Our neighbour subdivided his property and I was astonished to receive mail to him at 188A when the subdivided property was #190. We live at #188, He said he has been to the council but because the driveway to the back of #190 where he intends to build is closer to our boundary fence than the other side of the property, it needs to adopt 'our' number, and be the A to that. It's crazy! What can I do?

hezwez - 2021-07-03 15:11:00

hezwez wrote:

Our neighbour subdivided his property and I was astonished to receive mail to him at 188A when the subdivided property was #190. We live at #188, He said he has been to the council but because the driveway to the back of #190 where he intends to build is closer to our boundary fence than the other side of the property, it needs to adopt 'our' number, and be the A to that. It's crazy! What can I do?

Nothing - those are the rules - it’s his problem to make sure his address is updated or mail is redirected.

sarahb5 - 2021-07-03 15:28:00

Makes sense to me, keep the numbering sequential. He needs to put a post box up with 188A and all will be fine.

sparkychap - 2021-07-03 15:37:00

It would still be sequential if he was 190 and the other property became 190A. It would then be clear that there are two properties on one section. Thanks for your replies, looks like I'll have to suck it up.

hezwez - 2021-07-03 15:42:00

hezwez wrote:

Our neighbour subdivided his property and I was astonished to receive mail to him at 188A when the subdivided property was #190. We live at #188, He said he has been to the council but because the driveway to the back of #190 where he intends to build is closer to our boundary fence than the other side of the property, it needs to adopt 'our' number, and be the A to that. It's crazy! What can I do?

I wouldn’t take his word for it. Ring the council yourself and tell them that it should be 190A as that is at the back of 190 which is his property. See what they say. It seems logical going from most other properties you see subdivided in this way that it should be 190A.

lakeview3 - 2021-07-03 15:52:00

hezwez wrote:

It would still be sequential if he was 190 and the other property became 190A. It would then be clear that there are two properties on one section. Thanks for your replies, looks like I'll have to suck it up.

they avoid changing existing numbers as it fricks up everyone’s addressing Systems.

sparkychap - 2021-07-03 15:59:00

So adding a previously invalid number is easier for them than adding an A to 190?

hezwez - 2021-07-03 16:12:00

hezwez wrote:

So adding a previously invalid number is easier for them than adding an A to 190?

its not invalid.

sparkychap - 2021-07-03 17:00:00

The point is, there never WAS a 188A until the man who owned 190 subdivided his property.

hezwez - 2021-07-03 17:09:00

And now there is. It’s just like magic.

sparkychap - 2021-07-03 17:11:00

hezwez wrote:

The point is, there never WAS a 188A until the man who owned 190 subdivided his property.

But nor was there a 190A either

sarahb5 - 2021-07-03 17:12:00

Indeed Sarah, but it makes much more sense for 190 and 190A to be on the same section.

hezwez - 2021-07-03 17:16:00

Why does this seem to matter so much to you. They haven't changed your address, have they?

sparkychap - 2021-07-03 17:22:00

It bothers me sparkychap because it appears as if our property is the subdivided one. We're already getting mail correctly addressed to another 188 different Street.

hezwez - 2021-07-03 17:24:00

hezwez wrote:

It bothers me sparkychap because it appears as if our property is the subdivided one. We're already getting mail correctly addressed to another 188 different Street.

And when they have a letter box marked 188A, you'll be fine. And seriously? Worried that people will think you've subdivided? Jeez.

sparkychap - 2021-07-03 17:27:00

hezwez wrote:

Indeed Sarah, but it makes much more sense for 190 and 190A to be on the same section.

But that’s not up to you - it’s council policy driven by planning requirements and probably LINZ too - I get mail for my neighbour who is ***A and I’m at *** — even though she has a clearly marked mailbox. It really isn’t hard just to put it in the correct mail box.

sarahb5 - 2021-07-03 17:38:00

@hezwez, to explain something better - under the official NZ Addressing Standards, number 190 SHOULD become 190B and the new house becomes 190A.

However, experience is that trying to change an existing address is virtually impossible and will cause issues for years - this is not an automatic process.

