Short answer. Yes. If the administrator uses or occupies part of the estate's real property, they must account for it as agreed with the interested parties, or as the court adjusts with their assent; if the parties cannot agree, the court fixes the amount and its determination is final.
What the law says
If the executor or administrator uses or occupies any part of the real estate himself, he shall account for it as may be agreed upon between him and the parties interested, or adjusted by the court with their assent; and if the parties do not agree upon the sum to be allowed, the same may be ascertained by the court, whose determination in this respect shall be final.
Rule 85, Section 4 — Accountable for income from realty used by him. Read the full provision →
Personal use has a price
An administrator who occupies part of the estate's real property for their own benefit does not get to do so for free simply because they are also the one managing the estate. The rule requires them to account for that use, treating personal occupation as something the estate is entitled to be compensated for, just as it would be for a stranger renting the same space. The obligation applies regardless of whether the occupation was ever formally authorized, because the point of the rule is to prevent the estate from subsidizing the administrator's personal living arrangements at the expense of the heirs and creditors entitled to the property's value.
Agreement first, then the court
The preferred route is agreement: the administrator and the interested parties settle on a figure themselves, or the court adjusts an amount with their assent, so the sum owed reflects what the people with a stake in the estate consider fair rather than a figure imposed from outside without their input. This consensual approach also tends to be faster, since it avoids the delay and expense of a contested hearing over what amounts, in the end, to setting a reasonable rental value.
Final once the court decides
Where the parties cannot agree, the court steps in and ascertains the sum itself, and its determination on this point is final, closing off further dispute once the court has fixed the amount the administrator owes for personal use of the property, leaving no further avenue to relitigate the figure. That finality keeps the settlement proceeding from being dragged out indefinitely over what is ultimately a valuation question, while still guaranteeing that someone neutral decides the amount whenever the interested parties cannot settle it themselves. An administrator who conceals such use or omits it from the accounting can be surcharged for the reasonable value once discovered, and persistent refusal to account is itself a ground the court can weigh in a petition for removal.
Related provisions
- Rule 85, Section 4 — Accountable for income from realty used by him
- Rule 85, Section 3 — When not accountable for debts due estate
- Rule 85, Section 5 — Accountable if he neglects or delays to raise or pay money