Leading student accommodation website Accommodation for Students says that the ARV is now £79.27, a drop of 37p from the £79.64 being paid last year.
However, the student accommodation market has remained stable for what is a competitive market though rents being charged vary around the country.
Accommodation for Students says the highest rents being charged are in the South, Kent, the south coast and Greater London.
Best areas for student property to rent
Landlords with student property in the North have seen an increase of around 3.6% on average for their ARV while landlords in the South have seen a fall of 3.5%.
Some of the lowest rents for student property can be found in Wolverhampton, at £58, Derby at £65 and Stoke where students pay £65 on average.
These rates are around 22% lower than the average student rent being paid currently.
The region with the widest variation of the student rents being paid is in the north-east where students in Stockton could be paying £50 a week for their accommodation while those in Durham are paying £80.
Accommodation for Students say market still offering best yields
The firm says that the student rental market is city-dependent rather than being focused on a region and this underlined by the fact the biggest increase was seen in Newcastle-under-Lyme where rents rose by 26%.
Simon Thompson, a director of Accommodation for Students, said: “The figures suggest there is a widening gap in the student rental market and factors such as whether bills are included and the facilities on offer have to be taken into account.
“Budgeting can be a major stumbling block for students so it's encouraging that accommodation with 'bills inclusive' are on the rise.”
The survey by the website also reveals that increased competition in the student property sector has helped to stabilise rents and that the market overall remains 'robust'.
Mr Thompson added that the student property market was still offering some of the most attractive yield classes for any property investment type.
Good landlords should get tax breaks
Meanwhile, a report from the Chartered Institute of Housing says that good landlords who raise standards in the private rental sector should get extra tax breaks for their efforts.
The move would be an incentive to improve the management and maintenance of their rental properties, they claim.
The report highlights that landlords in the private sector receive around £7 billion of tax allowances every year - part of which is for maintenance and repairs.
However, the Institute says there is no incentive currently for landlords to undertake more work than is needed to reach the minimum standard and this would change with a tax incentive.
