A block of land is bought once, and everything built on it afterwards works within what it already carries. Some of that is visible from the street. Much of it is not: what is registered on the title, what the ground is made of, where the services are and what planning rules attach to the address. This note sets out what to look at, and who is the right person to answer each question.
Start with the address, not the listing
Planning rules attach to land by location. The zone and subzone for an address, and any overlays over it, are published for that address on the SA planning portal. Overlays can deal with matters such as heritage and character, and some bear on what can be built or demolished on the block.
Reading the published information is a starting point, not an answer. How those rules apply to a particular proposal is assessed by the relevant planning authority, and a description in a sales listing is no substitute for checking the address itself.
Trees are worth noting at the same time, on the block and close to it on neighbouring land. Whether a tree is regulated is a question with its own rules, which the note on what can stop a rebuild sets out in the words of the regulations.
What is registered on the title
The title records more than who owns the land. Easements, encumbrances and other registered interests can sit on it, and some of them relate to particular strips or parts of the block, such as a corridor for drainage or a service. The conveyancer can also say what searches cover interests that do not appear on the title.
What each registered interest means for the house intended for the block depends on its terms and on who holds it. That is a question for the conveyancer or lawyer acting on the purchase, and, where needed, with the body that holds the interest. It is not something to infer from a site plan or a line on a map.
The fences on a block are not always on its boundaries. Where the exact boundary position matters, such as for a wall close to it or a driveway along it, a land surveyor identifies it on the ground.
For a builder, the useful output is a marked-up plan: where each easement or restricted area sits, so the footprint, driveway and services can be drawn around it from the start.
The ground: site class, slope and what is under the surface
Reactive clay swells and shrinks as its moisture changes, and footings have to be designed for the ground they sit on. The site classification describes how a block’s ground is expected to behave. It is given to that block, through a site investigation, rather than read from its suburb or its neighbours.
The classification feeds into the footing and slab design. Slope matters in the same way: a block that falls across its width or length has to be cut, filled or built up to a floor level, and that can bring retaining and drainage work with it.
A site investigation samples the ground at points across the block and records what it finds at depth. Fill placed during earlier works, rock close to the surface and the effect of large trees on the soil can all show up in it, and each of them can change the footing design.
A block that has held a building before can also hold what that building left underground, such as old footings, fill or service trenches. None of it shows from the surface.
Services: what reaches the boundary, and where
Water, sewer, electricity, gas, stormwater and telecommunications each have their own provider and their own process. A vacant block may have some of them at the boundary, all of them, or none, and the position of each connection point affects where the house and driveway can sensibly go.
The sewer connection deserves particular attention. Its position and depth help set the finished floor level, which in turn affects how much cut, fill and retaining the block needs.
Stormwater is the service the land itself shapes. Where water from the roof and paving can be discharged is a question for the council for that address, and on a block that falls away from the street it becomes part of the drainage design.
Whether a connection exists, and what a new one would involve, is confirmed by the relevant utility or network operator for that address.
What already stands on the block, and along its edges
An existing house, shed, pool, paving or retaining wall is part of what is being bought. Each one is either kept or removed, and removal is work in its own right, with its own scope and its own decisions about services and shared fences.
Access is part of the block too. Street width, overhead power lines, verge trees and the space beside the house bear on what machinery and deliveries can reach the site, and from which side.
Boundaries deserve the same attention. Where a wall would be shared with the neighbour, the note on party walls sets out what the Act says about party walls; access to the neighbour’s ground is covered in the note on what can stop a rebuild.
Putting the questions together before the design
None of these checks designs a house. Together they describe the space a design has to fit inside: the planning rules for the address, the areas the title restricts, the ground the footings sit on, and the points where services arrive.
Those answers are most useful while there is still a decision to make about the block. A feasibility review that brings them together turns a listing into a site the design can respond to.
Each question has its own owner. A builder can explain what an answer means for the build: the footings, the floor level, the driveway, the drainage. Planning questions belong with the planning authority, title and legal questions with the conveyancer, and connections with the utilities.
Cyberidge builds new homes in Adelaide, including house and land, and offers a free initial consultation.
Common Questions
What should I check before buying land in Adelaide?
The zone and overlays that apply to the address, what is registered on the title, the site classification and slope, which services reach the boundary and where, what already stands on the block, and any trees on or near it. Each has a different source: the planning authority, the conveyancer, the site investigation and footing designer, and the relevant utilities.
Where do I find the zone and overlays for a block?
They are published for each address on the SA planning portal. How they apply to a particular proposal is a matter for the relevant planning authority to assess.
Does an easement on the title affect building?
That depends on the terms of the easement and on who holds it. The conveyancer or lawyer acting on the purchase is the person to ask, and the answer is worth marking on a site plan before any design work starts.
How is the site class of a block worked out?
A site class is given to a block, not to a suburb, and it comes from a site investigation of that block. The result describes how the ground is expected to behave and feeds into the design of the footings and slab. A neighbouring block’s classification is information about that block.
Does a vacant block already have services connected?
Not necessarily. Some, all or none may reach the boundary. The relevant utility or network operator for the address confirms what exists and what a new connection would involve.
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