Family home of Rotorua landlord Stephen Bhana up for mortgagee sale
The family home of a controversial Rotorua landlord has been put up for sale in a mortgagee auction.
The Glenholme house, owned by Stephen Chiman Bhana and his sister, Jasu Mati Bhana, is listed to be sold later this month.
The 814sq m site has a capital value of $625,000 and is being sold by Bayleys Rotorua.
Bhana and his family trust, the Ranolf Trust, have attracted media attention over the years for owning dilapidated properties.
The Bhanas have been taken to the Tenancy Tribunal numerous times and have been the subject of Rotorua Lakes Council-enforced court action for owning properties that were “dangerous and insanitary”.
In May this year, the Tenancy Tribunal ruled a tenant endured months of “inhumane and degrading” living conditions while living in flats on Ranolf St owned by the Ranolf Trust.
The tribunal ruled that the trust deliberately misled the tenant that the property met Healthy Home Standards and ordered the trust to pay the tenant more than $6000.
Among the shoddy living conditions were mould, leaks, rotting wood, no hot water pressure, broken appliances and power sockets, and a faulty drain that Stephen Bhana tried to fix with an ice cream container.
The tribunal’s ruling noted that the trust had been involved in similar breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act before, with maximum exemplary damages imposed.
In 2024, Stephen Bhana was ordered to pay $12,000 in exemplary damages after tenancy breaches, such as trying to fix a leaking roof with a tea towel.
In another, an inspector described the “shocking” state of a leaky rental owned by Jasu Bhana’s company, which used her brother as an agent.
In February last year, Stephen Bhana was ordered to pay more than $50,000 plus interest after losing a long-running battle over a “dangerous and insanitary” property in Fordlands.
A Rotorua District Court judge told Bhana he must pay Rotorua Lakes Council $46,497.49 plus interest for the costs incurred to demolish the properties at 17a and 17b Bellingham Cres. Bhana also had to pay the council’s court costs of $4488.50.
The Rotorua Daily Post approached Jasu and Stephen Bhana at their Glenholme property yesterday about the upcoming mortgagee sale.
Stephen Bhana repeatedly said it had “all been sorted”.
“There was a delay, and as a result and they were just trying to put the pressure on.”
He said there were issues with the bank, but they had been sorted within the past three days.
The funding agency that has progressed the mortgagee auction did not want to comment.
Bayleys Rotorua manager Beth Millard said: “We are instructed to proceed until we have formal, written confirmation to stand down.”
The property has scrapped vehicles dumped on the front lawn and untidy, overgrown grounds. In a large overgrown backyard, there are broken glasshouse frames and old building materials.
The house, with three bedrooms and one bathroom, is advertised for auction online as offering appealing potential.
It is said to boast an ideal location close to the central city and mountain biking tracks.
The listing says “this established Glenholme property provides an inviting opportunity to refresh, reimagine, or simply enjoy as it is, in a neighbourhood known for its central convenience and strong sense of community”.
The auction is set to take place at 2pm on December 22.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.