A dismal Wellington flat described as "on the edge of liveable" is being advertised for $815 a week - and a tenant says people are willing to pay the price.
Isaac Kirkwood has lived at 21 Marion St for two years. The building is cemented in Wellington's party scene - it's been home to wild all-nighters so hedonistic they've been documented by Vice, and is even listed as a venue on underground music site Under the Radar.
The apartment's reputation as a party block has spanned almost two decades - one former tenant who resided in the apartment in 2002 told Newshub it was damp and worse for wear even then - but still a good place for a rager.
Kirkwood says they held some pretty crazy parties themselves - one of which was attended by about 300 people.
Beer-soaked reputation aside the flat is still a home - with dingy, threadbare carpets, an oven that works "90 percent of the time" and a yellow sticker from the council which warns a moderate earthquake could bring the building down.
Kirkwood says the flat is "more functional than it looks". He's now moving out with his four other flatmates and is searching for people to fill the flat.
Their listing for the flat on social media stirred up a firestorm, with people saying it was "worse than a prison", "a f***king joke" and "definitely illegal".
Kirkwood told Newshub people can say what they like about the property, but he already has four confirmed flat viewings lined up, and expects more.
"It's interesting that people campaigning about the state of it are the people who caused this situation in the first place," he said.
"Most of the people commenting are already in a position to buy their own houses while us students are slumming it."
A former tenant told Newshub the apartment block was "infamous".
"People at Marion know what they're getting into. It's not a place you rent because you want a palace."
He said he lived in a separate flat in the same block - but the conditions were similar.
"My room was clearly not a room, they'd cornered off one part with plywood and turned it into two rooms. I had to go up some stairs, in a little door, then crawl under a concrete beam to get to the opening where my bed was - like an Egyptian mummy."
At the time, the property was managed by Riverstone Property Management.
A property manager from Riverstone told NZME "it is what it is" and he had tidied the building up a bit by removing tenants who were dealing drugs and "doing dodgy things".
Marion St has since passed into the hands of infamous property management company Quinovic.
Quinovic property manager Kevin Edmunds told NZME they are working through the process of the Healthy Homes standards, and will ensure the property is compliant "within the required time frames".
But Kirkwood says they're filling the flat as soon as possible.
He says Quinovic has been apprehensive about the attention the listing has drawn.
"They did ask if we would consider taking it down - but you know, we need someone to pay the rent and we've had interest in it."
