To apply for a property manager in New Zealand, you file an application for a property order in the Family Court under the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, supported by a medical expert report and an affidavit.
The court must be satisfied the person wholly or partly lacks the competence to manage their own property.
Applying is free, and the court must appoint a lawyer to represent the person the application is about unless they already have their own.
Most of the work happens before anyone walks into a courtroom, and the medical evidence is where these applications are won or lost.
How Do You Apply for a Property Manager in the Family Court?
You apply by filing an application for a property order at your nearest Family Court, together with a medical expert report, an affidavit in support, and a signed consent from the person you want appointed.
There is no filing fee.
The Ministry of Justice confirms it’s free to apply for an Order to Appoint a Property Manager, which removes one barrier for families already dealing with a health crisis.
Once the application is filed, it must be served on the people listed in section 63 of the Act, including the person the order is about, and a lawyer is appointed to represent that person.
That lawyer contacts the person, explains the nature and purpose of the application, and finds out what the person wants.
The judge may then hold a short hearing, ask for more medical evidence, or make the order.
Who Can Apply for a Property Order?
Section 26 of the Act sets out a wide list of people who can apply, so you don’t need to be next of kin.
The list includes the person themselves, a relative or their attorney under an enduring power of attorney, a social worker, a medical practitioner, a trustee corporation, and a welfare guardian who has already been appointed.
It also covers the principal manager of a hospital, rest home or residential disability care facility where the person lives, and a representative of a non-commercial group providing welfare services.
Anyone else can apply with the leave of the court.
In our experience, applications usually come from an adult child, a spouse or a sibling who has watched bills go unpaid, money disappear, or a family member fall for a scam.
What Documents Do You Need to File?
You need a completed application form, a medical expert report, an affidavit in support, and a written consent from the proposed manager.
The Ministry of Justice publishes the forms as PPPR 10 if you’re applying in respect of yourself and PPPR 11 if you’re applying about someone else.
You file those alongside the PPPR 14 information sheet and the PPPR 17 consent to appointment.
The affidavit is the part people underestimate.
It sets out the factual evidence of the person’s incompetence, the property the order should relate to, and information about the proposed manager, including any conflict of interest.
Beyond what the form strictly requires, evidence of what has actually gone wrong and why a property manager is a better fit than a narrower order will help the judge apply the least restrictive intervention test.
What Medical Evidence Does the Court Need?
The court needs a medical expert report from a practitioner who has assessed the person and can speak to their ability to manage money and property.
A diagnosis on its own may not establish the statutory lack of competence.
The report needs to connect the diagnosis to the specific functional problem, such as an inability to understand a bank statement, weigh up a proposed sale, or resist financial pressure from others.
The judge may ask for further medical evidence if the first report doesn’t address competence in relation to property.
Where the person’s condition fluctuates, the report should say so, because that affects whether the court finds a partial or total loss of competence.
What Is the Capacity Threshold for a Property Manager?
The threshold is that the person “lacks wholly or partly the competence to manage his or her own affairs in relation to his or her property”, under section 25 of the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988.
Those three words, “wholly or partly”, do a lot of work.
They mean the court doesn’t need to find that someone has lost all financial competence.
Partial loss is enough to open the door, which is why property orders are available in situations where a welfare guardian application would fail.
The starting point is still a presumption in the person’s favour.
Section 24 says every person is presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be competent to manage their own affairs in relation to their property.
The applicant carries the burden of displacing that presumption with evidence.
What Does “Least Restrictive Intervention” Mean in Practice?
It means the court must make the smallest order that will actually solve the problem, and must let the person keep exercising whatever competence they still have.
Section 28 sets these as the court’s primary objectives.
A judge will ask whether a limited order over one asset would work before granting a manager control of everything the person owns.
This is why an application that asks for sweeping powers “just in case” is likely to be granted in narrower terms.
If the real issue is a single rental property or one bank account, ask for an order over that, not over the whole estate.
The Supreme Court reinforced how tightly these boundaries are drawn in Johnston v Schurr [2015] NZSC 82, confirming that a manager holds only the powers the Family Court has actually conferred and is liable if they act in bad faith or without reasonable care.
How Is a Property Manager Different From a Welfare Guardian?
A property manager deals with money and assets and requires only partial loss of competence, while a welfare guardian deals with personal care and requires the person to wholly lack capacity.
That difference in threshold is the most practical distinction between the two applications, and it explains why families are sometimes granted one and refused the other.
