What is Cadastral Surveying

Cadastral surveying is a branch of the surveying profession that is concerned with land management, and more specifically with issues of land ownership, measurement and delineation of property boundaries i.e. establishment of boundaries of properties for legal purposes.  

It involves setting out plots, subdivision of land into plots, boundary openings among other activities  However, these activities differ basing on country,region and land tenure

land surveyors executing a survey

Boundary Opening

It is a process carried out to determine property lines and define true property corners of a parcel of land described in a deed as well as the extent of any easements or encroachments. 

it is carried out on land that was surveyed earlier but the demarcations that were used to define the boundaries cannot be traced. 

It is performed prior to buying where the parties come to establish what exactly is being transferred, subdividing, improving or building on land. 

This helps to avoid future disputes, the expense and frustration of defending a lawsuit, moving a building, or resolving a boundary problem

Subdivision

Subdivision Surveying is the process of splitting a piece of land into smaller parcels there after monumentation and representing the survey data on a map in conformance with the rules and regulations.

The regulations include guidelines for designating residential and commercial lots, roads (rights-of-way), and easements.

This is done for many reasons e.g.  to improve public access, health and safety

RE-SURVEY

This is a survey carried out on a plot that was already surveyed and titled but however the area, location, dimensions represented on the tittle deed are not as they appear on the ground. It is done to correct a poorly represented survey job as represented in a deed print.  

In this case, one has a tittle for a given plot yet the representation in the deed print are for another plot. 

The above is mainly due to poorly conducted surveys by in experienced and unqualified people.

 Many of these people lack adequate and satisfactory skills to use and operate survey machines, to adjust a traverse and computation of coordinates.As a result, computations and adjustments will be full of errors which will manifest in the final work.

RECONNAISSANCE

this is a  field survey undertaken before the real field work operations

it is undertaken to identify current locations of features and the area of structures by comparing them with those registered on the cadastral maps. 

It is undertaken before subdivision, boundary opening surveys are carried out on given plot of land to determine control available, site location among many other factors 

Usually simple instruments such as handheld GPS, panga are used in this operation 

SURVEY PROCEDURE

A Client who wishes to have his land surveyed approaches a survey firm and expresses his interest for the survey. 

In his expression the client explains the history of the land, the rights he has on the land, location of the land, purpose of the survey and many other things. 

From the above factors a cost of survey will be agreed upon by the surveyor and the client and a date of field work will be set by the surveyor for execution of the work. 

The purpose of the survey determines the cost, authorities to inform before the field work is executed. 

For boundary openings  the surveyor writes official letters to all who have rights in the land, the local authorities and the neighbors  informing  them about the date and purpose of the survey.

The surveyor must get confirmation letters as a sign of acceptance from the parties he addressed the letters to.

On the agreed date the surveyor together with his crew travel to the ground to execute the field work however no survey is undertaken if one of the members above or his representative is absent.