TONY Abbott has decided to bunk with Australian Federal Police recruits in a $120-a-night flat while renovations are conducted at the possum-infested prime ministerial residence The Lodge.

The modest and unusual digs, in a red brick AFP building close to Parliament, will feature a kitchenette and around-the-clock security from his AFP security officers and their junior colleagues.

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Perhaps most importantly for the fitness fanatic, the student quarters also include an impressive gym.

The AFP recruits were informed over the weekend that they should soon expect a very "VIP" visitor.

media_camera The old Australian Federal Police College in Canberra where the Tony Abbott will be staying. Picture: Gary Ramage

The Lodge is preparing for major renovations that could last for up to a year to repair dodgy wiring, remove asbestos and replace the roof on the 1927 property.

Mr Abbott rejected the other options on offer: a $3,000 a week dress circle rental in the nation's capital. Mr Abbott currently stays at the five-star Hotel Realm.

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Providing proper security to the Prime Minister was the biggest problem in finding a temporary new abode, with many options requiring significant security upgrades if AFP officers were to properly protect the PM. For that reason, staying a hotel was swiftly discounted as an option.

media_camera A room at the Australian Federal Police College in Barton, Canberra. Tony Abbott can expect to live in something like this while the Lodge is being renovated.

The plan represents one of the most unusual Canberra living arrangements for a politician since former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson camped out in Joe Hockey's shed to save money after his divorce settlement. When Mr Abbott needs to entertain VIP guests he will do so at his Prime ministerial offices at Parliament House.

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In Sydney, Mr Abbott will also be able to use Kirribilli House on Sydney Harbour, but he has not yet announced when he will move out of the family home and live there.

In the 1980s, Mr Abbott lived at St Patrick's seminary where he trained as a Catholic priest. Mr Abbott's unusual choice echoes the Canberra habits of his unlikely political hero: Labor's Ben Chifley.

media_camera A room at the Australian Federal Police College in Barton, Canberra. Tony Abbott can expect to live in something like this while the Lodge is being renovated.

As Prime Minister, Mr Chifley preferred the Hotel Kurrajong to the Lodge. He died there in 1951 after suffering a heart attack. The historic hotel is close by to the AFP flat Mr Abbott will live in.

"My old man always says that Ben Chifley was a great prime minister, I think probably because he was very down-to-earth and a decent human being,'' Mr Abbott said.

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The vexed question of where to put the Prime Minister while the renovations were conducted at the Lodge has exercised the minds of public servants for years after Julia Gillard first signed off on the multi-million dollar renovations of the historic property two years ago.

media_camera A room at the Australian Federal Police College in Barton, Canberra. Tony Abbott can expect to live in something like this while the Lodge is being renovated.

Ms Gillard was fond of regaling guests with stories of the possum urine stains in the ceiling detailing the horror in a 2012 interview with The Sunday Telegraph.

"We had a celebrated incident where we had a visiting foreign leader,'' Ms Gillard said.

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"There was much shooing of people out of the dining room because someone spotted wee making its way down the wall to one of the very precious paintings from the National Gallery."

Originally published as Abbott to live with AFP recruits