The comparison below sets out how the two orders differ across the points that matter most when you’re deciding what to apply for.
| Feature | Property Manager | Welfare Guardian |
| Governing section | Section 31 (jurisdiction under section 25) | Section 12 |
| Capacity threshold | Lacks wholly or partly the competence to manage property affairs | Wholly lacks capacity to make or communicate personal care decisions |
| What it covers | Money, bank accounts, land, investments, income and debts | Living arrangements, medical treatment, day-to-day care |
| Additional test | Least restrictive intervention possible | Appointment must be the only satisfactory way to ensure decisions are made |
| Who can be appointed | One or more people aged 20 or over, or a trustee corporation | Usually one person aged 20 or over; no body corporate can be appointed |
| Ongoing reporting | Statements of assets and liabilities filed with the court and examined by Public Trust | No equivalent financial reporting requirement |
| First review | Set at not later than 3 years from the date of the order | Set at not later than 3 years from the date of the order |
The reporting line is where families feel the difference most.
Both roles carry continuing responsibilities, but only a property manager takes on an ongoing accounting obligation that continues for as long as the order runs, and that obligation costs money.
It’s also worth knowing that the two orders can sit side by side.
Where someone has lost the ability to manage both their care and their finances, an application can seek both, though the medical evidence still has to address two different statutory tests.
What Does the Lawyer for the Subject Person Do?
The appointed lawyer’s job is to find out what the person the application is about actually wants, and to test whether the order being sought is the least restrictive option available.
Section 65 of the Act requires the court or the Registrar to appoint a lawyer for that person, unless satisfied the person has retained or will retain their own lawyer.
The section sets out two specific duties, so far as is practicable.
The lawyer must contact the person, explain the nature and purpose of the application, and ascertain and give effect to that person’s wishes about it.
The lawyer must also evaluate the solutions put forward by the other parties, looking for one that makes the least restrictive intervention possible and that encourages the person to develop and exercise whatever competence they have.
This is not a general best interests role, and it isn’t a formality.
If the person objects to the application or to the proposed manager, this lawyer is the one who says so in court.
Section 65 also lets the appointed lawyer call witnesses and cross-examine witnesses called by anyone else, which matters in contested cases.
The cost position is better than most families expect.
Section 65 provides that the appointed lawyer’s fees and reasonable expenses are payable out of public money appropriated by Parliament.
The court can afterwards order a party, or the person the application is about, to refund a specified amount to the Crown, having regard to their means.
What Happens at the Family Court Hearing?
After the appointed lawyer has met the person, the judge has three options: hold a short hearing, ask for more medical evidence, or make the order.
Not every application ends up in a contested hearing.
Where the medical evidence is clear and nobody opposes the application, the judge is able to deal with it without a full defended fixture.
A hearing is more likely where a family member opposes the application, where two people both want to be appointed, or where the medical evidence is thin or contradictory.
If the matter is genuinely contested, expect affidavit evidence from both sides, cross-examination, and a longer timetable.
The court can also make a temporary property order lasting up to three months where urgent provision is needed in the person’s best interests.
That’s the route to use when a settlement date is looming, a mortgage is about to default, or funds need to be released for care.
Section 74 says the person the application is about must be present throughout the hearing, unless the court excuses or excludes them.
The court can excuse them if satisfied they wholly lack the capacity to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings, or that attending is likely to cause them serious mental, emotional or physical harm.
When Should You Apply for a Property Administrator Instead?
Apply for a property administrator rather than a manager when the person’s assets and income both fall under the statutory thresholds, because the administrator process is simpler and carries lighter obligations.
The current limits are set out by the Ministry of Justice.
No item of property to be managed can be worth more than $25,000.
The person’s annual income or benefit can’t exceed $41,200 for the year from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, rising in stages to $45,000 from 1 April 2029 onwards.
If either limit is exceeded, you need to apply for a property manager instead.
These figures are recent.
The Ministry for Regulation’s review of the Act records that the income threshold was $20,000 and the asset threshold just $5,000 before the increases took effect on 3 October 2024.
Families who would previously have been pushed down the full property manager route now have a realistic chance of qualifying for the simpler option.
If you last looked at this before October 2024, check the numbers again.
One practical warning: the $25,000 asset limit applies to individual items of property, not the total.
A person who owns a house is almost always over the line regardless of their income, because a residential property will be worth well over $25,000 on its own.
What Reporting Obligations Does a Property Manager Have?
A property manager must file a statement of the person’s property with the court at the start of the appointment, again every year, and once more when the managership ends.
Section 45 sets the deadlines.
The opening statement is due within three months of the managership starting.
Annual statements are due within 30 days after the end of each year the managership continues, and the final statement within 30 days of the manager ceasing to hold office.
Those statements are then examined by Public Trust, except where the manager is itself a trustee corporation.
