Written by In Rance v Dempsey (No 5) [2026] NSWSC 270, the Supreme Court of New South Wales ordered the sale of a co-owned East Gosford property under s 66G of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW) (‘The Act‘), confirming the strong presumption in favour of a statutory sale in co-ownership disputes even where separate succession proceedings have been commenced.
The proceedings arose in relation to a property forming part of the estate of a deceased person who died intestate. The plaintiff, acting as administrator of the estate, applied for orders under s 66G of the Act seeking the appointment of trustees to sell the property. The application was made on the basis that the property was held in co-ownership and should be dealt with under the statutory process for selling co-owned property.
The defendant opposed the application, arguing that the Court should refuse to make the orders because of alleged equitable and statutory interests said to arise from separate succession proceedings. Those proceedings included claims that she was the spouse of the deceased and thus deserved potential entitlements under succession legislation. It was argued that these pending claims should prevent the sale of the property, or at least delay it.
However, the NSW Supreme Court ultimately held that the defendant’s asserted interests were uncertain and unestablished, and did not amount to a sufficient basis to prevent the property being sold under s 66G of the Act. As such, the Court decided that the property be transferred to the trustees, subject to any existing debts or charges, and that the defendant give up possession within seven days. The trustees were given full authority to prepare the property for sale, including advertising it, making repairs, hiring professionals, and recovering costs.
The decision reinforces the strong presumption in favour of ordering sale in co-ownership disputes, and confirms that speculative succession claims will rarely prevent the statutory operation of s 66G of the Act.