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To: Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment, Dunedin City Councillors
Healthy Homes for Dunedin Students
We call upon the Otago University to take leadership in protecting its students by requiring landlords to allow the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) to inspect their flats, before being listed on official university housing pages. The university should only promote approved flats, meeting health standards, having proper insulation, ventilation, and heating.
Why is this important?
We all deserve to have safe, affordable and secure places to call our home. But for the people of Dunedin, landlords are lining their pockets and regularly getting away with squalid housing conditions, far from meeting Healthy Homes Standards.
The consequences of inadequate housing can be far reaching, affecting people’s health and wellbeing. Many students also suffer from sicknesses, due to the cold, damp and unsafe environments in flats.
It’s time for landlords to take responsibility for the properties they profit from. Students shouldn’t have to choose between affordable rent and safe living conditions.
The Healthy Homes standard sets out compliance obligations with respect to keeping homes warm, dry and safe. These standards aren’t enough to be written on a piece of paper. They must be enforced by the MBIE.