Students offered $501 scholarship with rental
A Wellington property developer is promising prospective tenants that if they move into one of his flats – and get good grades – they will be paid.
Naginbhai Neil Patel posted the advertisement for his Mudges Terrace property in Newtown on Trade Me, promising that ‘‘a scholarship of $501 will be rewarded for university student tenants who receive straight As for the full academic year during the tenancy’’.
It also offers any tenant who helps to fill leases for Patel’s other properties a $50 voucher for Four Square Shalimar – which Patel owns.
However, the move has raised concerns with the Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association, with its president labelling it ‘‘almost too good to be true’’.
Patel is well known in the capital for his ventures, and has made headlines for various legal wrangles.
In 2017, he was fined $69,000 for making changes to the exterior of a heritage-listed Wellington building.
Patel told Stuff he created the scholarship because he believed in ‘‘youth getting education’’.
‘‘Our trust decided to give a scholarship. We encourage students to study hard and achieve high goals in life. We believe that we should support them.’’
The reason the scholarship was $501 and not $500 was due to Indian mythology which stated that the extra dollar was for God, Patel said.
The money would fall outside the tenancy agreement and would be considered a ‘‘goodwill scholarship’’, he said.
At the end of the year, students would have to show that they had achieved As in all of their core courses.
Patel also offered a consolation prize of $301 for those who got ‘‘close to straight As’’.
This was not the first year he had put up a scholarship, he said.
‘‘A lot of students are very talented, and a lot of students need encouragement.’’
Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association president Geo Robrigado said the offer seemed ‘‘almost too good to be true’’.
‘‘He is obviously with this tactic.’’
The lack of detail about how the scholarship would be facilitated was not helpful, Robrigado said. ‘‘We are hoping that these sort of tactics won’t become a regular thing in an already stressful rental market.’’
In response, Patel said Robrigado should not be ‘‘negative in life’’.
‘‘Tell him to be positive and help the students.’’ targeting students