Recent data shows rent costs in Dunedin have climbed by almost 9% since May last year, compared to a national drop of 2.7%, and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment this year found multiple landlords breaching healthy homes legislation in the student quarter.
The Otago Daily Times visited flats around the University of Otago yesterday and found students were having to make sacrifices if they wanted to live close to the campus.
Second-year genetics student Jupiter Gordon, of Dunedin, said she was paying $214 a week for her flat and it was "ridiculous".
While the heating situation at her house was legal, it was not warm, she said.
The lights flickered all the time, and they were never fixed.
Her student allowance covered her rent, but it was a stretch buying groceries and paying for power.
She often got produce from her grandparents to avoid spending more money on food.
There were not many flats available for under $200 per room next year and she was considering moving home to live with her parents.
Third-year Bachelor of Arts and Commerce student Harriet Sinclair, of Arrowtown, said she was paying $180 for her room in a student rental with five flatmates.
She was happy with her flat for this year, but finding a four-person flat for next year was a bit of a struggle.
A flat she viewed yesterday looked good in the photos, but at the viewing she found cracks in the ceiling.
Second-year Bachelor of Commerce students Xanthea Greaves and Emily Jones paid $200 and $220 respectively per week for their flats, but they did not mind because they were good warm flats.
Miss Jones said she was paying a similar rate to what her friends in Christchurch were paying and felt she had a fair deal.
She knew the housing was not great in Dunedin when she moved to the city, but it was worth it because of the "student experience".
Dunedin tenant Zoe Eckhoff, who shared her horror flatting experience with the ODT last month, said there was a big power imbalance between tenants and landlords.
"There’s a feeling you have to audition for your landlord rather than the other way around."
The housing situation in Dunedin just did not work.
The quality of the properties was not up to scratch for students who did not want to engage in the party culture.
Students were vulnerable because they had no idea what they were supposed to be looking for when signing a tenancy agreement, she said.
Otago University Students’ Association president Liam White said students were paying too much for flats that did not meet their basic needs.
Students were feeling the pinch with expensive rental prices, and he believed it was now a factor that was significantly affecting people’s choices to study in Dunedin, on top of the general costs of living being so high.
The OUSA was handing out a record number of food bags every month, he said.
"It is really simple that it is becoming far too expensive to be a student."
‘Sometimes you can’t even focus on your schoolwork’
Second-year computer science student Ambrosia Hardie and second-year law student Karis O’Brien, both from Auckland, do not feel they are getting good value for the money they pay for their North East Valley flat.
"Our house is absolutely freezing and we get no sun," Miss Hardie said.
They had to open windows and doors to get warm air to flow through their flat because it was colder inside than outside.
The cold had an impact on her mental health because it made it harder to get out of bed in the morning and do things, she said
"It makes life a bit more depressing, I’d say.
"Sometimes you can’t even focus on your schoolwork," Miss Hardie said.
For next year the pair were looking for flats with double-glazed windows that met healthy standards, but they were a lot more expensive.
They had found a suitable contender, but it was $300 each per week to rent.
Her family were worried for her and her father had tried convincing her to move back to Auckland to live in cheaper accommodation that was not so cold or making her sick, Miss Hardie said.
The pair both worked on weekends to make ends meet, but also because their workplaces were warmer than their flat, she said.
"It is painful. Like, you’ve got no extra money."
