Dunedin rental check reveal improvements needed in student accommodation
The Minister found landlords who had not ensured their properties were up to standard.
Photo:
RNZ / Dom Thomas
An investigation has found Dunedin students often find problems with rental properties soon after moving in.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment inspected student rentals this week to check that landlords weren't offering damp, rundown homes.
From July, healthy homes standards will come into force, setting a benchmark for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture barriers, drainage and draught stopping in rental properties.
The tenancy compliance and investigations team have already visited 53 properties and planned to visit more next week.
The Ministry found landlords who had not ensured their properties were up to standard or reasonably clean before students moved in, but the problems were usually sorted out quickly.
Maintenance issues - including heatpumps not working or needing installation, and healthy homes standards not being met within time frames - were also discovered during the visits.
Most landlords who were contacted before visits were receptive, but the Ministry confirmed it would follow up with the landlords or property management companies who did not respond or declined inspections.
The team observed recent maintenance or improvements had been done at several properties, but most properties needed minor work under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
"Several students explained that their landlord had completed smoke alarm inspections in the past two weeks and left a copy of a healthy homes standard statement at the property," the Ministry said.
Otago University Students Association previously said many students were forced to live in cold, old, and mouldy flats, and did not speak out, fearing they would jeopardise future references or create more problems for themselves.
Students had been very receptive to the visits, and appreciated advice on their rights and responsibilities, the Ministry said.
A more detailed update on the state of Dunedin student rentals was expected later in the year.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter
curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
King's Birthday Honours: Advocate dedicates award to survivors of abuse in care
Victor Boyd was credited with drawing attention to the abuse and torture inflicted on approximately 360 children and vulnerable adults at Lake Alice. Photo: PUBLIC DOMAIN./ Pawful A tireless advocate for survivors of abuse in care has dedicated his King's Birthday Honour to those who suffered. Victor Boyd has spent more than 50 years seeking recognition for the abuse that occurred at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit between 1972 and 1978. He has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. "It was a real surprise and obviously I feel very honoured to get that sort of on behalf of the survivors really who told me their stories all those years ago and continue to do so. "I felt also it was a nice reward for the voluntary work I had done over the years on this cause." He said all those involved in exposing the abuse shared in the award. "Working with the Citizens Commission on Human Rights and the survivors who told me their stories and also the ones who wanted something done, wanted something something to happen about their experiences, that's who I would dedicate this award to." Now in his mid-70s, Boyd had been volunteer researcher for the Citizens Commission on Human Rights since 1977, and was credited with drawing attention to the abuse and torture inflicted on approximately 360 children and vulnerable adults at Lake Alice. Boyd interviewed numerous survivors of abuse at the Lake Alice Unit, documenting their experiences and supporting them in raising complaints with relevant government agencies. He supported former patient Paul Zentveld's complaint to the United Nations (UN) Convention Against Torture , which led to New Zealand's Royal Commission into Abuse in Care Inquiry . His tireless advocacy across several decades culminated in a formal acknowledgement by the government of the abuse and torture of children and young adults at the Lake Alice. When the Commission's initial 500-page report was released in 2020, Boyd told Open Justice activities at Lake Alice looked like medical experimentation on children. "I think that that is appalling, that's another reason we kept going. I kept working on it, but because I didn't have lists or anything like that it was still running around cold calling people." He was impressed with the level of detail in the 2020 report. "It was very gratifying to see after all of this time." His contribution to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State Care and in the Care of Faith-based Institutions helped inform the Lake Alice Unit section of the report. Boyd was actively involved in the inquiry, particularly through engagement with diverse survivor groups, Ministers, Members of Parliament, government officials and independent agencies. Speaking after receiving his honour he said there was still work to do. "The accountability side of it still needs to be finalised because there's the redress which is in place and there have been apologies from the government, the prime minister, the Medical Council and shortly the Nursing Council. "What's missing at the moment is what the mental health staff did actually which was wrong and that has to be acknowledged. In part that has occurred with the Medical Council apology so there's been steps in the right direction there."
