‘High rents drive away Wellington students’

Wellington-based students are being drawn to study elsewhere by the prospect of cheaper rents, the University of Canterbury claims.

It says it has received a record number of applications from Wellingtonians, with numbers up 10 per cent on last year.

The University of Waikato says it has seen a rise of more than 25 per cent in Wellingtonian enrolments since 2015.

But Victoria University of Wellington academic services manager Pam Thorburn disputed the claims, saying there was ‘‘no indication of a loss of students’’ to Canterbury or any other region.

She doubted ‘‘modest’’ rental differences between Wellington and Christchurch were reason enough for students to move. ‘‘Rental accommodation is under pressure nationally, and Wellington is no different to other main centres.’’

Becs Symes, a 19-year-old education and psychology student, is one of seven people in her immediate group to leave Wellington for either Christchurch or Palmerston North.

She said her move from Massey University’s Wellington campus to Palmerston North left her with at least $50 extra each week to spare for ‘‘life after university’’.

‘‘Some rents have gone up and people aren’t necessarily happy about that,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s made an impact on their decisions.

‘‘If you want a decent flat [in Wellington], you have to spend over $200 a week.

‘‘I am getting the same degree in the end, but I did enjoy Wellington. I can always go back.’’

A second-year law student, who did not want to be named, said she returned to Christchurch from Wellington this year after a ‘‘stressful’’ and fruitless hunt for an affordable flat.

‘‘Two hundred bucks a week for accommodation doesn’t seem reasonable, considering I know people paying $73 a week down here.’’

Wellington city councillor Brian Dawson said the capital’s rental shortage was ‘‘only going to get worse’’, with the city on the cusp of an Auckland-style ‘‘housing crisis’’.

More students were choosing to pay for flats over summer than risk trying to find a new one.

‘‘[Victoria] has to take some responsibility here. If they’re going to go out looking for more students, they need to play a part in ensuring there’s housing for them,’’ he said.

The Canterbury figures come with four weeks of the 2018 enrolment process still to go, and it was possible that, with some students applying to multiple institutions, many Wellington-based applicants would not end up going south, Canterbury vice-chancellor Rod Carr said.

However, he believed the reported increase marked the beginning of a positive long-term trend for the university as it sought to recover a 3500-student shortfall caused in part by the Canterbury earthquakes.

With the cost of the first year’s tuition now covered by the government, students were more likely to consider the cost and quality of living when choosing a university or polytechnic, Carr said.

A spokeswoman for Otago University said it had not noticed an increase in enrolment applications from Wellington.

A Massey University spokesman said it had been aware of ‘‘serious accommodation issues’’ for Wellington students for at least four years. Its student accommodation had incorporated about 180 extra beds to meet this year’s demand.

The full extent of the shortage would not be known until the start of the first semester, when students ‘‘either pull out or sleep on friends’ couches’’, he said.

New Zealand Property Investors’ Federation head Andrew King has said hikes above market rent are illegal and unlikely, but the tight market could prompt landlords to revise rents for 2018.

‘‘Rental accommodation is under pressure nationally, and Wellington is no different to other main centres.’’

Victoria University of Wellington academic services manager Pam Thorburn