You can read a summary of the standards here:

https://www.linz.govt.nz/regulatory/property-addressing/addr
essing-standards-and-guidelines/using-suffixes-and-sub-addre
ss-numbering-addresses

sparkychap - 2021-07-03 17:42:00

But... does he use the 188 or 190 driveway ? 188a letter box would logically go onto 180 drive entry, and 190a on 190's entry.

masturbidder - 2021-07-03 19:15:00

masturbidder wrote:

But... does he use the 188 or 190 driveway ? 188a letter box would logically go onto 180 drive entry, and 190a on 190's entry.

then the people at 180 will get free pizza courtesy of the stoners at 188a.

sparkychap - 2021-07-03 19:44:00

Urghhhh get outta this thread! There's subdivided people in it.....

mazalinas - 2021-07-03 19:48:00

sparkychap wrote:

@hezwez, to explain something better - under the official NZ Addressing Standards, number 190 SHOULD become 190B and the new house becomes 190A.

However, experience is that trying to change an existing address is virtually impossible and will cause issues for years - this is not an automatic process.

You can read a summary of the standards here:

https://www.linz.govt.nz/regulatory/property-addressing/addr
essing-standards-and-guidelines/using-suffixes-and-sub-addre
ss-numbering-addresses

Thanx

hezwez - 2021-07-03 21:09:00

190 was subdivided, so the front house on that section should be 190a, the rear 190b.
After a period, they will get used to this.
But saying that, our commercial block has retained the original number and the front block which was the original title has now become #a.
Our rear block had never been owned by the front parcel, but been used by it.
We had been using the entire area for a couple of decades and when the front block was bought by others, a new mailing system had to be installed for the front tenants who now shared our leased area.

The front land owners were none to happy to have an "a" on their title.

smallwoods - 2021-07-04 09:16:00

smallwoods wrote:

190 was subdivided, so the front house on that section should be 190a, the rear 190b.

Nah that's not the way it's done according to the standards - its all to do with sequential numbering of access ways, not which house is front and which is back.

sparkychap - 2021-07-04 10:18:00

sparkychap wrote:

Nah that's not the way it's done according to the standards - its all to do with sequential numbering of access ways, not which house is front and which is back.

None of the examples in the link you posted take the number of a next-door property. It's all done with variations of 25, the property at 23 never finds a 23A nextdoor. It doesn't explain why it happened to hezwez.

pauldw - 2021-07-04 10:45:00

Well the benefit of the link pauldw is that I have contacted LINZ and will let you know their response in due course.

hezwez - 2021-07-04 11:15:00

We have this situation. I have been in this house for 25 years, houses only on one side of the street as there is water on the other side. I am 39/1 My front neighbour is 39/2, everything for my home I have addressed to the back house, the correct number, everything always goes to the front house.
Next door has two houses on the section, the front one number 40 the back on 39A. It is a pain, over the years we have lost count of the mail in the wrong box, courier deliveries, left at the wrong house, flowers, trades, now the current people have food box delivered, ends up at our place. All this and we have large stainless steel numbers stating 39 1&2 at the front entrance.
If you can sort it, it will save you loads of trips to the front door, just to give directions to the people that see a number and nothing else. The neighbour's letter box is well numbered with the correct number.

dansac - 2021-07-04 11:39:00

For sure dansac. NZ Post no help. Yesterday we even had mail that was correctly addressed to #188B another street delivered to us ~ again. The addressee is an elderly lady with no means of transport and no family nearby able to pick her mail up from us. Had I just dropped it back in the PO box it wouldn't have arrived to her in time. (TV guide) So off I went to deliver it ~ again. I feel your pain.

hezwez - 2021-07-04 12:53:00

hezwez wrote:

For sure dansac. NZ Post no help. Yesterday we even had mail that was correctly addressed to #188B another street delivered to us ~ again. The addressee is an elderly lady with no means of transport and no family nearby able to pick her mail up from us. Had I just dropped it back in the PO box it wouldn't have arrived to her in time. (TV guide) So off I went to deliver it ~ again. I feel your pain.

