MBIE’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) visited the property owned by Stephen Chiman Bhana on four occasions between November 2022 and April 2023, following complaints from multiple tenants.

During the investigation, TCIT observed the two-bedroom property to be in a very poor state of repair with issues identified such as a badly leaking roof, cracked and broken gutters, holes in the flooring, rotten timber in the window frames, and external soffit and eaves.

In addition to the poor state of the property, the landlord failed to comply with basic healthy homes requirements which meant the tenants had no way of heating the property with a non-functioning heat pump, uncovered open fireplace, draughts, and no ground moisture barrier or drainage. The property was initially rented by a young couple expecting their first child who were reluctant to bring up their newborn baby at the address due to the condition of the property. They eventually moved out during the initial stages of the investigation.

While under investigation by TCIT, Mr Bhana rented out the property again, to a mother with two young children, and increased the rent from $650 to $750 per week, despite not adequately completing any maintenance or repairs. As a result of water dripping through a damaged ceiling, the tenants were unable to use the front bedroom, and all had to sleep in the lounge at one point.

The condition of the property impacted the health of the young children, especially the eldest one who has bronchitis. After the initial site visit, Mr Bhana advised the TCIT investigator the problems identified had been addressed but, after failing to produce information requested, further site visits confirmed this was not the case.

The Tenancy Tribunal found that Stephen Bhana had breached the Act and committed the following unlawful acts:

• Failing to provide the premises reasonably clean and tidy (one tenancy)
• Failing to provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair (both tenancies)
• Failing to comply with the Healthy Homes Standards (both tenancies)
• Failing to produce documents to MBIE

Brett Wilson, National Manager, Tenancy Compliance and Investigations, said landlords have an obligation to be aware of and comply with their responsibilities under the Act.

“The seriousness of the issues identified at this property and the history of non-compliance associated with the landlord meant it was in the public interest to take this case to the tribunal to hold Mr Bhana accountable,” Brett Wilson said.

“As a result of Mr Bhana’s failure to comply with his obligations as a landlord, his tenants, including young children, continue to live in a cold, damp, and unsafe property. He has incurred additional penalties, money he could have saved if he had taken the time and effort to maintain the property to an acceptable standard,“ he said.

“Landlords have an obligation to be aware of and comply with their responsibilities under the Act. Mr Bhana owns a number of rental properties and should be well aware of what he must provide for each tenancy.”

The adjudicator noted the landlord has made “deliberate decisions” around what maintenance to provide at the property and the effect of the unlawful act is that the tenant has lived in a premises “well below the minimum lawful standards”.

The Tenancy Tribunal also considered the rent charged by Mr Bhana for this property and found that it exceeded the market rent by a “substantial” amount. The adjudicator noted that a three bedroom property in good condition not far from Mr Bhana’s property was seeking $650 per week in rent.  In the case of this tenancy the rent had to be considered on the basis that it was a property in poor condition with only one useable bedroom.  The adjudicator therefore issued a market rent order reducing the rent at the property from $750 per week to $486 per week.

This market rent order was back dated to 2 November 2023 with the landlord required to reimburse the tenant all overpaid rent within 10 working days of the order, which equates to more than $8,700.

Stephen Bhana was also restrained from committing further unlawful acts of the same kind for a period of 3 years and ordered to undertake all necessary repairs to the property by 23 July 2024.  These repairs have not yet been completed and TCIT will continue to monitor.

Mr Bhana has applied for a rehearing of the decision at the Tenancy Tribunal and has also appealed the decision in the District Court. Both proceedings are currently pending.  In the interim, a stay of proceedings has been granted in respect of the exemplary damages awarded but the work order, market rent order and rent reimbursement orders must still be complied with.

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