Frequently Asked Surveying Questions
The following frequently asked surveying questions are dealt with below:
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I disagree with the position a surveyor has placed a boundary peg, what do I do?
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Why has my boundary dimensions changed compared to the old dimensions?
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Who was the first person to put a survey mark in and is it still there?
A Licensed Cadastral Surveyor is the only person qualified and given permission to identify where changes are being made to title dimensions and to any physical changes in ownership. The reasons you may need to engage a surveyor are:
- For most legal transactions concerning land
- Prepare a resource consent application, especially for subdivisions and subdivision related activities.
- Siting a house, garage or fence
- Developing or subdividing land
- Undertaking environmental studies
- Preparing maps
- Planning farm water supply or irrigation
- Interpreting district plans
- A dispute over land boundaries
- A topographical or contour survey is required
- Registering rights of way and other easements over land
- Registering leases of land
- Expert testimony concerning land measurement is required
- Bomma Surveys
- Preparation of a resource consents
- engineering design of services
- setting out of services (e.g. storm water, water & foul sewer)
- hydrographic surveys of rivers, lakes and the sea
For more information visit my section on surveyors.
In choosing your surveyor the following are a list of things you may wish to consider:
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What is the expected timeframe before they can get started on your job?
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What are their qualifications? Is it relevant to your proposal? University qualifications and their membership to the professional bodies.
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What is their experience? Is it relevant for your proposal? A person who usually deals with residential subdivisions may not be the most suitable in dealing with a hydrographic survey.
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What are the likely costs?
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Are they helpful? Try phoning a couple of surveyors and ask them some questions about what you want to do and see if they just answer or give helpful suggestions and advice.
There are two types of survey marks.
The first are for marking a boundary or easement position and are usually a wooden peg or an aluminium boundary disk, but can also be a lead plug, an aluminium peg, an iron spike or other approved survey mark. A boundary or easement mark usually does not have the survey instrument positioned above it.
The second type of mark is a traverse or witness mark. These are the survey positions used to start a survey (confirm the angles and distances), they are also the locations a survey instrument will be set up over to take a measurement to a boundary mark. A traverse or witness mark is usually a metal mark, either an iron tube or iron spike, however it can also be iron rods or a plaque (as is common on street corners especially in the centre of towns).
Section 56 of the Cadastral Survey Act 2002 states:
Every person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 who places in position in relation to any land a peg or mark—
(a) that is not a cadastral survey mark properly placed; and
(b) with the intention of causing any person to believe that it is a cadastral survey mark placed in that position for the purposes of a cadastral survey.
For more surveying information visit my section on surveyors.
No you are not allowed to remove a survey mark. Removing marks is also an offence under Section 55 of the Cadastral Surveys Act 2002.
55 Interference with survey marks
(1) Every person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 who knowingly or recklessly takes, destroys, or alters the position of, or markings on, a survey mark that has been placed or set up—
(a) for the control of cadastral surveys; or
(b) for the purposes of any cadastral survey conducted under, or for the purposes of, this Act or another Act.
(2) Every person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $500 who (having taken, destroyed, or altered the position of, or markings on, a survey mark) fails to notify the taking, destruction, or alteration to the Surveyor-General as soon as practicable after doing so.
(3) Every person who is convicted of an offence against subsection (1) or subsection (2) is also liable to pay the costs (including any associated cadastral survey costs) of repairing, replacing, or restoring to its proper position, or restoring the markings on, the survey mark concerned.
(4) The costs in subsection (3) are—
(a) the costs as assessed by a District Court Judge; and
(b) recoverable as if they were a fine.
(5) This section does not apply to anything done with the prior written approval of the Surveyor-General.
(6) The Surveyor-General may give approval under subsection (5) subject to any terms and conditions that the Surveyor-General thinks fit relating to—
(a) repairing, replacing, or restoring to its proper position, or restoring the markings on, a survey mark; or
(b) making payment for any of those things to be done.