Such huge first world problems- maybe set up a redirection of the elderly lady’s mail from your address to hers.

sarahb5 - 2021-07-04 13:12:00

We occasionally get mail for another number 83 in the next street. The Posties inability to read an address is not the local councils or LINZs fault.

sparkychap - 2021-07-04 13:21:00

sarahb5 wrote:

Such huge first world problems- maybe set up a redirection of the elderly lady’s mail from your address to hers.

It's not being addressed to hezwez so there's nothing to redirect until the misdelivery.

pauldw - 2021-07-04 13:45:00

My house is the oldest in the district. Let's say it was #55 and it is still number 55. When it was subdivided there were then two more properties next door numbered 55A and 55B.
The builder of the new house decided to put 55 on the front of the house, and there are two letterboxes numbered 55A and 55B.
So now all three houses get mail and deliveries wrong for all the houses.
It has taken 30 years for Google etc to get the addresses correct.

trade4us2 - 2021-07-04 13:51:00

pauldw wrote:

It's not being addressed to hezwez so there's nothing to redirect until the misdelivery.

That’s what I meant - complete a redirect on behalf of the elderly lady. But honestly is it really such a huge problem to either redeliver yourself or put it back in the mailbox either return to sender or redeliver to correct address?

sarahb5 - 2021-07-04 13:59:00

I don't know the logistics, but some info for what it's worth ....

My mother in law owned a house at #55, had lived there for 20 odd years.
When the neighbours house came up for sale at #57 she bought that. It was a little house on a big section. She then subdivided #57, and built a big new house on the back (for her to live in). But she wanted to keep her number, so she then through the council had the new house (which technically should have been #57a) designated #55, and her old house was changed to #55a.
She then sold #55a.

So clearly there is some discretion/ability to choose numbers if all parties agree (or in this case you own the lot ;) ).

Where I live it wouldn't make a difference for the postie, I'm pretty sure ours doesn't even read the address - the huge amount of letters we get for random addresses is mind boggling (not just numbers, but entirely different streets).

But OP - I get you, in your situation I too would rather the new property was numbered 190a.

Edited by desi1969 at 2:39 pm, Sun 4 Jul

desi1969 - 2021-07-04 14:30:00

Sarahb5, putting the mail in the correct letter box or dropping it back in Post box is not the the only issue, if is was I would never have made a comment.
Ubers and pizza deliveries after 10.00pm, randoms knocking on the door because they are at the wrong number, coming home to a rubbish skip blocking the drive and garage doors, 4 meters of firewood in the drive.
The list goes on, the mail in the wrong letter box, I wish that was the only problem, so easy to solve!!!

dansac - 2021-07-04 15:45:00

sarahb5 wrote:

That’s what I meant - complete a redirect on behalf of the elderly lady. But honestly is it really such a huge problem to either redeliver yourself or put it back in the mailbox either return to sender or redeliver to correct address?

you can't redirect someone else's mail, honestly.

gabbysnana - 2021-07-04 17:44:00

gabbysnana wrote:

you can't redirect someone else's mail, honestly.

I realise that but if it bothers OP so much then maybe she should take a redirect form to the elderly lady for her to complete - my honest opinion is mountain/molehill

sarahb5 - 2021-07-04 18:52:00

I don't understand you Sarah. Redirect from where? To whom? The lady's mail was correctly addressed to her, as it has been before. All NZ Post needs to do is read the address correctly.

hezwez - 2021-07-04 19:37:00

hezwez wrote:

I don't understand you Sarah. Redirect from where? To whom? The lady's mail was correctly addressed to her, as it has been before. All NZ Post needs to do is read the address correctly.

Use her name to redirect mail from your address to her address - worth a try as it’s clearly an issue for you - just reinforces her name and address with NZPost. Alternatively contact NZPost every time it happens and register a complaint with their customer services .

sarahb5 - 2021-07-04 19:46:00

sarahb5 wrote:

Use her name to redirect mail from your address to her address - worth a try as it’s clearly an issue for you - just reinforces her name and address with NZPost. Alternatively contact NZPost every time it happens and register a complaint with their customer services .

