Tenantcheck Insights · Case study
Tenancy Tribunal case 5403969 — Tenancy dispute at 31 Blake Street, Waitara 4320
Decided 26 Jan 2026 · Published 26 Jan 2026 · Application 5403969
At a glance
Key facts from the published tribunal order.
Location
Waitara
Tribunal region
Adjudicator
J Greene
Claims & awards
What this tenancy cost at tribunal — claim, category, amount, and party awarded, with reconciled net total.
No individual claim amounts were reconciled for this order. View the official Ministry of Justice PDF for full detail.
Order
- [The landlord/s] is granted possession of the premises at 31 Blake Street, Waitara 4320 at 11.59pm on Sunday 8 February 2026.
Reasons
- I heard this application for a possession order on 19 January 2026. Sharon McGann, the sole executor of the estate of her late mother, attended the hearing by phone. Mr McGann and Ms Bianco did not attend. They requested an adjournment due to a family bereavement.
- I heard from Ms McGann and adjourned the hearing to allow Mr McGann and Ms Bianco the opportunity to provide written submissions before I made a decision on the application.
- The Tribunal received no submissions within the timeframe I set. I foreshadowed in my adjournment order that Ms McGann was probably entitled to possession of the premises to carry out her role as executor. Law
- When a person is entitled to possession of any residential premises, and the Tribunal is satisfied that any other person is in possession as a squatter or trespasser or without any right of occupation granted by a person with lawful authority to do so, the Tribunal is required to make a possession order granting possession to the person who is lawfully entitled to possession 1 .
- The Tribunal has jurisdiction to make a possession order even though the premises are not subject to a tenancy agreement 2 . Discussion
- Ms McGann has provided evidence that establishes she is the sole executor of the estate of her late mother. 3
- Ms McGann has provided a copy of the Record of Title for the property where the premises are located. It shows her as the sole registered owner as executor.
- Ms McGann is entitled to possession of the premises so she can carry out her role as executor of the estate of her late mother.
- Even if Mr McGann intends challenging the will of his late mother (he and Ms McGann are siblings) or applying for some other equitable interest in the property, greater than that provided in his mother’s will, that does not defeat Ms McGann’s application as executor 4 . The High Court said: [14] The first point is that the plaintiff and her daughter have no right of occupation of the property in question. They are only beneficiaries of the estate. There is no right to the property itself.
- In this case, Mr McGann is a beneficiary of his late mother’s estate as is Ms McGann. But only she is the executor and only she is the owner of the property 1 See section 65(1) Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) 2 See section 65(3) RTA 3 See the determination of the High Court dated 20 August 2025 – CIV-2025-485-601937 4 See Davis v Gwilliam [2022] NZHC 2228 (as executor). Only she is lawfully entitled to possession in order to carry out her role as executor.
- Ms McGann has proved that she is entitled to possession of the property because Mr McGann has no lawful right of occupation. Result
- Possession of the premises at 31 Blake Street, Waitara, 4320 is granted to Sharon McGann as sole executor of the Estate of Geraldine Yates at 11.59pm on Sunday 8 February 2026 which allows time for Mr McGann to vacate the premises.