Since Jesus wore sand shoes, students in Dunedin have been subjected to living in cold, damp and unkempt flats. As part of the OUSA flatting week festivities we decided to run a competition to find those flats and showcase some of the best, and worst of what Dunedin has to offer.
Winners of the Flat with Most Character - Dowling Street
A home can have a different meaning for the many different beings on earth. For most a home is a place to take refuge after a hard day’s work. A place in which you can just relax, knowing you are safe in the sanctity of your own home. However, for some students in the North Dunedin area, home is a place where electric shocks plugging in the electric frypan aren’t all too uncommon, and eating dinner alongside rats is a favourite pastime. This year’s winners of the prestigious “Flat with the most character award” goes to the gentlemen who call this humble abode on Dowling Street home.
The mail dates back to the start of the year. The boys insist that bills are paid online and that mail is just a waste of a good tree.
The stairs are draped with carpet not glued down, making an ideal slope for mattress surfing.
Lounge: The lounge is a small and confined space heated by a single fireplace. The tenants tell me that wood is expensive and hard to come by, so as a cheap alternative they run their open fireplace on leftover rubbish.
Rubbish seems to be a bit of a problem inside the residence, with bags shrouding the couches, limiting seating. One of the residence informs me that it’s a first-in-first-served type system, with stragglers having to find a place on the unkept carpet.
A pool table also takes centre stage in the middle of the lounge, a valuable asset to any flat, although this pool table seems to have taken on a different role, playing home to many various flat artifacts, including broken chairs, shopping trolleys and numerous amounts of clothing.
Kitchen: Like many kitchens in the North Dunedin area, this cooking space is more of a home for unwashed dishes and rotting food items than a space in which to prepare meals. On close inspection an electric fry pan looks to contain the remains of last night’s mince dish, but I’m corrected when one of the boys tell me that was infact last month’s chicken.
Bedrooms: The bedrooms are small, with the average room only being able to house a single bed, a problem I’m told when trying to court members of the opposite sex.
Given that the flat is located in the middle of the centre city, external windows are non-existent. Instead, each room is equipped with a skylight in the centre of the ceiling. Curtains are hard to come by for skylights and I’m told that Sunday mornings can be tough, with a steady stream of light flooding the room from above.
Winners of the “Flat that Resembles Normality” award - Cannington Road
Lounge: The centrepiece of the lounge is the classical Yunca fireplace, which I’m told runs on a mixture of pine and leftover takeaway wrappers. Relaxing in the area is never a problem, with a large corner couch and beanbags which can be positioned in front of the fire when reading one of the many books from the corner bookcase or watching TV.
Kitchen: The kitchen area is a clean and open space with plenty of room to maneuver and prepare meals. The large windows above the bench top open up to the outdoor deck and provide panoramic views of Dunedin North, looking towards Mt. Cargill. The large open area also means that there is plenty of space for two cooks in the kitchen at each time and cook offs are often on the cards. The stove-top is induction, a luxury not often seen in North Dunedin and has led to a few burnt fingers.
The Nescafe Dolce Gusto takes pride of place on the benchtop and I’m told it makes one hell of an early morning brew.
The artwork lights up the room and gives the flat a real sense of home.
Normally seen in grand ballrooms or aristocratic estates, the chandelier provides a touch of class as you open the front door to the home.
Outdoor area: Opening out to the back of the house you walk out onto a large and extended deck which sees sun all day. With the backyard of the property facing north, the deck is bathed in rays from sun up to sun down. The boys tell me that many sausages are rolled and chops flipped during the summer months when they’re able to make use of the longer nights.
The grass area is newly planted and provides an ideal space during the warmer summer months for the residents to run back and forth through the sprinklers to cool down.
Bathroom: Without any doubts the highlight of the bathroom is the bath itself. Baths are hard to come by in the North Dunedin area and are usually savoured for trips back home. The tenants inform me that at least once a month one of them will buy a couple of bath bombs from the local bed, bath and beyond which will usually lift spirits.
Finding your dream flat!
Allow time to go flat hunting and allow all the tenants to see potential homes. Preferably wait until January to find a place - it saves paying rent for weeks you’re not here and bargains can be found!
The University Accommodation Office gives out lists of flats for rent and people looking for flatmates. They also give advice on the legal and other aspects of flatting!
Contact the landlords before you visit. Tenants hate it when some keen beans show up at the door on a Sunday morning without any notice. Landlords can talk to the tenants to organise a time you can look through the flat.
Furnished flats! Some flats come fully furnished, meaning that you don’t have to fit the place with sofas and tables or other such objects. Enquire about this when searching around!
Setting up your flat: If you are flatting, set up a flat account so that the rent and bills get paid on time and everyone is paying their share. On a weekly basis put aside money towards the rent and bills. If there’s money left over at the end of the month save it for expensive winter power bills or go out for dinner as a flat perhaps.
Insurance: Individual insurance is essential when you’re flatting, especially personal liability cover. It’ll come in handy if your flatmate burns down the house and then flees the country. Without personal liability cover you may have to foot the bill on your own.
Be sure to shop around and get the best deal. When getting quotes they’ll need to know roughly how much all your stuff is worth and details about your flat, such as where it is, who you’ll be living with and the security of the flat.
Power: Visit powerswitch.co.nz to estimate what your flat’s power usage might be and to compare plans. Power is more expensive during winter (it costs more per unit and you use more of it). Winter power bills can be a nasty surprise.
If you aren’t receiving power bills, this doesn’t mean that the power is free! It is your responsibility to chase this up!