Students in Edinburgh hit by soaring rental costs

BUOYANT rental prices are contributing to the problems students face in finding affordable accommodate, according to Scotland’s most influential letting experts.

Citylets says students in Edinburgh face an average rent of more than £306 per month during their studies – compared with an average of £266 in Glasgow. That means that over a four year degree, undergraduates in Edinburgh face a hefty £9000 rent bill.

The figures were revealed after new findings from Grant Management – one of Scotland’s biggest letting agencies and a major user of the Citylets portal – showed Edinburgh is one of the least affordable cities in Scotland for students.

Citylets is Scotland’s number one property letting portal, used by over 150,000 people per month. With more than 25,000 properties advertised on it every year from over 200 agents (including Grant Management), it is the only company with extensive data available to produce and publish quarterly reports on Scotland’s rental market.

Thomas Ashdown, managing director said the average £306 rent is for those students lucky enough to find multiple bedroom properties to share -the alternative of sharing two bedroom flats increases costs further, with average monthly rents rising to £321.

He added: “Most students know that, once they leave the halls of residence, the biggest financial hurdle they face is finding affordable accommodation.

“Many prefer to share larger properties, from a social point of view and to spread the cost of bills so competition for 3, 4 and 5 bedroom properties is pretty intense and driven almost exclusively by students at certain times of the year.”

“The monthly rent is an average £306 per person. When you consider they will be in the property for an average of 10 months a year, then over three years you’re talking about £9000 on rent alone.”

Notes to Editors:

Citylets’ reports are available at www.citylets.co.uk/reports.

ENDS