CanberraHousingFilter: How do I get temporary housing in Canberra for July and August?

February 21, 2010 6:22 AM

CanberraHousingFilter: How do I go about getting temporary housing in Canberra for July and August?

My colleague and I have been invited to visit the RSSS at the ANU in Canberra during this coming (northern hemisphere) summer. We'll be coming from the states, and this will be our first time in Australia. How should we go about securing housing? We're hoping to pay not much more than $650 per month for housing per person and would prefer separate bedrooms withing walking distance of the ANU. Is this reasonable?

Craigslist doesn't seem to be very active there, but the Uni Accommodation website lists a number of properties for rent. Those properties seem to be for rent in the very near future (whereas we're looking for something for July and August, though we're pretty flexible about length of stay and exact timing). Is there a secret to finding housing close to the ANU (walking distance hopefully) at that time? Are there certain areas that the grad students/young faculty live in? Are there particular areas we should avoid?

We've both only lived in the states, where considerations for housing typically involve rent (per month) and utilities. There, they appear to do rent per week and are often unclear about what utilities are included. What should we be expecting in this respect? Also, what are the standard expectations for apartments listed as "furnished"?

Also, any hints for naive Americans on pulling off the transaction will be appreciated. For instance, how can we make sure we're not being scammed (since we won't be able to go visit the place in advance)?

posted by singerdj to Travel & Transportation around Canberra, Australia (5 answers total)

Australian rental residential properties are always listed weekly, and you should read them as unfurnished unless they're marked otherwise. In an unfurnished place you'll get lights, a stove and an oven and an otherwise fitted-out kitchen and bathroom. You probably won't get heating* and even if there's a laundry you probably won't get a washing machine or a dryer. With a furnished place it's up to the landlord's generosity, and caveat lessor.

I can't speak for uni or college housing.

Your bigger problem: it's difficult to organise tenancies in the open market of less than six months. Also, because there's so much graduate one-year and limited-contract public service work there, Canberra also has a notoriously tight rental market.

I know quite a few people who work in and around the Parliament who travel to Canberra from other cities for Parliamentary sessions. The common solution is to organise shared "serviced apartments", which might even fit into your budget. There's quite a big industry and they list themselves fairly well on the internet, and you should be able to get a reasonable price if you book ahead---especially if you can find other colleagues to share with.

* You'll need it in Canberra in those months. It's not a Michigan winter but it's about as cold as you'll find in Australia.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 12:22 PM on February 21, 2010

allhomes is the best site for Canberra rentals - you want the North Canberra suburbs to be near ANU (in particular, Turner, O'Connor, Lyneham, North Lyneham, Braddon).

Be aware that Canberra has a very low vacancy rate, and it's particularly competitive at the moment because it's the beginning of the year (lots of new people moving to town for work).

ANU student housing is also over-subscribed at the moment for the same reason -lots of new students (ANU guarantees an accomodation place for every undergraduate and they have half the motels in town booked out at the moment in order to fulfill this). In a few months time you might find it easier to get help from them.

Generally utilities other than water are not included in the rent unless explicitly stated.

Agree with Fiasco De Gama that a serviced apartment might be a better option for a short stay.
posted by girlgenius at 2:31 PM on February 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

Nthing serviced apartment. There are many in the city (civic), which is ten minutes tops walk from ANU. You can book (and even pay) ahead in advance, and stay as long as you need. You may find it's a little bit over your budget, but with all the inclusions (stove, aircon, furniture, utilities included) you will find it probably works out not too badly. Do try and book in advance, Canberra's accommodation gets very busy.

Don't be too worried about being scammed, any decent accommodation will have a website with sites of the rooms etc. For instance, St James Court is probably the biggest serviced apartment complex in Civic, it will be over your budget, but they are for real. Any suburb beyond Turner and O'Connor (maaaybe) will put you beyond walking distance - However! Canberra is exceptionally cycle friendly. There are second hand bikes and bike paths in abundance. If you're prepared to ride, Ainslie, Dickson, Lyneham, Reid, Aranda, Kaleen, even Bruce and Cook all become quite do-able (many of these suburbs will not have serviced apartments).

Also ANU sometimes leases out its halls of residence to visitors and visiting students/academics. Burton and Garran (residence) used to do this I believe, and so did Toad Hall (not kidding, but I believe it's been torn down since I lived in Canberra).

You should ask the people at ANU you're dealing with - visiting academics are very common, they will have some good ideas, maybe even homestay proposals. You will have a ball, I miss ANU and the learning I achieved there nearly every single day - and it's been 7 years since I left.
posted by smoke at 2:42 PM on February 21, 2010

Seconding girlgenius that AllHomes is the main Canberra real estate web site. They also have a section for share housing (or did, when I last used it, some years ago), if you'd like to explore that option (a great deal of share housing goes on in Canberra). Canberra is pretty much set up for housing transitory workers, so getting something short-term shouldn't be an issue.

But as you'll be at the ANU, you should really contact the University Accommodation Services. There are a number of options for visiting academics. University House is the main one (set up more like a hotel, I believe, maybe too expensive for long-term though), but there are also self-contained apartments and the like.

You should also talk to your contacts at RSSS – there will be general staff there who have experience handling this sort of thing. It's not clear whether you're visiting as an academic or a student, but if it's the former, they should really be organising all that for you. If nothing else, Accommodation Services should be able to point you in the right direction.
posted by damonism at 5:32 PM on February 21, 2010

I just want to add that utilities are rarely included in rent prices and that, yes, you'll probably have to go over your budget if you want to be in the city area, particularly as you're only going to be here for a short time.

You should also consider posting on the ANU online bulletin board - and the University of Canberra. The Canberra Institute of Technology might have a similar service too.

I just want to warn you about the scammers on allhomes, because there are quite a few (my ex-flatmate came across several when he was looking a few months ago). They were advertising cheap furnished by-the-week accommodation, which seemed to be aimed at people like you. They tended to baulk when he said he wanted to inspect before putting down a deposit. I suggest that, if you're worried, pretend you have a friend who'll come and inspect the place. Feel free to memail me if you want any more Canberra info. :)
posted by Lucie at 3:45 AM on March 4, 2010