10 Best Letting Agents in Edinburgh (2026)

No agency was placed on this page by request, and nobody paid for a position. The order came from review strength across more than one platform, verified registration, accreditation and client money protection, and whether the agency will tell you what it charges.

Edinburgh is a good city for a landlord choosing on evidence. Clan Gordon, SouthSide, Umega and 1Let all carry review bases large enough that a handful of bad months could not hide inside them, and three of the four hold registration numbers that we confirmed on the Scottish Letting Agent Register rather than taking from a website.

It is a harder city than most on the regulatory side. The whole council area is a short term let control area, which changes what you can do with a second property, and the student and festival cycle shapes the letting calendar in a way it does not elsewhere.

Compare all ten
The ranking
Edinburgh rules
On our radar
Questions
Method

At a glance

Edinburgh letting agents compared

Ratings come from the platform named in each row. Registration numbers marked as verified were confirmed against the Scottish Letting Agent Register rather than taken from the agency's own site.

Figures checked 1 August 2026. LARN is the Scottish Letting Agent Register number, which agents are required to display.
Agency	Rating	Source	Registration	Accreditation	Fees published
1. Clan Gordon	4.9 from 738	allAgents	LARN1806018, verified	ARLA, RICS, CMP, PRS	No
2. Umega	4.8 from 319	allAgents	LARN1804004, verified	ARLA, NAEA, CMP, TPO, B Corp	Yes, in full
3. SouthSide Property	4.8 from 833	allAgents	LARN1806025, verified	ARLA, SAL, SafeAgent, TPO	Yes, full schedule
4. 1Let	4.8 from 535	allAgents	LARN1806013, verified	ARLA, TPO, SAL, SafeAgent	No
5. Cullen Property	4.7 from 356	Google	LARN1811026, verified	ARLA, SAL, TPO	No
6. Northwood Edinburgh	4.7 from 46	allAgents	Not displayed	Propertymark, CMP, TPO	No
7. Rettie	4.5 from 343	Google, lettings office	Not displayed	ARLA, RICS	No
8. Glenham Property	4.4 from 222	Google	LARN1811020, verified	ARLA Propertymark, CMP	No
9. DJ Alexander	4.2 from 437	allAgents, Edinburgh lettings	LARN1812026	CMP, PRS, TPO, SAL	No
10. Murray & Currie	3.9 from 142	allAgents	LARN1904067	ARLA, NAEA, TPO	No

The ranking

Edinburgh letting agents, ranked

Where an agency scores well on one platform and poorly on another, both numbers appear. Averaging them would hide the thing you most need to see.

1. Clan Gordon

Independent, Leith, founded 2007

4.9allAgents, 738 reviews, 97 percent recommend. Google 4.9 from 465.

Clan Gordon is the clearest number one in any city we cover. It scores 4.9 on two independent platforms with a combined base of more than one thousand two hundred reviews, its valuation accuracy score on allAgents is 98 percent, and its registration was confirmed as approved on the Scottish register rather than taken from its own website.

The award record is the longest here too: allAgents gold for best letting agent in Edinburgh in 2023, 2024 and 2025, gold for the EH6 postcode across the same three years, bronze for Scotland in 2024 and 2025, and a gold at the Lettings Agency of the Year awards in 2025. Founded by Andrew and Jonathan Gordon in 2007, the team is now more than twenty people. The one gap is fees, which are not published.

RegistrationLARN1806018, verified on the Scottish register
AccreditationARLA Propertymark, RICS, client money protection, Property Redress Scheme, Scottish Property Federation
FeesNot published
OfficeSugarbond, 2 Anderson Place, EH6 5NP
CompanyFounded 2007 by Andrew and Jonathan Gordon
RecognitionallAgents gold, best letting agent in Edinburgh, 2023, 2024 and 2025

Best for: Landlords who want the strongest evidenced service in the city and do not mind asking for the price.

Visit Clan Gordon

2. Umega

Certified B Corporation, about 2,500 homes

4.8allAgents, 319 reviews, 96 percent recommend. Google 4.7 from 1,768 per its own site.

Umega publishes its fees, which almost nobody in Edinburgh does, and the numbers are competitive: ten percent plus VAT for management, two hundred and fifty pounds plus VAT to market a tenancy, and ninety five pounds plus VAT for an inventory. That transparency is worth more than half a review point.

It has been a certified B Corporation since 2016, the first private company in Scotland to achieve it, and it holds ARLA and NAEA Propertymark membership with client money protection under certificate C0124869. Around two thousand five hundred homes are managed from offices on Brunswick Street and Ferry Road, plus Dunbar. Note that its own site and a third party mirror disagree on the Google review count, at 1,768 against 1,570.

