- Oxford students living in private flat and house shares need to find an extra £600 a year following annual rent increases of 10%
- Almost a third (32%) of rooms for rent in top university cities aren’t available to students
- In parts of London and Edinburgh, five people are competing for every room available
- Durham is the UK’s most ‘student friendly’ city for renting
London, UK – Increasing rents in some popular university cities mean students will be up to £600 a year worse off, according to flat and house share site SpareRoom.co.uk.
Oxford students living out of college will feel the hardest financial impact. Room rents in the city have risen by 10% in the past year, or £50 per month, with three people searching for every room available.
Students at Surrey University face rent increases of 9% – or £576 a year. Just 62% of rooms in the Guildford area are available to students, with four students searching for every room advertised.
Almost a third (32%) of rooms in existing house and flatshares in the UK’s top 30 university cities aren’t even available as some landlords are unwilling to let to students.
Students in Dundee and Durham have the best chances of finding student-friendly house shares, with 93% and 92% of rooms in the respective areas available to students. Durham is arguably the best city to be a student: rents in the city have decreased marginally over the past year, and demand for rooms is relatively low.
Students in Exeter and Southampton aren’t so lucky. In these cities, just 59% and 54% of rooms in house and flatshares are available to students.
The table below shows average room rents in 30 of the UK’s top university towns and cities, based on Q2 rental data for 2016 and 2015 from SpareRoom.co.uk:
| Rank | University | Location | Ave monthly room rent Q2 2016 (£) | Ave monthly room rent Q2 2015 (£) | Annual % difference | No. of people looking per room available Q2 2016 | Current % of rooms available to students |
| 1 | Cambridge | Cambridge | £541 | £509 | 6% | 3.5 | 60 |
| 2 | Oxford | Oxford | £557 | £507 | 10% | 3.2 | 64 |
| 3 | St Andrews | Kirkcaldy | £339 | £329 | 3% | 1.8 | 67 |
| 4 | Surrey | Guildford | £574 | £526 | 9% | 3.8 | 62 |
| 5 | Loughborough | Loughborough | £350 | £339 | 3% | 1.2 | 77 |
| 6 | Durham | Durham | £362 | £367 | -1% | 0.9 | 92 |
| 7 | Imperial College | London SW7 | £1,131 | £1,086 | 4% | 3.9 | 85 |
| 8 | Lancaster | Lancaster | £371 | £353 | 5% | 0.9 | 82 |
| 9 | Warwick | Coventry | £388 | £369 | 5% | 1.7 | 80 |
| 10 | Bath | Bath | £448 | £438 | 2% | 3.2 | 62 |
| 11 | Exeter | Exeter | £434 | £417 | 4% | 1.9 | 59 |
| 12 | London School of Economics | London WC2 | £1,034 | £1,094 | -5% | 5.2 | 86 |
| 13 | Birmingham | Birmingham | £405 | £413 | -2% | 3.1 | 63 |
| 14 | UCL | London WC1 | £870 | £833 | 4% | 4.6 | 85 |
| 15 | Coventry | Coventry | £388 | £369 | 5% | 1.7 | 80 |
| 16 | Leeds | Leeds | £374 | £353 | 6% | 2.8 | 64 |
| 17 | Southampton | Southampton | £436 | £417 | 4% | 2.5 | 54 |
| 18 | City | London EC1 | £920 | £904 | 2% | 3.2 | 71 |
| 19 | York | York | £400 | £379 | 6% | 2.4 | 63 |
| 20 | Sussex | Brighton | £511 | £492 | 4% | 3.7 | 63 |
| 21 | Edinburgh | Edinburgh | £469 | £438 | 7% | 5 | 70 |
| 22 | Kent | Canterbury | £418 | £422 | -1% | 1.9 | 81 |
| 22 | UEA | Norwich | £401 | £374 | 7% | 2.4 | 62 |
| 24 | Nottingham | Nottingham | £374 | £358 | 4% | 1.8 | 69 |
| 25 | Glasgow | Glasgow | £390 | £376 | 4% | 3.9 | 75 |
| 26 | Heriot-Watt | Edinburgh | £469 | £438 | 7% | 5 | 70 |
| 27 | Dundee | Dundee | £323 | £311 | 4% | 1.6 | 93 |
| 28 | Aston | Birmingham | £405 | £413 | -2% | 3.1 | 63 |
| 29 | SOAS | London WC1 | £870 | £833 | 4% | 4.6 | 85 |
| 30 | Manchester | Manchester | £414 | £385 | 7% | 3.7 | 74 |
Source: SpareRoom.co.uk
Matt Hutchinson, director of SpareRoom.co.uk, comments: “Students aren’t just battling rising rents, they’re also affected by a private rental market struggling to cope with demand. That means choosing where you go to uni can have a huge impact on your debt after you graduate.”
“The difference between rents for students at Imperial College in London, compared to those studying at St. Andrew’s in Scotland, is a massive £792 a month. Over a three-year course the difference is eye watering.”
“Even choosing Durham over Oxford could save you more than £7,000 in rent over three years.”