The property is on a cross lease, meaning the owner will need the approval of their neighbour to make any changes to shared spaces, and some alterations to dwellings.
The site was for sale by tender, which closed on Thursday. However, the land remains up for grabs.
According to a council planning department spokeswoman, no resource or building consents have been granted for a house on the site.
The residentially zoned area is a "special character zone", the spokeswoman said. This meant any dwelling built there needed to be "sympathetic to and consistent with" other original character buildings in the area.
Mark White, the council's manager of central resource consents, said that because of the size and restrictions of the site, building would be a non-complying activity, meaning it would require a resource consent before work could be carried out.
"Potential owners would need quite a bespoke design to meet resource consent requirements in order to build at this property."
The small section for sale on Richmond Rd Ponsonby. Photo / Barfoot & Thompson
A consultant for the Architectus architectural practice, John Sinclair said he himself had built a home on a small site in Parnell that was only 10m wide and about 16m to 18m long.
On it, he had a three-bedroom dwelling with a study, living room, library, dining room and an internal courtyard.
