice to Monuments and Landscapes.
These recommendations must always be sent to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen within thirty days of receiving the request for advice. If no advice has been provided within that period, the Board may bypass the advisory requirements.
Other departments may also be asked for advice; those recommendations are not binding.
Advice from the regional urban planning official
Almost every application for a subdivision permit must be sent to the regional urban planning official for advice. This advice is binding insofar as it is negative or imposes conditions. Within municipal BPAs and municipal RUPs, the municipality can make a decision without this advice.
The municipality cannot grant a permit if the advice from the regional urban planning official is negative. If the official has not issued advice within fifty days after receiving the request for advice, the municipality may bypass the advisory requirement and decide independently. The official may extend this advisory period with a motivated reason by a maximum of fifty days (i.e., up to 100 days), provided they inform the applicant and the municipality in writing before the period expires.
Within the ‘new’ permit system, this advice is no longer necessary. However, only a few municipalities currently fall under this system.
Public inquiry
A public inquiry is required if the subdivision application:
– is not located within the boundaries of a BPA,
– is larger than 5 hectares,
– concerns a subdivision for multi-family dwellings but is located in an area with predominantly single-family dwellings,
– relates to a forest, heath, dune, or peat area or protected areas,
– relates to residential parks for camping,
– proposes new building lines.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen will rule on these objections. However, objections do not automatically lead to a refusal.
Municipal council
For subdivisions involving the construction or modification of roads, the provision or modification of building lines, or the free transfer of land for the benefit of the municipality, the municipal council must make a prior decision regarding the roads.
Without the approval of the street layout, the subdivision permit cannot be issued.
Modifying a subdivision permit
Every owner within a non-expired subdivision can apply for a modification for their part. The modification can relate to all elements of the subdivision: the layout of the plots, the positioning of the buildings, the regulations, etc.
Before submitting the application, you must write to all co-owners in the subdivision by registered mail, except for those who co-signed the application. Furthermore, the procedure is identical to that of the subdivision application.
The modification must be refused if the owners of more than half of the lots permitted in the original permit submit an admissible, well-founded written objection based on spatial planning motives to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. That objection must be submitted within a forfeiture period of thirty days, starting from the date of the secure dispatch.
Interested in our services or in need of advice regarding your project?