Survey strata or built strata: when do you need each?
| Survey strata | Built strata | |
|---|---|---|
| Each lot is | Land set by boundary lengths and angles. Buildings aren't shown, and lots can be vacant. | A building plus its allocated land (part lots). The rest of the parcel is common property. |
| Approval | WAPC subdivision application | Local government approval, or for some schemes a BA18 Certificate of Building Compliance instead. Ask us which applies to yours. |
| When it can start | Before demolition, or during or after building | At roof-on or lock-up. It completes once every building is finished. |
| Typical time to titles | 7 to 12 months (6 at the least) | 3 to 4 months; about 2 to 3 months from total completion |
Times are typical, not guaranteed: they depend on the site and on how busy the approving authorities are.
Survey strata is the flexible option. Keeping the house, or sharing a driveway or services, usually points to it, and five or more lots usually means survey strata around a shared driveway. The work runs alongside your build, though some work usually left to the end may need to happen earlier. Common property, if any, appears as CP lots on the plan.
Built strata is the most common strata scheme in WA. It may suit if the new homes are already going up. Call us at or just before lock-up, so nothing is held up at completion.
What do you get from a strata subdivision?
A concept plan of your block with your quote, then:
- Survey strata: the contour survey and WAPC application, pegging, the final survey and the survey-strata plan, and lodgement with Landgate. It runs through the same five stages as a green title subdivision, with the same three levels of help.
- Built strata: the survey of the finished buildings, the strata plan and lodgement with Landgate.
Every survey strata scheme also needs a schedule of unit entitlements, set by a licensed valuer, even with no common property. Where a BA18 certificate is needed, it comes from a registered building surveyor: we are cadastral surveyors, not building surveyors.
How do strata mergers and conversions work?
If your built strata scheme was registered before 1 January 1998 and is single-tier (no lot above another), you can bring it up to date. It can help a sale or redevelopment, and needs no local government or WAPC approval.
- Merger: updates the built strata plan to match what is on the ground today. Needs a resolution without dissent from the owners.
- Conversion: keeps the scheme but converts it to survey strata. Needs a unanimous resolution of the owners.
Each option can be used once per scheme. Typically 4 to 5 months to lodgement with Landgate. A conversion is a single fixed fee, and costs are normally just our survey fees, which include the Landgate lodgement fees and preparing the documents.
How does a strata subdivision work?
- Ask for a quote. Tell us the type if you know it, the number of lots, and whether the house is staying. You get a written quote with a concept plan within 48 hours.
- Survey strata then follows the five subdivision stages, from the WAPC application to Landgate lodgement. Built strata starts when you call us at roof-on or lock-up.
- Titles. Once the plan is registered and every condition is cleared, your settlement agent or lawyer applies for the new titles.
What else do people ask about strata?
Do two lots really need a strata company?
Yes. The strata company forms automatically when the scheme is registered, and every lot owner is a member, even in a two-lot scheme with nothing shared.
Will a conversion move the walls between our units?
No. The boundaries stay as built: walls and roofs between buildings can't move.
There is a mortgage on my unit. Does that matter?
It can. Where a lot's unit entitlement goes down, mortgagees and caveators may also need to consent. You only pay extra if other consultants are needed or a bank charges to give consent.
Areas: We work across all of Perth, north to Guilderton, east to Northam and Brookton, and through the South West as far as Bridgetown and Augusta. See South West surveys.