Students' rental expectations 'too high'

Waiariki Institute of Technology international education director Graeme Rennie said the approximately 1000 international students enrolled at Waiariki would have a few accommodation options. Photo / Andrew Warner

Students moving into the area to study are expected to put a strain on Rotorua's housing shortage, property managers say.

Rotorua Rentals owner Richard Evans said international students may struggle to find appropriate housing.

"We normally get very busy with them, so from now on we will start getting enquiries.

"They [students] usually have incredibly high expectations, including a low rent, fully furnished apartment in town for $150 per week including internet and power.

"It is impossible to accommodate them," he said.

"The rental housing shortage has been around for a while, I think also a lot of landlords don't want students."

Rotorua First National owner Dave Crossley said a lot of international students had already arrived and were looking for housing.

"Most Indian students have already arrived so they have started looking, we have been able to place a number of them but again, most of those students want central," he said.

Waiariki Institute of Technology international education director Graeme Rennie said the approximately 1000 international students enrolled at Waiariki would have a few accommodation options.

"[We had] just over a thousand international students in 2014. Accommodation available is homestay with a family, hostel and some students rent accommodation privately," he said.

A spokesperson from Sir George Seymour National College of Airline, Travel and Tourism in Rotorua referred students on to accommodation providers like Waiariki House.

Some students struggled to find private accommodation, they said.

"About half and half ... 50 per cent have a bit of a struggle because they have never rented before and cannot get that approval."