The Ministry of Justice records that the examination fee is currently $247.47 per hour and can’t be waived.
That cost is a real consideration for smaller estates and is a strong reason to check whether the administrator route is open to you first.
The obligations have teeth.
Filing a false statement is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment, and failing to file a statement is punishable by a fine of $1,000.
Keeping clean records from day one, with receipts, bank statements and a clear separation between the person’s money and your own, will make each annual statement straightforward rather than a scramble.
How Long Does a Property Order Last?
A property order isn’t permanent, and the court must set a first review date not later than three years from the date of the order.
If the court then extends the order at that review, it sets the next review date at five years, or a shorter period if it considers that appropriate.
At review, the court looks again at whether the person’s competence has changed and whether the order is still the least restrictive option available.
Some people recover competence, particularly after a stroke, a head injury or a period of severe mental illness, and the order can be discharged.
It’s worth separating two things that often get confused.
The death, bankruptcy or incapacity of the manager ends that person’s appointment as manager, but it doesn’t automatically end the property order itself, and the court can appoint a replacement.
An early review can be sought at any time by the person the order was made about, their manager or welfare guardian, and the relatives, attorneys, social workers, doctors, trustee corporations and care facility managers listed in section 26, with anyone else needing the leave of the court.
If the manager wants to do something significant that falls outside the powers granted, such as selling the family home above a specified value, they’ll need to go back to the court for consent.
Is the Law on Property Managers About to Change?
Reform is planned, but the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988 is still the law that applies to your application today.
In its report He Arotake i te Ture mō ngā Huarahi Whakatau a ngā Pakeke, Review of Adult Decision-making Capacity Law, published on 24 February 2026, the Law Commission made 175 recommendations and proposed that a new Act replace the current one.
On 3 August 2026 the Law Commission reported the Government’s response, which accepted in principle that legislative reform is required and signalled an intention to begin substantive work on it as a priority next parliamentary term.
How existing orders would be treated is a question for whatever legislation eventually replaces the Act.
Pressure on this part of the court system is building.
The Ministry of Justice reports that protection of personal and property rights applications show the highest rate of growth in the Family Court, having doubled in the past 10 years from 6% of total applications in 2014/15 to 12% in 2023/24.
An ageing population and rising rates of dementia are likely to keep pushing demand up.
For families weighing up whether to act now or wait for reform, waiting isn’t a strategy.
The current process is the one that applies to you today.
Need Help Applying for a Property Manager?
Applying for a property manager means proving a partial or total loss of competence to the Family Court, filing the right evidence, and accepting an ongoing reporting duty once the order is made, and the smaller property administrator route may be a better fit if the assets are modest.
As PPPR lawyers in New Zealand, Evolution Lawyers can help you prepare and file a property manager application, gather the medical evidence the court needs, and meet your obligations once you’re appointed.
Contact our team today to discuss applying for a property manager.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to get a property manager appointed?
Timing varies and no fixed statutory timeframe applies. It depends on how quickly the court appoints a lawyer for the person, how fast that lawyer can meet them, whether the judge asks for further medical evidence, and whether a hearing is needed. Opposed applications, or those where two people seek appointment, take considerably longer.
Does it cost anything to apply for a property manager?
There’s no court filing fee to apply for an order appointing a property manager. The fees of the lawyer the court appoints for the person are paid out of public money, though the court can order a refund to the Crown after considering means. You still pay for the medical expert report, any lawyer you engage, and Public Trust fees.
Can a property manager sell the person’s house?
Only if the court has granted that power. A property manager holds only the powers the Family Court has actually conferred in the order, and significant transactions above a specified value require the court’s consent. The manager’s first and paramount consideration must be using the property to promote and protect the best interests of the person concerned.
What if the person objects to having a property manager?
Their objection is put to the court by the lawyer appointed to represent them, and the judge must consider it. An objection doesn’t automatically defeat the application, because the test is competence rather than agreement. It does make a hearing more likely, and the least restrictive intervention principle means a narrower order is a realistic outcome.
Can you apply for a property manager if there’s already an enduring power of attorney?
Where someone loses mental capacity without an EPA in place, a property order is the main route. Where an activated property EPA exists, there’s usually no need, because the attorney already has authority. If an attorney acts improperly, the Family Court has separate powers to review, suspend or revoke their appointment.
Can more than one person be appointed property manager?
Yes. The court may appoint one or more suitable people to act as manager of the property or a specified part of it. Appointees must be at least 20 years old, and no body corporate other than a trustee corporation can be appointed. Joint appointments work well where siblings share responsibility, provided they can agree on decisions.