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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol 34 no. 17. September 22 1971

Accommodation 72

Accommodation 72

Accommodation 72

Accommodation 72

Student accommodation at the beginning of 1972 is likely to be even more difficult to find than this year when over a 100 students were without a permanent place to live in at the start of lecutres. Many flats in consequence were overcrowded through the first term as the search for flats continued. A number of students were finally forced to accept accommodation unsuitable for university students studying for long periods.

Usually some easing of the pressures on accommodation occurs as the year progresses. This has not been the case this year.

There has been a sizable loss of accommodation with the demolition of property in Aurora, Clifton and Everton Terraces and Glencoe Avenue for the foothills motorway and the development of the Terrace and Arlington Street areas.

Flats For Next Year

Students requiring assistance in finding lodgings for the 1972 academic year should register with the Service. If after registering, accommodation is obtained by some other means it is Important to advise the Service as it is essential to have accurate figures of the number of students looking for various types of accommodation before the start of lectures.

Lists of adresses of landloards offering full board, furnished rooms and bed and breakfast will be mailed to students who have applied for these types of accommodation. The first list will be circulated at the end of January and further lists will be forwarded at weekly intervals until enrolment. Subsequent lists may be obtained from the office.

Students wishing to rent or obtain a place in an established flat should enquire in person at the Accommodation Service office. The number of flats available through the Service is well below the numbers required so that many students will have to make their own arrangements. Students who intend to flat together should try to arrange for at least one member of their group to come to Wellington either mid-week or over successive weekends from the end of January until a suitable flat is obtained.

To assist out-of-town students looking for flats the Service will, in addition to normal office hours 9 am to 5 pm, be open on Friday evenings 6 pm to 8 pm and Saturday mornings 9 am to 11 am from 28th Jan to 26th Feb 1972.

Hostels

Helen Lowry Hall move into their new building in Karori in mid-December. It is hoped that all the villas will be available for use in the first term. This Hall will house 80 women students, slightly more than at their temporary premises in Hanson Street. The extension to Victoria House, when completed in May of next year, will provide an additional 91 beds, making a total of 170 places.

The Everton Trust Board will run the Hanson Street premises vacated by Helen Lowry as a hostel for men and women. This will provide 75 much needed additional places. This gain was in danger of being lost as there were plans for closing Rudman House and converting it into a centre for alcoholics. The Salvation Army after representations from the Rudman House residents, church and welfare groups and I.H. Boyd for Victoria University, have decided to continue to operate Rudman as a hostel.

Cost Of Flatting

All types of accommodation are likely to cost more next year. It is important that studetns in working out their budget for 1972 allow a sufficient sum to cover the cost of board and lodgings. The cost of flatting has risen considerably over the past two yars and is still rising. Places in flats costing $6.00 or less are becoming rare. Individuals rents of $8.00-$9.00 are common for flats of a reasonable but far from luxurious standard.

The true cost of flatting is rather like owning a car; it costs a great deal more than the average tenant realizes. If all he cost associated with living in a flat are allowed for, and in most cases the full costs will only be known at the end of the year or when the flat is vacted, it is unlikely unless strict control over expenditure has been exercised and the diet a spartan one with mince and sausages figuring prominently, that the cost of flatting would be significantly lower than hostel or other types of accommodation.

The Accommodation Service plans to prepare material on budgeting. The Accommodation Officer would like to talk especially to students who have kept a complete and accurate record of expenditure on flatting this year.

Students as Tenants

The main objection to letting to studetns has been the general practice of vacating flats permanently after finals. These created letting problems for landlords whose flats were vacated. Understandably a landlord preferred to let to a tenant who would stay permanently rather than risk having his flat vacant for up to three months or let at a reduced rental over the period.

The fierce competition for flats in the Kelburn Central City area at the beginning of the year is encouraging studetns who are reasonably happy with their flats to retain them for the following year. The number of students looking for flats after finals is also increasing.

The Accommodation Service assists students who wish to retain their flats over the summer vacation, to sublet. The Service is able to do this by offering to assist students from other universities coming to Wellington for the vacation, to find places in flats. Students wanting to sublet should contact the Service without delay as students planning to work in Wellington are usually anxious to finalise their accommodation as soon as possible.

Offers of assistance in housing students next year will depend largely on the willingness of landlords who have housed students this year to do so again next year. It is important that students take care to maintain good relationships with their landlords.

Studetns vacating flats in Kelburn permanently after finals can assist in retaining accommodation for other students by. 1) leaving their flat in a reasonable condition, 2) advising the Accomodation Officer, 3) letting the landlord know about the University Accommodation Service.