Nearly one in five Edinburgh students pay over £800 per month on rent

A recent student survey undertaken at the University of Edinburgh has revealed that 18 per cent of Edinburgh students are paying more than £800 per month for accommodation.

The survey also showed that the average annual rent is above £7,200, which accounts for more than 92 per cent of the maximum Scottish student loan of £7,750.

With students “really struggling” with the cost of living crisis at Edinburgh the university has responded by “choosing to not increase prices for our accommodation” as well as fixing prices in university cafes.

Citylets quarterly report revealed that a three bed flat in Edinburgh costs £1,737 on average per month with Charlie Inness from Glenham Property saying that “rents are at record levels in the capital, we are seeing multiple applicants for any property advertised, resulting in average time to let figures dropping across all areas and for all sizes of properties.”

A University of Edinburgh spokesperson said: “To protect students from rising bills, we have chosen to not increase prices for our accommodation since rent levels were agreed in November 2021. Our students pay a standard rent that includes all utilities and the University has absorbed recent additional costs; our rental rates remain some of the lowest in the sector.

“All students who met the requirements of our accommodation guarantee have been offered a place in University residences this year. We have also been in a position to provide offers of accommodation to more than 2,600 students over and above our guaranteed places.

“Students looking for private sector accommodation are competing with Edinburgh’s expanding workforce as well as visitors who are attracted to short-term lets across the city. While these factors are largely outside the University’s control, we continue to work with our partner organisations including the City of Edinburgh Council and other higher and further education providers to refresh our longer term accommodation strategy. In the short-term we have just opened a new refurbished building in Gilmore Place in central Edinburgh which can accommodate 230 students.

“We have also significantly increased our hardship funding to provide more support to students who are experiencing financial difficulties.

“There are a range of other ways we are helping students manage the cost of living. Our café prices are fixed for the next year, and many of our buildings have access to microwaves and shower facilities. We also provide a free shuttle bus between our Kings Building and Central campus, and have a range of IT equipment that can be loaned to students to support their studies.”

More information on the support Edinburgh provides can be found here.

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