Hi all,
We recently purchased a house located within the Burnside Council area. The property sits on a block that is smaller than what is typical for this area—most older homes here are on blocks of 750m² or more, whereas ours is under 550m².
Out of curiosity, I reviewed historical satellite imagery and found that, prior to around 2010–2012, our block was similar in size to those around it. However, during that period, it appears the boundary lines were changed. The rear sections of both our block and our neighbour's were combined to form a new block that faces the adjacent street on the neighbour’s side.
Interestingly, this new block has remained vacant ever since—more than a decade—despite land prices in the area exceeding $2,000 per square metre. This raises some concerns and leads me to suspect that the subdivision may not have been done legally.
To be clear, I’m fine if the subdivision was done properly through legal channels. But if it wasn’t, there could be grounds to reclaim the 250–300m² of land that was separated during that time.
It’s likely the neighbour is aware of what happened, but I’m unable to approach them directly, as their property was also part of the subdivision.
What is the best (and cheapest) way to verify the legal boundaries of my property and determine whether the subdivision conducted around 2010–2012 was legally approved? (Is there a way to look up old subdivision plans?)
Thanks in advance.
Update:
Thanks to @pyr0 I found the boundaries and title information via https://sappa.plan.sa.gov.au/
Hire a surveyor?