If you live in the North, you’re paying over the odds for your house

Shafted students at northern unis are being charged way more rent than locals, according to new research.

Some in the midlands are paying almost 36 per cent more than workers and families living next door.

But down south students in Reading are shelling out almost 40 per cent less than their local counterparts – paying on average £80.78 a week instead of £132.75 in the same area.

Based on your typical second or third year rented house, there is a national discount of 9.4 per cent for students, where the average rent per person per week is £83.72 – compared to £92.44.

At unis with a big town and gown divide, rents appear to be more expensive for students. In Loughborough, where locals have introduced street marshals and breathalysers on club doors, private accommodation is 36.08 per cent more. In Durham you will pay over 31 per cent more and in Lincoln you will pay almost 28 per cent more.

Students in the south save up to 40 per cent on rent. Reading make a saving of 39.15 per cent, closely followed by Oxford with a 33 per cent discount.

While rent in London is over £200 a week, students make a saving of almost £100, a discounted rate of 32 per cent.

In cities with a higher gap, living costs are generally cheaper.

StuRents, who produced the data by analysing over 25,000 properties, said students are happy to pay higher rates than locals in towns where living is less expensive.

This is more common in the North where a smaller demand from young professionals fails to push up prices.

But in Scotland, students still rent at a discount in comparison to locals.

Additional reporting by Harry Shukman