Lack of affordable rental properties in Wellington is forcing students to consider other cities for study.

Cheap Christchurch rentals are drawing university students away from Wellington, the University of Canterbury (UC) has claimed to the chagrin of Victoria University.

Four weeks from the end of its enrolment process for 2018, the university has received a record number of new student applications from Wellingtonians. About 10 per cent more Wellington-based students were considering UC than last year, which was in turn an increase on 2016 numbers.

But Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) academic services manager Pam Thorburn disputed UC's claim, saying there was "no indication of a loss of students" to Canterbury or any other region.

SUPPLIED The University of Canterbury has noted an increase in the number of students applying from Wellington, but Victoria University says it is not losing students to the South Island institution.

She doubted "modest" rental differences between Wellington and Christchurch was reason enough for students to move. "Rental accommodation is under pressure nationally and Wellington is no different to other main centres," Thorburn said.

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While it was too early to know exactly how many Wellingtonians would end up at UC – students often applied to multiple institutions – vice-chancellor Dr Rod Carr believed the reported increase marked the beginning of a positive long-term trend for the university as it sought to recover a 3500-student shortfall by 2019.

Supplied University of Canterbury vice-chancellor Dr Rod Carr believes growing interest from Wellington students signals a long-term trend as Wellington and Auckland rent prices continue to climb.

With the cost of tuition now covered by the Government, students were more likely to consider the cost and quality of living when choosing a university or polytechnic, Carr said.

"From our point of view, the Christchurch market does have an excess supply of affordable, good quality housing to rent and that wasn't the case in 2013 and 2014."

In Wellington, the likely growth in students taking advantage of the fees-free arrangement is expected to compound the city's worst rental crisis. Flat hunters' fears that a room in the capital could cost $200 per week were supported by data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) showing average rents of $482 per property last month.

SUPPLIED Victoria University's $100m School of Biological Sciences, pictured, will open to students this year. The university has rejected suggestions high rents are driving students away from the capital.

Wellington students were competing with young professionals and families priced out of home ownership for 71 per cent fewer rental properties than in 2016, Trade Me figures indicated.

A second-year law student, who did not want to be named, said she returned to Christchurch from Wellington this year after a "stressful" and fruitless hunt for an affordable flat.

"I loved the idea of Wellington and Christchurch didn't have a lot to it at the time. Now there's a lot more bars popping up," she said.

"Two hundred bucks a week for accommodation doesn't seem reasonable considering I know people paying $73 a week down here."

A Massey University spokesman said it had been aware of "serious accommodation issues" for Wellington students for at least four years. The university's student accommodation had incorporated about 180 beds to meet this year's demand.

The full extent of the shortage would not be known until the start of the university semester when students "either pull out or sleep on friends' couches", he said.

A post-quake construction boom had the opposite effect on Canterbury's rental market. Flat rentals averaged $374 per week, according to MBIE, and a room could cost as little as $125 a week. Landlords were offering incentives like free power and groceries to fill properties as population growth slowed.

House rents in Canterbury were now about $70 per week lower than in Otago. A spokeswoman for Otago University said it had not noticed an increase in enrolment applications from Wellington.

Carr said a $50-per-week increase in student allowances "appears to have enabled [Wellington] landlords to put up rents" by amounts that would not be tenable in Christchurch. New Zealand Property Investors' Federation head Andrew King has said hikes above market rent were illegal and unlikely, but the tight market could prompt landlords to revise rents for 2018.

Enrolment in a particular university mattered if students were seeking "specialist" degrees like UC's engineering courses; medicine, traditionally the purview of Otago and Auckland Universities; or veterinary science, largely studied at Massey University's Palmerston North campus, Carr said.

For broad-based degrees like arts and commerce, "where your parents went, where your school careers advisor said you should go, or where your mates are going" played a larger role in university choice.

Wellington City councillor Brian Dawson said the city's rental shortage was "only going to get worse". More students were electing to pay for flats over summer than risk trying to find a new one, he said.

"[Victoria] University has to take some responsibility here. If they're going to go out looking for more students, they need to play a part in ensuring there's housing for them."

Thorburn said VUW's accommodation service assisted students looking for flats and a student finance team helped those facing financial difficulties.

New Zealand Union of Students' Associations president Jonathan Gee said the fees-free policy would likely mean higher student mobility over the coming years.

"It's empowering in that sense, that it gives students more choice, but it puts cost of living at the forefront. If UC's figures are correct, cost of living is still a barrier to tuition."

Universities New Zealand executive director Chris Whelan said UC's growth was a natural consequence of the city's rebuild. While it was possible rental prices had an impact, Whelan said he could not speak to what drove individual students.

"Every year students make rational choices around where can I get an education, what can I afford."