Rent South, along with Great South (Southland Regional Development Agency), started a programme to visit high schools around Southland educating pupils about renting
The "Rent Ready" initiative is part of the work-ready passport that Great South runs and was designed to help Southland youth develop the personal skills, attitudes, and behaviours that employers seek.
Property managers Leeann Tautari and Amy Morrison said the idea came through their own experience.
They saw many young people coming to their office who wanted to rent properties, but did not know the simple things.
It was a matter of getting "just basic information for them — how to go about finding a property, how to present [themselves], the questions to ask, their rights and responsibilities."
Mrs Tautari agreed.
"‘Just renting 101, really. And I guess for us, Amy and I have probably been in the industry for quite some time, and it was about giving back to the community."
While they had the knowledge, they did not know how to start engaging with schools, so then they approached Great South to help them with their idea.
Great South’s Southland youth futures team manager Renata Gill said the idea was a perfect fit for the work readiness programme that it ran in schools.
"I was so excited when they pitched what they were doing because I thought this would be a really incredible opportunity for our young people in schools in Southland to have this experience, to learn about renting and rights and responsibilities.
"It is something that many students will face at some stage in their life."
The initiative already visited four Southland schools and consisted of a range of activities — from a hot-seat session where students can ask questions, to more practical learnings such as the rights and responsibilities as tenants.
"I feel after the sessions we’ve been through that they know a bit more. At least they know how to turn up and present themselves," Mrs Morrison said.
Mrs Tautari agreed.
"We spoke about not turning up in your pyjamas, [to] be respectful and make yourself known because it’s like a job interview — you’ve got to standout in the crowd.
"Sometimes 20 people come through [a housing viewing] and it gets quite overwhelming, particularly for young kids. To have the right attitude and mindset is really important."
Mrs Morrison said the main goal was to plant the seed for them to be prepared and become good tenants.
