East Lothian Council

Property to rent in East Lothian

East Lothian is the coast east of Edinburgh and the towns along the North Berwick railway line: Musselburgh on the city boundary, Prestonpans, Longniddry and North Berwick on the shore, Haddington and Tranent inland, Dunbar at the far end. Rents run above the other two Lothians, because the coast and the train line are both priced in, and the stock is mostly houses with gardens rather than flats.

Four things drive rental demand here. The ScotRail North Berwick line, with stations at Musselburgh, Wallyford, Prestonpans, Longniddry, Drem and North Berwick, and the East Coast Main Line stops at Dunbar and East Linton, whose station reopened in December 2023. Queen Margaret University at Musselburgh, which brings staff and students to the west of the county. The new towns and estates at Wallyford, Blindwells and Letham Mains outside Haddington, which produce accidental landlords when owners move on and let rather than sell. And the coast itself, which keeps tenancies long in Gullane, North Berwick and Dunbar. The ONS Price Index of Private Rents put the county’s average rent at £1,415 a month in July 2026, up 1.6% in a year, with a two-bedroom home averaging £1,324. The register’s median sale price is the highest of the four Lothian councils, so gross yields sit below Midlothian’s and West Lothian’s. Short-term lets need a licence from the council, which matters in the coastal towns.