Flats for Rats? Dunedin’s Next Top Flat Awards

This week the Otago University Students' Association has been showing students the best way to keep their flats clean while highlighting the best and worst of flatting conditions in Dunedin this week during the Mitre 10 Mega Dunedin Flatting Week.

"We're always pushing for better flatting conditions and promoting the over supply of flats in Dunedin," said Angus McDonald, OUSA Campaigns Manager, "Students have to realise that we don't have to sign up early, and don't need to sign up to a rubbish flat."

The OUSA Next Top Flat competition today judged the best and worst flats in Dunedin, looking to highlight the coldest dampest flats that need fixing before they should be let out again. The students also want to reward the great landlords of Dunedin, with the Best Landlord award giving students the chance to say what a difference a great landlord makes.

"If you're in a rubbish flat with a rubbish landlord the chances of you wanting to look after it are low, but having a landlord who cares and also gets the place fixed when it needs to be really makes a difference." said Logan Edgar, OSUA President and judge, "Of course it goes both ways, some people feel the need to live in a dunger for a year, and some people just want a cheap place and are a bit rough as they get into the swing of living as an adult. But in general most people need a safe, warm and healthy flat and that comes from more than just the people living there."

"The most voted for category was the Best Landlord so we want to give a big Hi-5 to all the landlords who treat their tenants like people, not just a pay cheque." said McDonald, "It shows you get out what you put in."

“Students need to know a 14 day notice can make a huge difference and the OUSA can help you with writing one or any advice you need when it comes to flatting issues.” Said Edgar.

Results

Best Flat: 311 Stuart Street

Best Landlord: 35 Union St (West), David Ojala

Worst Flat: 47 London Street

See winning entries below:

Worst Flat: 47 London

The race to select rooms was pointless as all six rooms are equally damp, cold and generally gross. Questionable stains on every surface, windows that time has sealed shut and doors that don't lock.

The landlord has deserted us in this hell hole to fend for ourselves. The clothesline is made of string tied to trees and multiple doorknobs have been replaced by mangled cutlery.

Every day is a drama. The drier doesn't work, the clothesline gets no sun and the hot water cylinder seems to have a 4L capacity. Times are tough on London St.

I'd hate to think what my mother would say.

Best Flat: 311 Stuart Street

This is our dream HOME not just a flat. Our glorious abode houses 8 smashing girls has left us with the best memories of Dunedin. Our landlord is a Queen that has the mansion set up! It comes with it's own long dining table for family dinners every night and doubles as a cat walk, stage and flip cup arena for Saturday nights. It has 2 flatscreens (one in the kitchen for Breakfast TV), Rapunzel's loft, an underground bomb shelter, a hidden spiritual secret dungeon, exquisite Elizabethan interiors including curtains/furniture/carpets, a bridge and balcony with potential for firemans pole, 3 super flash bathrooms (one with a view of the stunning city), huuuge stainless steel kitchen, metallic paint, wall sized mirror, 2 fridges ANNNND to seal the deal. We have an EXTRA flat next door. It's a haunted house completely stripped bare of carpet and wallpaper but full of cob-webs, mystery and goooood times. You'll just have to come and check it all out. IT IS THAT GOOD. We love 311, don't want to leave and our visitors never do either! This would top a top year for us and would be something to share forever. Look forward to seeing you! From 311 :)

Best landlord: 35 Union St (West), David Ojala

This is my flat's nomination for the most amazing landlord ever. We live at 35 Union Street. It's like, right around the corner from everything. It's a massive, two story red-brick house with a wall and grass around it. Google streetview it. Doesn't look like much of a scarfie flat, does it? No, It doesn't. More of a real people house than anything else. Massive rooms like you wouldn't believe. The insulation is brilliant and not only does it have a heat pump on every floor, it also has two seperate hot water cylinders. Yes, you read that right. No surprises in the shower when someone turns on a tap somewhere else, and we've never run out of hot water this year. Now I know what you're thinking: "Residents of The Manor (and yes, it's a house that warrants this name), this isn't about your flat. This is about your landlord". Correct, OUSA. The reason I mentioned all of this is because our rent is $125. "Say whaaaa?!" Yes. 125. Now you can find cheaper shit flats not too far away, or great flats very far away. But the reality of the situation is because of the location and condition of the flat, our landlord could get away with charging significantly more. Take that, Hyde and Castle landlords.

Now a landlord's duties should not just stop at receiving money and handing us keys (but unfortunately, for a lot of flats, this is the case). He really does go the extra mile in being, simply, a good guy. I shall begin listing things now. He mows the lawn when it starts to get a bit over-grown. He pays for one of those green envirowaste bins because honestly, it costs him next-to-nothing and he knows students just don't buy DCC rubbish bags. When we moved in, he noticed a few of us were quite tall and installed higher shower fixtures. We invited him over for dinner at the beginning of the year and he baked us cookies. If anything breaks, he's over within a day or two to fix it. He fixed an inexplicably broken door-window without charging us. When our microwave screen broke, he got us a brand new one, even though the screen is hardly important. He's cut lost keys for us even though that's totally our own problem. When they were installing fibre outside our flat they drilled through our sewage pipe, causing it to explode all over the garden. There he is, an hour later (and the next day too), knee deep in shit clearing it all out and making the construction workers dig up the entire sidewalk to fix the problem. We're now in the first 10 residences in Dunedin to have Fibre thanks to him. The only time he has ever charged us for anything was when our oven had burnt out due to it being left on all night, and he was amazingly apologetic saying "I'm really sorry but I've already put $300 into the oven this year and we can't really afford the additional $120". Of course dude, we'll pay for it. Oh, and there was this massive pothole on great king street at the beginning of the year that kept shaking the house and waking us up when trucks drove over it, and he chased down the council like a witch hunt until they finally filled it in.

Did I mention he's lovely? He's also lovely.

So there, this great man deserves to be appreciated for his efforts and really shows that not all landlords are dicks.

ENDS

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