From City Of Harare – Facebook Post November 18, 2019

APPLICATION FOR SUBDIVISION AND CONSOLIDATION PERMIT IN TERMS OF SECTION 40 OF

THE REGIONAL T0WN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT CHAPTER 29:12 IN THE CITY OF HARARE

What is subdivision of land?

• A plan of subdivision allows an applicant to divide land into two or more new parcels of land
that can be registered and disposed of separately.

• The only new parcels that can be created by a plan of subdivision are stands, roads, reserves
or land set aside for City of Harare as endowment in terms of the law.

• All new plans of subdivision lodged with City of Harare are lodged under Section 40 of the
Regional Town and Country Planning Act Chapter 29:12.

• As part of the subdivision process a plan may create restrictions as stipulated in the
Subdivision Permit to protect public interest. A plan of subdivision may also remove or vary
restrictions and easements (created in an earlier plan of subdivision), with a planning permit.

• Subdivision and Consolidation Regulations outlines the information that must be on plans
of subdivision lodged with City of Harare in addition to the elaboration of the process.

• Subdividing a property divides it into several smaller parts that can be sold for profit or
used for other purposes and this leads to the increase in the value of the property. Smaller
parcels of land are easier to subdivide and manage rather than larger ones that involve
complex procedures and methods to achieve your sub division objectives.

Please feel free to contact Kura Chihota + 263 718 791 700 / [Link]@[Link]
Steps to take
1. Enlist all the preliminary items that must be determined to know whether your property is
eligible for subdivision. Make sure that there are no restricting Laws, Regulations or
Covenants that prohibit the subdivision of your property and give utmost attention even to
any minor adverse fact to avoid huge financial losses and future headaches.

2. Do your due diligence research and study to the best of your knowledge and ability and
never omit anything willfully and make an in-depth research on each item that is necessary
to constitute the due diligence tests.

3. Choose subdivision plans as per the size of the land: The complexities and problems you
may have to face during subdivision process increase with the size of the land.

4. Know if the subdivision may escalate into a larger development project: When you are
taking larger tracts of land for subdivision it may require you to create new public roads,
utilities and other basic infra structure to comply with your community or county regulations.

5. Do title search: If you are not the full owner of the property and doing sub division on behalf
of others also, do a title search to ascertain if the owners of the land has the legal right to go
for sub division of the property.

6. Research the market: If the main aim of the subdivision is for selling the subdivided parts
for profit consider local real estate market conditions for determining the lot size, layout of
the proposed subdivision and price you can expect for the lots after dividing the property.

7. Comply with all the zoning requirements: Even in the absence of federal or state laws and
ordinances prohibiting subdivision of your property, still you have to comply with local
municipality and country zoning regulations, lit- size and building size regulations and the
requirements for the maintenance of open spaces.

8. Consider site development and technical due diligence requirements: if you are
subdividing property for selling housing lots, each of the lots you propose to sell should
have full access to water, sewer, power and public roads. See if you can comply with these
basic requirements after the subdivision.

9. Site development and Impact fees to the local body: Every local body levies development
fees for providing basic services and these vary with the site location and soil conditions
and hence you need to know and consider this vital aspect before subdividing your property
and developing it as house plots.

Please feel free to contact Kura Chihota + 263 718 791 700 / [Link]@[Link]
Application Requirements
Documents required by City of Harare

1. Subdivision or Consolidation – TSC 1 form The Subdivision or Consolidation form) must

be fully completed and is available in Room 315 Cleveland House 3rd floor.

2. Certificate(s) of Registered Title (Title Deeds) which must be supplied. Whether they will
be: • in possession of the lodging party; or • held by a financial institution, legal practitioner
or other party who must provide City of Harare with the Certificate(s) of Registered Title to
enable the transaction to be lodged.

3. Consents Registered interests on the affected title(s) must consent to the registration of
the plan. Consents must accompany the Subdivision or Consolidation (TPSC 1 form)

4. A plan on transparent sepia paper. The plan must be prepared, signed by the owner and
properly dated. 18 paper copies of the plan must accompany the application

5. A Certificate of Compliance is required on new developments. Plans cannot be lodged at

the local planning authority without including a Certificate of Compliance. A Certificate of
Compliance is council evidence showing all council requirements have been satisfied.

6. Town Planning Report

7. Street addressing is supposed to be filled in in the relevant section of the TPSC1 Form.

8. Application fee to be determined and payable at lodgment depending on number of

stands being proposed.

Please feel free to contact Kura Chihota + 263 718 791 700 / [Link]@[Link]
An application for change in use of land would need to be lodged with the responsible
authority. Depending on the land, the responsible authority may be the Minister of Lands, the
Minister of Local Government or the relevant local authority.

Even where a developer (private or public) is responsible for putting structures, plans for the
structures need to be prepared by the developer and approved by the responsible planning
authority. The actual construction process only begins after the approval of the dwelling
plans.

Firstly, the project would need approval from the Inspector of Factories (if it is a commercial
factory) in terms of the Factories and Works Act. The process takes approximately one
month. Approval of the construction plan is then sought from the local authority. Before a
plan is approved, the local authority would ordinarily circulate the request in almost all its
departments that are related to the proposed construction. For example, Chemical
Laboratory and Trade Waste, Department of Works, Land Survey and Valuation among other
departments. This process takes about 4 weeks, the current costs will be approximately ZWL
220,000 USD 220.32 per square plinth area for a single storey building and ZWL 306,000/ USD
306.00 for a double storey building.

The Building Inspectorate then inspects the building on application upon completion of the
foundation of the building. The process ordinarily takes approximately one month.

A second inspection by the Building Inspectorate upon completion of drainage installation is

then sought. This process normally takes one business day.

Upon completion of the structure there will be a further inspection by the Building
Inspectorate. This normally takes about two weeks to obtain.

Upon completion of the construction, a final inspection from the Building Inspectorate will be
conducted. This process will normally take one month.

The next stage would be to request and obtain:

A water and sewage connection from the Zimbabwe National Water Authority. This process
will take up to two weeks and will cost not more than USD 350.00.

A connection to the national electricity grid from the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority
for a cost of approximately USD 600,00.

Finally, the occupancy certificate from the City of Harare would be obtained. This process will
normally take one or two months.

Last modified 12 May 2023

Please feel free to contact Kura Chihota + 263 718 791 700 / [Link]@[Link]