The University of Otago's reputation is suffering because of a ''rogue minority of landlords'', Otago University Students' Association president Francisco Hernandez says.
The comments were made at the University of Otago council meeting yesterday, where the university voted to join the association in pushing for proposed government legislation to make it illegal for the city's landlords to rent out cold and damp houses.
Council members were enthusiastic in their support of a draft put together by the students' association, which had already received support from Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull.
However, before it could be considered by Parliament and voted on as a Bill, it would need to be approved by the Dunedin City Council and sponsored by a local MP.
The proposal would make it illegal to rent housing which did not meet standards set by the city council for heating, insulation, indoor temperatures, ventilation, draught-stopping and drainage. Landlords with long-term tenants would be given five years to bring houses up to standard.
In an impassioned speech asking for the university's support for the proposal, Mr Hernandez said the state of some of Dunedin's housing was affecting people's health and was an embarrassment to the city.
"We should fix it because poor housing is an embarrassment to the University of Otago, it's an embarrassment to the city.''
The draft, which would released for public consultation tomorrow, could reach Parliament by the end of the year, he said.
Judge Oke Blaikie endorsed the proposal and joked that having warmer houses would ''probably mean less fires on the street''.
Before the meeting, Mr Cull, who supported having minimum standards for rental housing, said he liked the look of the draft.
''The thing that I like about it is that it addresses only the things we think are most important ... and therefore is really simple.''
Mr Cull said council would only vote on it after it had been discussed with landlords and other affected parties.
''We want something that people are going to buy into.''
He accepted some landlords would argue the standards would be ''too costly'', but that most rental properties would already meet them.
Otago Property Investors' Association spokesman Cliff Seque said he had ''no problems'' with minimum standards for insulation, but could not properly comment on the proposal until seeing it.
