School turns landlord to lure teachers

By WAYNE THOMPSON

An Auckland school has resorted to becoming a landlord to attract new teachers put off by sky high rents in the area.

Onehunga High School is leasing four houses next to the school from the Railways Corporation and offering them to staff at below market rents.

Principal Chris Saunders said the houses were a way to get round the teacher shortage.

The school needed up to 90 teachers a year and about 20 per cent had to move in from outside Auckland.

It was hard to draw interest when the cost of living in the city was higher than in other parts of the country.

"This is a little initiative so we can give our young teachers a place to live close to the school at moderate cost," said Mr Saunders. "By and large they will have big student loans."

He said the school sought a rent that only recovered its costs.

Market rent for a three-bedroom house in Onehunga can be more than $400 a week.

Onehunga High is taking over the houses as the existing tenants move out, said the Railways Corporation's lease manager, Frazer Tweedie.

He said the houses were on land being held for the proposed Onehunga-Southdown rail link.