Edinburgh Rent Benchmarks 2026: Neighbourhood by Neighbourhood
Edinburgh Rent Benchmarks 2026: Neighbourhood by Neighbourhood
Last updated April 2026. Refreshed quarterly.
How much are landlords actually charging in Edinburgh in 2026? This is the most asked question we get from new landlords — and the one that, more than anything else, determines whether your property lets in a fortnight or sits empty for two months.
This article gives you a current, neighbourhood-level view of median asking rents, with commentary on the eight most active neighbourhoods. We update these figures quarterly.
Methodology
Figures are medians of advertised asking rents for unfurnished or part-furnished flats on Rent in Edinburgh during the first quarter of 2026, supplemented with publicly available listings data where our own sample size was thin. They are asking rents, not let rents — the rent that was advertised, not the rent ultimately agreed. Let rents usually come in within 2–3% of asking in a tight market like Edinburgh's.
Sample sizes are indicative. Neighbourhoods with fewer than 15 listings in the period are marked with a dagger (†) — take those figures as a rough guide rather than a benchmark.
1-bed flats — median monthly rent
| Neighbourhood | Median | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| New Town | £1,350 | £1,200–£1,550 |
| Old Town | £1,300 | £1,150–£1,500 |
| Stockbridge | £1,250 | £1,100–£1,400 |
| Bruntsfield | £1,150 | £1,000–£1,300 |
| Marchmont | £1,100 | £950–£1,250 |
| Morningside | £1,100 | £950–£1,250 |
| Newington | £1,050 | £900–£1,200 |
| Leith | £995 | £850–£1,150 |
| Tollcross | £975 | £850–£1,100 |
| Abbeyhill | £925 | £800–£1,050 |
| Gorgie / Dalry | £825 | £725–£950 |
| Slateford † | £795 | £700–£900 |
| Restalrig † | £775 | £675–£875 |
2-bed flats — median monthly rent
| Neighbourhood | Median | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| New Town | £1,850 | £1,600–£2,200 |
| Old Town | £1,750 | £1,500–£2,050 |
| Stockbridge | £1,650 | £1,450–£1,900 |
| Bruntsfield | £1,550 | £1,350–£1,800 |
| Marchmont | £1,500 | £1,300–£1,750 |
| Morningside | £1,500 | £1,300–£1,750 |
| Newington | £1,400 | £1,200–£1,625 |
| Leith | £1,350 | £1,150–£1,550 |
| Tollcross | £1,325 | £1,150–£1,525 |
| Abbeyhill | £1,225 | £1,075–£1,400 |
| Gorgie / Dalry | £1,125 | £975–£1,275 |
| Slateford † | £1,050 | £925–£1,200 |
3-bed flats — median monthly rent
| Neighbourhood | Median | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| New Town | £2,500 | £2,100–£3,000 |
| Stockbridge | £2,250 | £1,900–£2,650 |
| Marchmont | £2,100 | £1,800–£2,450 |
| Bruntsfield | £2,100 | £1,800–£2,450 |
| Morningside | £2,050 | £1,750–£2,400 |
| Newington | £1,950 | £1,650–£2,275 |
| Leith | £1,800 | £1,550–£2,100 |
| Gorgie / Dalry | £1,550 | £1,350–£1,800 |
Eight active neighbourhoods: what's going on
New Town. Edinburgh's most prestigious rental market. Prices are stable at the top end — 1-beds hovering around £1,350 — but the Georgian stock is characterful and gets let quickly to finance, legal, and professional tenants.
Old Town. Short-term let licensing has returned a chunk of stock to the long-term market. Prices are slightly softer than a year ago at the 1-bed level.
Leith. The single biggest market in the city by listing volume. Still the best rent-for-location value in Edinburgh, but the gap has closed as Leith has gentrified. Expect strong demand through summer.
Marchmont. Student cycle dominates. Listings concentrate June–August. HMO-licensed properties at a significant premium over non-HMO equivalents.
Bruntsfield. Professional couple territory. 1-beds move in days. 2-beds benefit from the Links-side premium.
Morningside. Family professionals and downsizers. 3-beds have strongest demand — genuine 3-beds in Morningside let inside a week at asking.
Stockbridge. Punches above its weight at every size. The village-within-a-city feel keeps demand high and voids short.
Newington. A mixed market — student-adjacent at the Pollock end, family-professional towards Salisbury. Price accordingly.
What this means for setting asking rent
Three practical points.
- Don't overprice. The cost of overpricing in a market that's slowing slightly is two weeks of void and then a reduction. You lose one month of rent to save nothing. Price at median, not at aspiration.
- Benchmark by neighbourhood, not by city. A 1-bed in Leith and a 1-bed in Morningside are not comparable. Your median is the median for your specific neighbourhood.
- Remember the rent control backdrop. Once Edinburgh is designated (very likely by late 2027), you can only raise CPI + 1% per year on existing tenancies. Under-rented properties stay under-rented. A measured rise now may be preferable to being frozen at a low baseline. See our Housing Act explainer.
Data collection under the new Act
From 1 April 2026, the City of Edinburgh Council has formal powers to request rent data from landlords, agents, and portals. That data will inform whether the council applies for rent control area designation. Expect requests to become routine.
We'll refresh these benchmarks quarterly. To list your property free, register here. To browse what's actually on the market, see current properties.