Best flats attract best tenants

The winner of the best flat category

So it was good to see that while Otago University students named their city’s worst student flat last week, they also recognised some of the good landlords and best flats.

They also aimed to educate students about their rights and responsibilities when it comes to rental properties.

A spokesman from the university’s students association said that the award for best landlord was the category with the most nominations. Students wrote praising landlords who insulated their properties and kept them safe, healthy and warm, without hiking rents to unreasonable levels.

It was said several times that students were more likely to treat a property with care if it was in a reasonable condition at the start of a tenancy, and if the landlord or property manager was keeping an eye on it.

A landlord who seemed not to care about the property was more likely to land tenants who felt the same way.

The tenants of the winning landlord, David Ojala, wrote: "A landlord's duties should not just stop at receiving money and handing us keys (but unfortunately, for a lot of flats, this is the case). He really does go the extra mile in being, simply, a good guy. He mows the lawn when it starts to get a bit over-grown. He pays for one of those green envirowaste bins because honestly, it costs him next-to-nothing and he knows students just don't buy DCC rubbish bags. When we moved in, he noticed a few of us were quite tall and installed higher shower fixtures. We invited him over for dinner at the beginning of the year and he baked us cookies. If anything breaks, he's over within a day or two to fix it."

While we're not suggesting everyone starts baking, it's a reminder that investors wanting to get the most out of their rental properties should not just look at the financial return.

Auckland Property Investors Association president David Whitburn often says that maintaining properties to a good standard is part of protecting an investment – and it certainly seems true in the case of the Otago students.