Accommodation
Dunedin has plenty of living options designed to accommodate its large and lively student crowd.
Supervised accommodation
Supervised accommodation is a great option, especially for first year students. You are guaranteed to meet heaps of new people, you’ll probably get two or three square meals a day and you won’t have to worry about extra expenses like power and phone rental.
- City College
City College
City College located in North Dunedin, in the heart of the student area. You will live in apartment-style accommodation with ‘flatmates’ and dine in a communal eating area. City College has excellent recreation facilities and study facilities.
Visit the City College website or phone: +64 3 479 5590 for further information.
Costs: approx $290 per week.
- Salmond College
Salmond College
Salmond College is an easy 15 minute walk from the Polytechnic’s Forth Street campus. It has great facilities for study and recreation and a communal eating area for meals. Free study tutorials are also available.
Visit the Salmond College website or phone: +64 3 473 0750 for further information.
Costs: approx $288 per week.
Please note that places at these colleges are limited – you must try and lodge your application before the end of September each year.
- Student Flat
Flatting privately
There are plenty of properties to rent in Dunedin – they range from top-line trendy apartments to traditional old villas to studio rooms. Shop around, and you are likely to get better value for money and a higher standard of living.
Unfurnished flats generally cost between $85 and $115 per week in rent and another $80 - $100 in expenses like power, phone and food. You may need to sign a lease and pay a bond to the landlord when you move in. Be sure to check the newspapers, internet and campus notice-boards for ‘flatmate wanted’ ads.
Furnished flats typically cost slightly more – about $85 to $140 per week for rent, and are less common. Your expenses will most likely be the same as in an unfurnished property.
Studio rooms cost from $120 - $220 per week. Often this includes power, heating, local telephone calls and cleaning of the common areas. Higher priced studios can include ensuite facilities.
Platinum Properties
Otago Polytechnic in association with Platinum Properties provides a free accommodation search for students who want to live independently. Phone Platinum Properties on: +64 3 473 7171, email: info
platinumproperties.co.nz or visit their website.
Accommodation outside Dunedin
Studying in Central Otago?
There is a range of accommodation available for students in the Cromwell area. You need to organise your accommodation before you arrive as it can be difficult to find accommodation at short notice in Central Otago. Our administration staff at our Cromwell campus keep a register of flats, houses and rooms and board available in the area. Students often post notices of available rooms and flats in the student common room. You could also try local papers, The Bulletin, The Mirror, and the Central Otago News.
Flatting privately
There are good houses to rent in Cromwell – usually furnished three or four bedroom homes costing between $85 and $120 per room per week in rent and $80 -$100 per week in expenses. Check the Central Otago newspapers and campus noticeboards for ‘flatmate wanted’ advertisements. Or, if you are looking to start a flat you could try real estate agencies such as First National, phone +64 3 445 1748 or Harcourts, phone: +64 3 445 1155.
Hostel accommodation
The Chalets is an unsupervised hostel where you can rent a single room for $100 per week, power included. Students are usually placed together, sharing lounge, bathroom and kitchen facilities. You will need to bring your own bedding and cooking utensils (meals are not provided).
102 Barry Avenue, Cromwell, phone: +64 3 445 1260
Homestay
There is some accommodation available in private homes. Contact the Central Otago campus for assistance.
Otago Polytechnic Cromwell Campus, Cnr Ray and Erris Street, Cromwell, phone: +64 3 445 9900, 0800 765 9276