Student Homelessness

Words by Zoë Mills (she/they)

Our vision of what homelessness looks like is tainted.

When we think of homelessness, it's easy to imagine a far-away abstract visual of what that looks like: a person living on the street or sleeping in a doorway. But in reality, it’s right on our doorstep: It looks like couch surfing for months on end in between flats, being forced out of a flat due to unlivable conditions, and living in cars or vans. It’s time we address the rapidly growing issue of student homelessness in Wellington.

While youth homelessness has previously been attributed to factors such as domestic violence and discrimination on the basis of identity, there is now a growing number of young people being forced into it because of soaring rent and unliveable homes. Last year, RNZ reported that an increasing number of students are being forced to sleep in their cars due to rising rent prices in the city.

Right on our doorstep: It looks like couch surfing for months on end in between flats, being forced out of a flat due to unlivable conditions, and living in cars or vans.

It’s difficult to get an exact estimate of the current number of students homeless in the city, due to our current unclear idea of what it means to be homeless.

So what’s causing the growing epidemic of student homelessness?

For Wellingtonians, it’s well known. Dealing with unreasonable landlords, soaring rent prices, and mould-covered flats has become a rite of passage for a student living in the city. The narrative of poverty has been packaged and sold to students as ‘the student experience,’ something young people have to deal with in order for them to earn their stripes. The 2018 census reported that around 40% of homes in Aro Valley were damp, and that 18.4% of Wellington’s housing stock were considered mouldy.

In October 2021, it was reported that rent had reached an all-time high median of $620 a week for the average home in central Wellington. As for Wellington CBD, last October the median rent hit an average of $645 a week. Similar trends follow in outer suburbs, with a three-bedroom rental in Johnsonville averaging at around $600 a week.

Let’s break it down.

Currently, the highest amount of living costs that students can ask for is $242.53 a week. It’s estimated that the average asking price for a 5–6 bedroom place in central Wellington is currently around $1150 per week (but let’s be real—we all know that this is a huge underestimate). That would make the average rent for a five bedroom place around $230 per week. Add on utilities (let’s say that it would cost around $12 per person) and that leaves students with $0.53 for groceries, transport, and other general living costs. Hardly a liveable income.

It’s not surprising that the term ‘van-life’ has skyrocketed within a generation who deals with stress through dark humour and participating in internet culture. Instagram posts tagged with #vanlife have increased by 312% since 2017, culminating in over a whopping 7,000,000 posts. 

‘Van-life’ is a term that describes the lifestyle of living in a car, van, or campervan permanently. It’s packaged and sold with the allure of the ability to always travel, be a free spirit, and reject the status quo to find ULTIMATE FREEDOM.

 Ten years ago, sleeping in your van would raise some eyebrows and draw concern. The glorification of ‘van-life’ has become another way for a generation threatened by homelessness to deal with the very real possibility of being forced out of one’s home. In 2019, Wellington student Jonathan Ford lived in his van for 18 months after rent hit record prices. With the money he has saved, he plans to travel around Asia after selling his van, The NZ Herald reports.

Instagram posts tagged with #vanlife have increased by 312% since 2017, culminating in over a whopping 7,000,000 posts.

While we can point fingers at outrageous rental prices, it's important to note that rent prices aren't the sole factor for the student homelessness crisis in Wellington. Factors such as cold flats, unreasonable landlords, and disagreeable flatmates are also a key reason that students are being forced out of their homes.

Claire, a student working towards a post-grad certificate, was forced out of her flat last November when she contracted a lung infection due to the severe amount of black mould on the property. She is currently still searching to find a permanent home to live in. “I decided to move out […] we ended the lease there and all the flatmates decided to move back home because they didn’t have a place to live. Because I have a job and I don't have anywhere else to go, I was looking for flats,” Claire explained. “I went home to New Plymouth to stay with my parents for a while, but I had to come back for work”.

Claire continues, “I’ve literally been looking since [the 10th of January] to find a flat, and I’ve gone to close to [...] 50 viewings. I’ve messaged, I’d say, well over 200 people. The issues are that the flats are super expensive if you want something decent, or they’re mouldy and will give me another lung infection, or the people just don't reply because they are overwhelmed.”
“It’s been about a month that I’ve been living in my ex’s house […] I’m staying in their flat, but it’s like a sleep out [and] it’s not insulated. It’s freezing cold, the last few nights have been horrible.”

To Claire, it's obvious that student homelessness is far too common. “Being in this situation, and talking to others in the same situation […] I keep meeting more and more people experiencing the same thing. It’s stupid. I think that everyone’s just lucky that they have friends so they’re not left on the street.”

It’s a similar story for Laura. Now a graduate, Laura found herself homeless for three months halfway through her second year in 2019, after an unfortunate flatting situation.

“I was in a flat and it turned out to be a pretty toxic environment for my mental health. I decided to move out and I got offered a place, so I sorted out [a new tenant] for my previous flat,” she explained. 

However, on the day she was due to move into her new place, she was told that the tenants had decided not to move out at the last minute. For the next three months, Laura found refuge on couches in friends’ flats. “I just couch surfed for the whole time. I was never properly on the street but I was just lucky that I had friends who had places for me. But it was so hard then to find somewhere, because it was mid-year, it was so hard to find somewhere that I could afford.”

Although both experienced differing situations that forced them into homelessness, Laura and Claire share the same consensus: that the University is not doing enough to assist students needing emergency housing. “I dont think they’re doing enough right now,” explained Laura, “The University should have a few more second year halls […] they do have a lot of property that they could turn into [housing].” 

If there’s someone who has witnessed first-hand the extent of the student homelessness crisis, it’s Denzel De Ruysscher. De Ruysscher is an Auckland-based photographer, designer, and researcher. In 2018, he published his thesis at VUW titled “The Culture of Couch-Surfing Amongst Students.” His research approach uses film photography as a medium to document the realities of the student homelessness crisis in Wellington. 

“The scope of my thesis was to add a social issue with contexts and methods of design, I wanted to use film photography as a medium for my thesis and discovered that photovoice was a method of design,” Denzel explained. “The reason I focused on couch surfing was, that at the time, both me and a few of my friends had or were couch surfing due to the fact that there was a huge shortage of student accommodation in Wellington and there was a trend that was starting to show.” 

“You want to stop student homelessness? Get the government to start going after landlords and the bullshit prices they ask for cold damp homes.”

The findings of his thesis were as he predicted—“That students were struggling to find affordable accommodation which resorted them to couch surfing or living in really bad housing situations and it was taking a toll on them mentally and on their studies.” 

And as for solving student homelessness? Denzel believes that there isn't a straightforward answer. “Steps were being taken by giving students more money from student allowance and landlords took that as a sign to raise rent prices,” he explained. 

“You want to stop student homelessness? Get the government to start going after landlords and the bullshit prices they ask for cold damp homes.”

It’s time we reframe what we see as homelessness with empathy. 


While the threat of student homelessness is present and can feel hopeless, it’s important to know that there are organisations growing that are working to assist students in need, and advocate for justice in the rental market. The University wing of Renter’s United is available to offer advice, and the Citizens Advice Bureau is available to offer legal assistance. 

Above all, it's crucial to prioritise mental health and wellbeing in times of crisis—you are not alone.


For mental health support

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