Exeter student rent among highest in the UK

Student rents in Exeter are the 4th highest in the UK behind only London, Oxford and Cambridge, a new report states.

Students in Exeter pay an average rent of £385pcm despite most students only willing to pay up to £300 in rental costs.

The rise has been attributed to a national rise in applications to Universities in turn seeing a rise in demand for student rental properties in the city.

Exeter University has seen a 34% rise in applications for university places this year well above the national average of 2.5% seeing a particular demand on rental costs.

The report by easyroommate.co.uk states that students have cut spending to their social lives in order to make up the pay difference.

The rents will hit students entering their final year of study particularly hard as their maximum loan amount is fixed at £4,583 which doesn’t cover an average 12 month contract of £4,620.

Rishi Patel, manager of easyroommate.co.uk, said: “Student rents are once again on the march as student numbers begin to recover following the increase in tuition fees.

Rents for student flatshares are now at their highest level in five years which is increasing the financial pressure being felt by many students across the country who also have to deal with higher fees and more expensive day-to-day living costs.”   

The report also cites a survey of landlords who attributed the rise in rents to a mixture of increased demand and a rise in mortgage costs.

Cara Khadaroo, from Star Lettings which manages student properties in Exeter, said:“Exeter University is increasing their numbers but it is mainly international students at the moment. They’re bringing the income in and they expect en-suite accommodation with all inclusive bills.

“Our traditional terraced houses aren’t really what they’re looking for and those tend to go to students from the UK.

“Our average rent is around £90 a week, but that can go up to £110 or for houses a slightly longer walk away as low as £80 a week.”