As part of the Offer of Place an institution must guarantee accommodation. This means that a student always has the certainty of having a place to live when they first arrive in New Zealand.

Secondary school students usually live in the accommodation provided by the school for the duration of their study at that school. Some schools provide Hostel (dormitory) accommodation. For younger students this may be in shared space for 2 to 4 students. Senior students in the 7th form (sometimes also 6th form) will have single room accommodation. There are shared dining, study and recreation facilities. Study is supervised. Students can leave the hostel only when the housemaster grants leave. 
Many parents prefer this arrangement because of this level of supervision.

However the most common form of accommodation is the home stay, that is full board with a New Zealand family. Students become part of the family rather than guests. This means the student will be expected to undertake chores such as make their bed, help clean up the dishes, keep their room tidy, etc. New Zealand families are usually very kind. The student will have his or her own room for sleeping and studying. This environment is very good for improving everyday English language.

The typical weekly fee for both hostel and homestay accommodation is NZ$180 per week. This amount may be as high as $200 in Auckland but can be as low as $150 in some provincial cities. 

Tertiary and English language students have the same two choices, University/Polytechnic hall of residence or homestay. Some institutions have traditional dormitory type halls but the trend now is Chalets where 6-8 students have their own room but share a kitchen, bathrooms and sitting room and cook their own meals. Costs are also around the $160 per week level. However, the trend is for students to make friends and after one or two semesters rent apartments in the city along with 2 or 3 of these friends. Mixed sex Chalets or apartments are not uncommon in New Zealand. 

In New Zealand we believe we have the best accommodation conditions of all the countries taking international students.