RegistrationLARN1804004, verified
AccreditationARLA and NAEA Propertymark, client money protection C0124869, Property Ombudsman, Investors in People, B Corp
FeesManagement 10% plus VAT. Marketing 250 pounds plus VAT per tenancy. Inventory 95 pounds plus VAT.
ScaleAbout 2,500 homes
CompanyFounded 2005 as Links Property Management, rebranded 2007
RecognitionScottish Letting Agency of the Year 2018, UK Letting Agency of the Year 2021

Best for: Landlords who want a published price and an agency with a formal ethical commitment behind it.

Visit Umega

3. SouthSide Property Management

Independent, Nicolson Street, founded 2009

4.8allAgents, 833 reviews, 96 percent recommend. Google 4.5 from 1,447.

SouthSide publishes the most complete fee schedule of any agency in any city on this site, and it is the only tapering one we have found. Full management starts at nine percent plus VAT with a minimum of sixty seven pounds fifty plus VAT, then falls to eight percent after three years, seven percent after five and six percent after seven. A landlord who stays is rewarded for staying, which is rare enough to be worth stating plainly.

The rest of the schedule is published too: six percent plus VAT where a tenant is already in place, twelve percent plus VAT for room lets, let only tiers running from fifteen to forty five percent of the first month, and advertising at one hundred and sixty five pounds plus VAT. The accreditation stack is the broadest in the city and includes ARLA, SAL, SafeAgent, the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland and Landlord Accreditation Scotland.

RegistrationLARN1806025, verified
AccreditationARLA Propertymark, SAL, SafeAgent, Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland, Property Ombudsman, Landlord Accreditation Scotland, NRLA
FeesFull management from 9% plus VAT, tapering to 6% at seven years. Advertising 165 pounds plus VAT.
Office20 Nicolson Street, EH8 9DH
CompanyFounded 2009
NoteThe only tapering management fee found in any city we cover

Best for: Long term landlords, where the tapering fee makes a real difference over a decade.

Visit SouthSide Property Management

4. 1Let

Independent, Manor Place, West End

4.8allAgents, 535 reviews, 97 percent recommend

1Let posts the highest fee satisfaction score we found anywhere in Edinburgh, at 97 percent, which is notable given that it does not publish a tariff. Its recommendation rate matches Clan Gordon at 97 percent across a base of 535 reviews.

It sits at four rather than higher for one reason only: there is no comparable Google base to cross check the allAgents figure against, and this site does not rank an agency at the top on a single platform. The accreditation is thorough, covering ARLA, the Property Ombudsman lettings scheme, Landlord Accreditation Scotland, SAL, the Council of Letting Agents and SafeAgent.

RegistrationLARN1806013, verified
AccreditationARLA Propertymark, Property Ombudsman, Landlord Accreditation Scotland, SAL, Council of Letting Agents, SafeAgent
FeesNot published, but fee satisfaction scores 97 percent
Office20a Manor Place, EH3 7DS
RecognitionallAgents gold for EH3 in 2024 and 2025, silver in 2023
NoteOnly one platform carries a meaningful review base

Best for: West End landlords, and anyone who has been burned by an agency whose invoices did not match its quote.

Visit 1Let

5. Cullen Property

HMO and student specialist, Rutland Square, founded 1998

4.7Google, 356 reviews

Cullen has been letting student and house in multiple occupation property in central Edinburgh since 1998, and roughly seventy percent of its team hold ARLA qualifications, which is a higher proportion than most agencies of its size can claim. It took a British Property Award gold for Edinburgh in 2025 and 2026.

The allAgents sample is small at 3.9 from thirteen reviews, and it is not used as the headline figure here because thirteen reviews cannot outweigh three hundred and fifty six. It is stated so you can see it.

RegistrationLARN1811026, verified
AccreditationARLA Propertymark, SAL, Property Ombudsman
FeesNot published
Office30 Rutland Square, EH1 2BW
CompanyFounded 1998
SpecialismHouses in multiple occupation and student lets

Best for: Student and HMO landlords in the central postcodes.

Visit Cullen Property

6. Northwood Edinburgh

Stockbridge since 2003, plus a Leith office

4.7allAgents, 46 reviews. Google 4.5 to 4.6 from about 390.

Guaranteed rent is the reason to look at Northwood. The product pays a fixed sum whether the property is let or not, and Northwood has run it longer than almost anyone in the United Kingdom. For a landlord with a mortgage to cover and no appetite for a void, that certainty can be worth more than a percentage point of yield.

Two review bases point the same way, with Google between 4.5 and 4.6 across roughly three hundred and ninety reviews and allAgents at 4.7 from a much smaller 46. It took allAgents gold for EH4 in 2024. No registration number is displayed publicly, which is stated here rather than guessed at.

