Wellington mega-landlord Matthew Ryan facing firearms, violence, and intimate recording charges

A Wellington “mega-landlord” is facing multiple serious criminal charges including firearm possession, strangulation, and making and distributing intimate visual recordings.

Matthew Ryan, who owns more than 200 properties, according to property records, had his matter called in the Wellington District Court this afternoon.

His charges include unlawful possession of a firearm, strangulation or suffocation, threatening to kill or cause grievous bodily harm, making an intimate visual recording, and distributing it.

The firearms charge relates to Ryan allegedly possessing a hunting rifle after his firearms licence had been revoked.

At the time he was charged, he told the Herald he had used the weapon for rabbit shooting but had not fired it for well over 20 years.

Ryan appeared in court this afternoon for a callover, where defence lawyer Michael Bott indicated he had no opposition to a Crown application to join all the charges together in one file.

Matthew Ryan, who owns hundreds of properties, is facing multiple criminal charges. Photo / Mark Mitchell

He said he expected a trial for the matter would last two weeks.

A reserve trial date was set down for March next year and the matter was remanded to next be called in September.

Ryan has previously been quoted in multiple news articles, sharing his opinions on the housing market and going on local radio shows to give his perspective.

He was also involved in a high-profile Tenancy Tribunal case when a European diplomat broke her lease early in one of his rental properties, leaving him $20,000 out of pocket in unpaid rent and property damage.

European Union deputy head of mission Eva Tvarozkova was originally ordered in 2018 to pay Ryan the money after leaving the then-$1.5 million Miramar townhouse he owned. The Tenancy Tribunal reversed its decision after Tvarozkova got lawyers involved, who argued her diplomatic immunity exempted her from needing to pay the money.

Ryan’s case hinged on the argument that the Geneva Convention which gave diplomats immunity in foreign courts had an exemption for commercial transactions such as rental payments.

Then-Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters even weighed in on the case at the time, saying the Government’s hands were tied over the matter.

“It might be a disgrace, but if you have got your diplomatic staff offshore in any country and they become victims of a local legal or political attack, have their lives threatened, or property taken over by the state even though New Zealand paid for it, you realise diplomatic immunity is very important.

“There are massive upsides to it, but every now and again you get a downside.”

Ryan has been vocal about Government policies affecting the rights of landlords and property investors.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.