Student renting costs up 20%

Student rents have risen by almost 20% in four years, research suggests.

An undergraduate can now expect to pay £61.64 a week, up almost £10 from £52.44 in 2004.

The figures, based on 46,000 properties in 73 UK cities, were published by the website accommodationforstudents.com.

London was still the most expensive place to study, with an average weekly rent of £102.65, the research showed. The best value towns were Middlesbrough, Stoke, Wolverhampton, Crewe and Bradford where rents are between £40 and £45 a week.

The highest in Scotland was St Andrews, where rents topped £82 a week, followed by Edinburgh and Glasgow with average prices £71.06 and £69.34 respectively.

The findings showed some "hotspots" where rents have risen well above the national average - renting in Exeter now costs around £78 a week, 35% higher than the average of £58 five years ago. And in Chester, prices have gone up 8% in the past year from around £67 to £73.

Traditional English universities such as Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester are still good value, with rents between £52 and £57 - below the national average.

But others are increasing fast - in Leeds increasing student popularity has seen rents rise by 7% in the past year to around £62 a week.

Simon Thompson, co-founder and director of Accommodation for Students, said: "The student accommodation situation has been worsened by the current credit crunch.

"Not only are costs going up but availability has been reduced as many former student landlords are now renting to young professionals who can no longer afford to get on the property ladder."

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