RegistrationNot displayed publicly. Ask for it and check the register.
AccreditationPropertymark, client money protection, Property Ombudsman
FeesNot published
OfficesStockbridge since 2003, plus Leith
OfferGuaranteed rent
RecognitionallAgents gold for EH4, 2024

Best for: Landlords who want a guaranteed monthly figure rather than the best possible one.

Visit Northwood Edinburgh

7. Rettie

RICS regulated, about 2,000 properties across Scotland

4.5Google, Edinburgh lettings office, 343 reviews

Rettie is the premium option, with more than twenty lettings staff, around two thousand properties across Scotland, and a genuine specialism in short lets and festival lets that almost nobody else here can match. It won residential letting team of the year at the Scottish Home Awards in 2025.

The allAgents branch figure is 3.2 from just thirteen reviews. That is a small and much less flattering sample than the Google base, and both are shown here. Registration is not displayed on the lettings pages.

RegistrationNot displayed on the lettings pages
AccreditationARLA Propertymark, RICS
FeesNot published
Office10 Wemyss Place, EH3 6DL
ScaleAbout 2,000 properties across Scotland, 20 or more lettings staff
RecognitionResidential letting team of the year, Scottish Home Awards 2025

Best for: Higher value property, and landlords considering festival or short term letting where it is still permitted.

Visit Rettie

8. Glenham Property

Independent, Atholl Place, HMO management and refurbishment

4.4Google, 222 reviews

A solid mid sized independent with a clean credential set: ARLA Propertymark membership and client money protection valid to the end of 2026, with registration verified on the Scottish register.

The offer goes beyond letting into buy to let sourcing and refurbishment, which suits a landlord buying a tired flat and wanting one firm to handle the works and then let it. Fees are not published.

RegistrationLARN1811020, verified
AccreditationARLA Propertymark, client money protection valid to 31 December 2026
FeesNot published
OfficeAtholl Place, EH3 8HP
SpecialismHouses in multiple occupation, buy to let sourcing, refurbishment
Review base222 on Google

Best for: Investors buying property that needs work before it can be let.

Visit Glenham Property

9. DJ Alexander

Founded 1982, part of the Lomond group

4.2allAgents, Edinburgh lettings branch, 437 reviews, 79 percent recommend

The largest lettings operation in Scotland, with more than ten thousand properties and two hundred staff, run from the John Cotton Centre at Sunnyside. It absorbed the Braemore and Edinburgh Fineholm books in 2022, so a landlord who signed with either of those is now here.

The Edinburgh lettings branch scores 4.2 from 437 on allAgents with a recommendation rate of 79 percent, which is the weakest of the ranked agencies apart from Murray and Currie. That figure is branch specific: the company wide score is different, and the two should not be mixed. No Google aggregate was found for the Edinburgh lettings office.

RegistrationLARN1812026, company level
AccreditationClient money protection, Property Redress Scheme, Property Ombudsman and SAL per Citylets
FeesNot published
OfficeJohn Cotton Centre, 10 Sunnyside, EH7 5RA
ScaleMore than 10,000 properties, 200 or more staff
HistoryAbsorbed Braemore and Edinburgh Fineholm in 2022

Best for: Portfolio landlords who need one agency across several Scottish cities.

Visit DJ Alexander

10. Murray & Currie

Queen Street, trading since 2008, Aberdeen office too

3.9allAgents, 142 reviews, 71 percent recommend. Google 3.7 from 302.

Murray and Currie is included on scale and accreditation rather than on satisfaction. It holds both ARLA and NAEA membership and Property Ombudsman redress, it has traded since 2008, and it runs an Aberdeen office alongside the Queen Street base.

Both review platforms agree, and they agree on a weaker picture: 3.9 from 142 on allAgents with 71 percent recommending, and 3.7 from 302 on Google. When two independent bases of that size land in the same place, the number is telling you something. It is ranked tenth for that reason and stated plainly rather than buried.

RegistrationLARN1904067
AccreditationARLA and NAEA Propertymark, Property Ombudsman
FeesNot published
OfficeQueen Street, EH2, plus an Aberdeen office
CompanyTrading since 2008
CautionBoth review platforms show weaker satisfaction than every agency above

Best for: Landlords with property in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen who want one point of contact, subject to checking the reviews yourself.

Visit Murray & Currie

Local rules

What Edinburgh landlords have to get right

Edinburgh applies everything Scotland requires, plus one rule that applies to the whole council area and catches people out more than any other.

