THE cost of accommodation in Northern Ireland is leaving students with less than £30 per week to live on, according to a new report.
Figures show the average annual rent for a student is around £5,256, which accounts for 81 per cent of the £6,428 maximum finance available to undergraduates.
The student housing charity Unipol and National Union of Students (NUS), which published the findings, said students are left with just £29.30 per week to live on.
Ellen Fearon, NUS-USI president, said the figures "starkly demonstrate the significant financial pressures students are facing".
The findings are part of the Accommodation Costs Survey 2021/22 - a study of university, private and charitable providers of purpose-built student accommodation in the UK.
It found private providers in Northern Ireland charged students an average of £6,698 for accommodation, which is higher than the maximum student finance allowance.
Students in university accommodation were charged an average of £4,565 for the academic year - 71 per cent of their finance allowance.
Ms Fearon said: "We need to see more imagination from our leaders and a commitment to providing homes which the ordinary student can actually afford to live in.
"Students need to be guaranteed safe, affordable, good quality accommodation while they complete their studies. Anything less creates an education system where only the wealthy has the chance to thrive.
"We need to see a Student Renters Bill introduced which guarantees students this basic right."
Martin Blakey from Unipol said: "The student maintenance system is broken and unless students can access help from parents or part-time work, many would find it difficult to pay these rent levels.
"If access to higher education is to be maintained and enhanced, then poorer students need affordable accommodation to enable them to study at a university of their choice or accommodation providers need to provide help through targeted accommodation bursaries."