I have contacted NZ Post every time it has happened. The issue (mountain or molehill ~ meh) is that I need to go to drop it off at her place every time, since her magazines/TV guides etc would be late if I simply dropped them into a postbox.

hezwez - 2021-07-04 19:52:00

Our mail person/s, live behind me. They are No. 1 and I am No. 3. I have that their mail delivered to me on more than one occasion. To confuse matters even more we have the same surname.

My work place has a Post Office Box and we look after one for a client. The amount of incorrect mail that goes into the client's box is amazing, different box number and name.

Edited by joanie04 at 11:10 pm, Sun 4 Jul

joanie04 - 2021-07-04 23:08:00

About 10 years ago when the NZ Post overhauled the postcodes, they put forward a proposal to replace the 4 character codes with 6 character codes, able to narrow down an address to just 6 or so houses from the current 10 thousand or so. As in the UK this allows automated sorting with a high degree of accuracy.

In the public consultation period, the public said it was a bad idea as Kiwis would never be able to remember a 6 character code.

sparkychap - 2021-07-05 07:03:00

hezwez wrote:

Our neighbour subdivided his property and I was astonished to receive mail to him at 188A when the subdivided property was #190. We live at #188, He said he has been to the council but because the driveway to the back of #190 where he intends to build is closer to our boundary fence than the other side of the property, it needs to adopt 'our' number, and be the A to that. It's crazy! What can I do?

Big sign attached to/near your mail box saying NOT and list the addresses you are getting mail for that are not yours.

mkr_ahearn - 2021-07-05 10:08:00

sparkychap wrote:

...

In the public consultation period, the public said it was a bad idea as Kiwis would never be able to remember a 6 character code.

Sounds like their market research was seriously dodgy.

desi1969 - 2021-07-05 11:07:00

desi1969 wrote:

Sounds like their market research was seriously dodgy.

Confined to west Auckland, you mean?

sparkychap - 2021-07-05 16:41:00

So hypothetically if 188 subdivides, the 'new' section will either become 186A or 188A depending on what side the driveway is - AAGH - we have a problem, there is already a 188A AND wait for it ....... there is already a 186A. mm so if the driveway is on the 'downhill' side it can become 186B - but what if it is on the 'uphill' side ??? Can't become 188B because it is phyiically before 188A, which means 'new' section will have to become 188A, and 188A will have to become 188B .............. OMG - this is just so confusing, maybe easier if sub-division isn't approved then there will be no problem ..........

gocontinental - 2021-07-05 19:16:00

sparkychap wrote:

Confined to west Auckland, you mean?

I'd respond, but I can't remember what we were discussing.

desi1969 - 2021-07-06 10:14:00

mkr_ahearn wrote:

Big sign attached to/near your mail box saying NOT and list the addresses you are getting mail for that are not yours.

My hubby was a postie... He had a run and had to sort the mail for his run before delivering it himself. So it's a postie problem.

Catch the postie if you can and have a good word. Tell them you know they get to sort it themselves before they deliver it and you will take it further if they don't get their act together!

hazelnut2 - 2021-07-08 17:45:00

hezwez wrote:

I have contacted NZ Post every time it has happened. The issue (mountain or molehill ~ meh) is that I need to go to drop it off at her place every time, since her magazines/TV guides etc would be late if I simply dropped them into a postbox.

That’s nice of you - lucky we live in a reasonably small town

sarahb5 - 2021-07-09 18:18:00

We're lucky, it's a nice community. In your post #16, Sarah, you said it was council policy, and it is. The reply from the council was: "The numbering of properties along a road is sequential in accordance with the LINZ Standards.When a property is subdivided the numbering is decided on vehicle access and in the case you mention the property has two vehicle accesses which dictates the numbering, therefore the properties 188, 188A, 190.
Addresses are changeable and not just dedicated to one piece of land.
I hope this clears this inquiry for you".

hezwez - 2021-07-09 20:06:00

Not good enough. Try writing back that 188 wasn't subdivided so according to the LINZ standard the numbering should be 188, 190A & 190B. See what their answer to that is. If they quote standards they should follow them.

pauldw - 2021-07-10 04:51:00