The whole city is a short term let control area: Since 5 September 2022 the entire City of Edinburgh Council area has been a short term let control area. Using a property that is not your principal home for short term letting needs planning permission as well as a licence. This is the single biggest difference between Edinburgh and every other Scottish city, and it applies to a flat you own and let on a nightly basis whether or not you live in the city.
Landlord registration is compulsory: Register with the City of Edinburgh Council before letting. Registration lasts three years and letting without it is a criminal offence.
Your agent must be on the register too: Letting agents must appear on the Scottish Letting Agent Register and display their number. Eight of the ten agencies ranked here display one, and we verified six of those against the register itself. Northwood and Rettie do not display one, which is noted in their entries.
Houses in multiple occupation need a licence: Three or more unrelated occupants triggers the requirement in Scotland, which is lower than the English threshold of five. In a city with two large universities and a heavy student market, this catches a lot of ordinary flats.
Deposits go into an approved scheme: Within thirty working days of the tenancy starting, into one of the three approved Scottish schemes. Get the confirmation from your agent rather than assuming it happened.
Rent control is not in force: No cap applies anywhere in Scotland today. Under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, councils began assessing rent conditions on 1 April 2026 and report to Scottish Ministers by 31 May 2027. Only then can an area be designated, with increases capped at inflation plus one percent to a maximum of six percent, once every twelve months.
The festival changes the calendar, not the law: August demand is real, and some agencies market festival lets. Since the control area designation, that is a planning question as well as a licensing one for any property that is not your principal home. Get advice before you assume a summer let is available to you.

Considered, not ranked

Also on our radar in Edinburgh

Ben Property and ESPC Lettings are both established in the city but have not yet been assessed in enough depth to rank. Both are candidates for the next update.

Warners is a well known Edinburgh name, but no lettings pricing, registration number or lettings review base could be found. Its price transparency page covers sales, conveyancing and private client work only.

Neilsons and Gilson Gray are sales and legal led. Gilson Gray scores 2.1 from fifteen reviews on allAgents and carried only fourteen rental listings when checked.

Grant Property scores 2.4 on allAgents for its Edinburgh branch, which is why it does not appear above.

Braemore no longer trades as a separate brand. It was absorbed into DJ Alexander and its website is parked, so any list that still names it is out of date.

Questions

Letting agents in Edinburgh, answered

What do letting agents charge in Edinburgh?

Nine to ten percent plus VAT for full management is the pattern among the agencies that publish. SouthSide starts at nine percent plus VAT and tapers to six percent for landlords who stay seven years or more. Umega charges ten percent plus VAT with a two hundred and fifty pound plus VAT marketing fee. Eight of the ten agencies ranked here publish nothing, so get a full written schedule including renewal and inventory charges.

Which Edinburgh letting agent has the best reviews?

Clan Gordon. It scores 4.9 on both allAgents and Google, across a combined base of more than one thousand two hundred reviews, with a 97 percent recommendation rate on allAgents and a valuation accuracy score of 98 percent.

Can I let my Edinburgh flat on a short term basis?

Only with planning permission as well as a licence, if it is not your principal home. The whole council area has been a short term let control area since September 2022. This is stricter than anywhere else in Scotland and it applies across the city rather than in designated streets.

Are all the agencies on this list ARLA regulated?

No. Seven of the ten hold ARLA Propertymark membership. DJ Alexander carries client money protection, Property Redress Scheme and Property Ombudsman membership but no professional body badge on its Edinburgh pages, and Northwood shows Propertymark membership without displaying a registration number. Each entry states what was actually found.

Does Edinburgh have rent controls?

Not at present, and not anywhere in Scotland. Councils began assessing rent conditions on 1 April 2026 under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, with reports due to Scottish Ministers by 31 May 2027. Designation could follow after that, capping increases at inflation plus one percent to a maximum of six percent.

How often is this ranking updated?

Every month. Review counts move daily and accreditations lapse, so every figure carries the date it was checked. The last check was 1 August 2026.

How this page was made

Our method, and what we could not verify

Registration numbers marked as verified were confirmed against the Scottish Letting Agent Register. Where an agency does not display a number, the page says so rather than guessing or omitting the row.

Google figures came through review mirrors, which drift from live Google Business Profiles, so they are dated rather than presented as live. Umega's own website and one mirror disagree on its Google review count, at 1,768 against 1,570, and the higher figure from its own site is the one shown. Trustpilot blocks automated collection, so no Trustpilot figures appear anywhere on this page.

Fee figures come only from an agency's own published material. Nothing here is estimated. If you work at one of these agencies and something is wrong, tell us and it will be corrected.

Figures checked 1 August 2026. Next review 1 September 2026.

The 10 best letting agents in Edinburgh