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
King's Birthday honours - 'This belongs to the Samoan community'
Former National MP Anae Arthur Anae and Repeka Lelaulu president of P.A.C.I.F.I.C.A Inc 20 November 2024 Photo: RNZ Pacific/Coco Lance Former National MP Anae Lupematasila Lima Arthur John Anae has received a King's Service Medal in the King's birthday honours. Anae Arthur Anae has been honoured for services to the Samoan community. "On behalf of our community, I'm thrilled for it, because this isn't me. This is not mine," Anae said. "This belongs to the Samoan community who stood behind and joined the battle to get justice that belonged to us, and the recognition belongs to all of us, because we've all had to hold hands and and fight this for a long time." Read more: Anae has been part of the push for the Samoa Citizenship Bill , which restores a pathway for citizenship for a group of Samoans who had their right to it removed. He led the Mau o Samoa I le Sitiseni committee from 1997, keeping awareness of the issue alive and supporting the activism of transitional Samoans, which culminated in 24,500 Select Committee submissions on the Bill before its passing. Anae was a list MP from 1996 to 2002, initiating several Pacific initiatives during this time. He was a Manukau city councillor from 2004 to 2010 and an Auckland councillor from 2010 to 2016, chairing the Economic Forum for both councils. Anae Arthur Anae - far right corner - with his parents and siblings. Photo: Supplied Besides politics Anae is an elder of the Pacific Islanders Presbyterian Church and has chaired its development committee. Hailing from the villages of Falelatai, Apia, Siumu, and Safotulafai in Samoa, Anae reflects on his parents' journey and their challenges after moving to Aotearoa from Samoa. He said he dedicates the King's Service Medal to his parents, who moved to New Zealand in 1951 when he was five years old. "All our parents, not just my parents.... came out here in the 50s for one reason, to give their children an education, an opportunity. "We tend to overlook, these days, the people who paved the way for us, and our parents had to sacrifice themselves on factory floors to give their children opportunities for tomorrow, and those opportunities are what we're reaping today. "I was asked the question the other day, well, who's going to run the mantle after you're gone? I said, there's an army of young Pacific people behind me, highly educated, and they won't be drawn back by the fa'a'aloalo [respect] which has always held us back. "Palangis (Pakeha) have always said - treated us - our fa'a'aloalo and respect is a sign of weakness. They've got a hell of a lot to learn." The advocating doesn't end here for Anae, who is currently working on getting one million signatures for a petition on a visa-free travel for Pacific countries. "I'm still battling on two things, and that is the recognition of the woman married to these people or the men as well. "I still believe in my heart that New Zealand owes these people 50 percent of their pension if they stay in Samoa, where they want to stay, and have the freedom to travel backwards and forward as they want. And these are two issues that I will continue to fight with them because I believe in it and they're things that are right and should be done." Asked about future generation looking at awards like this, he said: "My only advice for all our people is, whatever we do in life, you do it with a clean heart. "You don't look at any rewards or anything that might come - they never come. "Your thinking is based on what you're trying to achieve for people, from your heart, that's what you do; win or lose, you do it."
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
World-First NZ study could help stamp out superbugs by mapping antimicrobial resistance hot spots
An illustration of the bacteria Bordetella pertussis, which causes whooping cough. Photo: 123RF A world-first study, led by the University of Canterbury, could help reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance, considered one of the greatest health threats facing humanity. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when pathogens like bacteria and fungi evolve to withstand antibiotics. The project, which is currently a grant proposal, is being led by Professor Jack Heinemann of Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, University of Canterbury's School of Biological Sciences. He said the research will map reservoirs of AMR across New Zealand to pinpoint areas of resistance, making it the first country in the world to know where its hot spots are located. It's hoped the university's research could be adopted and used by governments, private businesses, and communities internationally. "The reason it's a world first is because there aren't any countries yet on the scale that we are proposing to do this that have mapped their antimicrobial resistance so that they can apply a One Health approach to control the flow of antimicrobial resistance between the environment, agriculture and humans," he said. "We have an advantage in New Zealand because we're an island and it's possible for us to limit the number of variables that could complicate a study like this." "But at the same time, we're pretty big for such a study of this nature and that combined makes this a world first potential to tell us where resistance tends to accumulate, how to keep it there or eliminate it once we find it and work towards a world that doesn't just manage antimicrobial resistance but actually stamps it out." The University of Canterbury professor said that in the last century, antibiotic-resistant microorganisms have spread across the land, air and water in far greater numbers as the world's population, antibiotic use, and industrial pollution have grown. "The bacteria are now found everywhere, including places far removed from human activity like Antarctica and the bottom of the ocean," he said. "So much of our existence is dependent on antibiotics because they're used to control infectious diseases as they arise and to grow crops and livestock to the levels we need to produce food for so many people. It's reached a point where it is now an existential threat to our way of life and even to our species." "Even a small growth in the proportion of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics can cost the global healthcare system tens to hundreds of billions of dollars." He said AMR was quickly becoming a massive challenge for the New Zealand health system and was being exacerbated by global events. "In New Zealand, AMR is growing. We've had times where hospital wards have been closed because of superbugs, which are resistant to antimicrobials. We're also frequently getting resistance in our agricultural areas. "Being an island, we control more variables than lots of other countries could control, and then the point of our study is to understand how we can track these sources of resistance. "The problem with antimicrobial resistance is that it is growing to the point where it can no longer be ignored, and it is in magnitude and cost and in threat to your health well in excess of other kinds of threats that we do talk about quite a lot. "Climate change, war, all these kinds of different pressures that we are under are further exacerbated by antimicrobial resistance as the weather changes. "It changes the kinds of organisms that carry these pathogens into our communities and into agriculture, it changes their survival characteristics, flooding, for example, distributes them sometimes directly into our homes," he said. A team of about six full-time staff, including two Māori researchers, three postdoctoral students and a graduate, will work alongside a network of volunteers and other organisations across the country that trap and kill pest animals to collect samples for testing. Bioinformaticians will develop algorithms, assisted by machine learning, to see potential concerns emerge in real-time. If successfully funded, the five-year project would cost less than $10 million, with research starting before the end of 2025. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
