Students to pay £70 a week rent

Students are to pay almost £70 a week in rent this autumn, with some paying more than £100, research suggests.

A study shows accommodation costs continue to rise, increasing by about 2.4% this year compared with 2011.

The latest hike comes as tuition fees are trebled, with English universities charging up to £9,000 for degree courses from this September.

The new figures, by accommodationforstudents.com, show that the average weekly student rent now stands at £68.70, compared with £67.11 last year. Students heading to London will be charged the most, with an average weekly rent in the capital costing £107.29 per week. This has dropped slightly from £108.03 in 2011.

The next most expensive is Guildford in Surrey, where students will find the average rent sets them back £93.46. Students who hope to keep housing costs down should try Pontypridd in Wales, where a week's accommodation costs £45.94 on average, or Stockton in the North East where the weekly student rent is £47.45.

Middlesbrough and Stoke-on-Trent also offer weekly rents of below £50 at £49.21 and £49.20 respectively. The study, based on rents of more than 100,000 properties in 77 cities, also shows that in some areas of the UK, housing costs have risen rapidly.

Students in Winchester are now likely to pay out an average weekly rent of £86.40 compared with £71,80 last year - a 20% rise.

Durham has also seen a 20% increase in costs, with the average rent now £80.21 against £66.75 in 2011.

Other university cities and towns that have seen a rise in costs include Middlesbrough, up 13%, Preston, up 11%, Sunderland and Coventry, which are both up 8%, Lincoln, up 7%, Bristol and Newcastle, both up 6% and Leeds which has seen a 5% increase.

Simon Thompson, co-founder and director of accommodationforstudents.com, said: "A key factor in determining student rents is the desirability of attending some universities. "That puts pressure on the accommodation available and, hence, the charging of higher rents. Winchester, Durham, Lancaster, Exeter and Newcastle come into this category."