Landlords are finding it harder to increase rents for student housing because of a competitive market, research claims.

Research by search engine Accommodation for Students (AFS) – on which  landlords and agents list properties – found that the current average price for student accommodation is £86 per week, or £79 when London is removed.

The £79 figure is identical to the 20-year average for weekly rents, which AFS suggests shows the market is more competitive for students but means landlords must work harder to secure renters.

Its research showed that average weekly rents in almost half of UK university towns and cities are below the national average for the past 20 years.

The analysis found that 23 out of 53 locations have weekly rents below the 20-year UK average.

Cities like Wolverhampton, Hull and Dundee have 20-year average weekly rents of £63, £65 and £66 respectively.

At the opposite end of the scale are more expensive locations such as Brighton (£106), Guildford (£111), London (£115) and Kingston (£117).

Simon Thompson, director of AFS, said: “As the market has become increasingly competitive for landlords, we have invested heavily in making improvements to the AFS site.

“As well as offering automated feeds, enabling letting agents to instantly upload multiple properties in any format in real time, we are currently finalising a new landlord account area, making it easier for landlords to connect with the 3m students that visit the AFS portal every year.”