Regulations of division into property units in detailed development plans – a study of the application in the Stockholm County

Abstract: By the new Planning and Building Act that came into effect 2 May 2011, it became possible to use regulations of division into property units in detailed development plans. With these regulations, there is possible to regulate how an area will be divided into property units, which easements and utility easement that should be formed, amended or repealed and which facilities that should be joint facilities. Earlier, these regulations was an own form of plan – the real property plan – that was abolished when the new Planning and Building Act came into effect. However, older real property plans are still valid as detailed development regulations, according to the transitional regulations to the Planning and Building Act. The purpose with incorporating these regulations in the detailed development plan was to simplify the application by making it not necessary with double procedures to regulate these issues. Another advantage according to the preparatory works was that the property owners would only need to study one plan document to understand the consequences of the detailed development plan. When regulations of division into property units is used, some provision in the cadastral laws should be tested already during the plan procedure. During the implementation time of the plan, the cadastral authority is bounded by the testing of the provision that has been made during the plan procedure. The regulations of the division into property units is binding for cadastral procedures in the way that the cadastral authority cannot form property units in contravention of these regulations. Even at the building permit processes, the regulations of the division into property units is binding meaning that building permit cannot be given if the property does not correspond to the regulations of division into property units. Furthermore, the regulations of division into property units gives real property owners right to compulsory acquisition so that the division into property units corresponds to these regulations. The aim of this Master of Science thesis is to investigate how and to what extent the regulations of division into property units have been used in the Stockholm County since the new Planning and Building Act came into effect. A quantitative study of all 26 municipalities in the Stockholm County has been made. The study included all detailed developments plan that has been adopted between May 2011 and December 2015. The result was that the regulations of the division into property units have been used in 24 detailed development plans during this period. Only eight of the municipalities had used regulations of division into property units. Almost half of these 24 plans was plans for single-family properties where the regulation replaced a real property plan that was repealed. In general, it can be stated that regulations of division into property units is mostly used in plans for single-family properties. Interviews were made with several of those municipalities that uses regulations of division into property units to largest extent. The most common reason to use these regulations was to make it sure that the plan can be implemented in accordance with the intention of the municipality. There is also common that regulations of division into property units is used when municipalities change a plan that has no regulation of the minimum area of the property units. If part of a real property plan is repealed in order to make it possible to divide a property unit, a new regulation of real property formation can be used to guarantee that it will not be formed too many property units. Other reasons to use regulations of division into property units was to expand the possibility of compulsory acquisition, to solve questions of cooperation between property units and to create predictability when it comes to charges of costs for municipal streets. Interviews has also been made with municipalities who do not use regulations of division into property units. The main reasons to not use these regulations was that there is no need of it and that the flexibility is reduced if regulations of division into property units is used. In the thesis the conclusion is drawn that regulations of division into property units is especially suitable to use in conversion of holiday home areas to areas for permanent resident properties. In such detailed development plans, there are many property owners who can have different attitude to the planning. Thus, there may be a need of binding regulations to handle disputed situations.