Male students claim there is a gender bias against them among landlords when they're applying for flats. Photo / NZME
Male students hunting for flats claim many landlords are biased against them, claiming they are being unfairly judged as being rowdy, drunken tenants. Aimee Muller reports on their experiences - and the ways they are negotiating the issue.
A five-man flat group are dreading an all too familiar “sinking feeling” when they start to apply for flats for the 2026 academic year.
One of the men said that he loses hope when they see long lines at flat viewings, feeling they have “lost the battle before they walked in”.
The dread is not unwarranted.
With the University of Canterbury’s roll reaching close to 25,000 students this year, the demand for non-university accommodation is becoming increasingly tough.
However, many believe the stress is not due to a lack of rentals, but rather what they believe is a gender bias against males in the flatting market; a bias that perceives male students to be messier and rowdier tenants that is making it harder for some to secure a property, compared to their female counterparts.
It is illegal for landlords and property managers to discriminate against tenants in New Zealand due to gender, as set out in the Human Rights Act.
However, the topic surrounding student flatting is a frequent conversation between males.
One flatmate of the five-man flat described the “tedious” process of going through a continuous cycle of viewing, applying, and getting declined.
“There is almost an unwritten rule that says it is harder to get a flat if you are all guys,” he said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, as did all the students who spoke to the Herald for this article, fearing repercussions.
“It kind of sucks - you don’t get told straight-up, but we all know why we missed out on a flat.”
The boys only managed to secure their flat on a highly sought-after street, as they knew the previous tenants.
It is an experience that rings true for more than 300 others.
A post made on the University of Canterbury Students Association Facebook page asked students to interact with a poll to share their thoughts around the Christchurch flatting market, with a focus on males’ experiences.
It found that more than 170 male students struggled to get a flat with their all-male flatmates, and that more than 320 students believed there is a gender bias in the market.
Furthermore, 30 females shared that they also struggled to get a flat.
A University of Canterbury spokesperson did not comment on whether they were aware of the issue, but said they were not directly involved with private rental properties.
Age and stage of life also do not seem to halt the problem.
Last year, six men - a mix of working professionals and students - spent more than five months searching for a flat that resulted in “a pretty grim flat”.
This year, with only three in the group, they hoped things would be different. However, they noticed no change until they brought a girlfriend into the application.
The landlord allegedly told them he wasn’t comfortable renting to just guys, with the group claiming they were told: “We know how you are”. They say they were further told that the reason they got the flat was because of the girlfriend who would be able to “reel us in”.
“It was pretty shocking; I was really offended, to be honest,” the student explained.
“I felt as if they never read our application properly.”
Director of property management company Prime Campus, Tim Calder said student-focused landlords would be “naive to assume” damages are only specific to one gender group.
With 23 years in the student housing sector, Calder has had a wide range of tenants.
“Female flats tend to have more personality conflicts, which result in a lot of administration due to turnover,” he explained.
“Male flats tend to cause more [physical] damage, but those issues are easy to fix too.
“On average, there’s no net difference between genders in terms of tenancy-related costs.”
Some students who are getting declined by landlords are going to extreme lengths to secure a place to live, the Herald has learned.
One student shared how, after four months and 35 unsuccessful applications for both 5 and 7-man flats, they added two of the boys’ girlfriends to their flat.
After the change in their group’s gender make-up, their first application was accepted.
“I am unsure whether it was because of the change [of application] but it was definitely a change of pace,” he said.
“When we moved in, we replaced the girlfriends with two boys, which the landlord never questioned.”
Despite the months of trying, the student doesn’t believe the issue is male-specific.
“I think landlords prefer and look for groups containing multiple genders as it leads to a balance in the flat due to stereotypes,” he said.
However, Sophie, a third-year university student, had a different experience.
When she was part of a mixed-gender flat, they struggled to secure viewings. To secure a property, it took “at least 10 viewings and probably double the applications for a success”.
Yet as part of an all-female group, they only had to attend a couple of viewings and were even given the choice of which flat they preferred from a private landlord’s selection.
A1 The Property Managers managing director Hamish Wilson says each application is “taken by their merits”, no matter the group’s gender.
“However, some property owners have their personal preference,” he said.
Other property agencies were contacted for comment, but did not respond.