Personal experience says that the Planning Department will not allow the sub-division of a large plot into smaller plots until such time as the infrastructure completed. This means tarmac roads, footpaths, green areas, electricity, water, telephone. They then sit on their backsides for anything up to four years before their surveyor conducts the survey that fixes the boundaries of each individual plot. Until that survey is done, the boundaries of a plot are ‘fluid’ but the total area remains the same as is stated in the sale agreement.
You can of course encourage a speedier sub-division if you pay the Planning Departments surveyor to do the job in ‘overtime’!!!! Or, you could even get it done privately but, the Planning Office would have to approve the survey .......... and that will take four years as you have just done their surveyor out of his substantial overtime payment!
As for the Title Deeds; If your contract is registered with the Lands Registry and at the time of deposit there is no mortgage on the land, your entitlement is secure. It would be up to the Bank giving a loan accepting that land as collateral, to ensure that there was no previous entitlement. If the borrower defaults and your contract was lodged before that of the Bank, you would have pre-entitlement. No Bank would lend money on land that was already by agreement sold to another but, they could advance money on areas that had no previous registered entitlement.
I find it difficult to understand why the Planning Department is involved with the land aspect at all. Surely their function is the structure, the issue of the building permit and completion certificate and to ensure the compliance of the builder with the relevant local and European building regulations. Fat chance!!!!
At least this is what is supposed to happen ....................
