GlobeQuest

Where to live in Glasgow

The best value of any major city in this set for the quality of the housing stock — Glasgow's West End and Southside tenements are as handsome as Edinburgh's and cost roughly a quarter less. The legal position is Scotland's, which is the most tenant-friendly in the UK: every private let is an open-ended Private Residential Tenancy you can leave on 28 days' notice. The one thing to interrogate before signing is the building rather than the flat, because tenement roofs, closes and gutters are shared and their repair history tells you more than the interior photos do.

The neighbourhoods

West End — Hillhead, Dowanhill & Hyndland

GBP 900–1,250 / month for a 1-bed

Victorian terraces around the university, Byres Road, Kelvingrove and the Botanic Gardens

Young professionalsWalkableCultureParks

Commute: 10–15 minutes to the centre on the Subway

  • The most attractive tenement stock in the city
  • Kelvingrove Park, the Botanics and the university on the doorstep
  • Subway stations at both ends and excellent bus links
  • The most expensive part of Glasgow
  • Heavily student around Hillhead in term time
  • Parking is permit-controlled and genuinely scarce

Finnieston & Yorkhill

GBP 850–1,200 / month for a 1-bed

Between the West End and the river — the city's densest run of restaurants and bars, and the SEC arena

FoodiesNightlifeYoung professionalsTransit

Commute: 10 minutes to the centre on foot or by train

  • Best eating and drinking in Glasgow along Argyle Street
  • Walk to the centre and the West End both
  • Exhibition Centre station gives fast trains west and into town
  • Event nights at the Hydro make the whole area impassable
  • Prices have risen sharply and are now near West End levels
  • The motorway edge is loud on some streets

Southside — Shawlands & Strathbungo

GBP 700–950 / month for a 1-bed

Where the West End's prices sent everyone — a strong high street, Queen's Park, and Alexander Thomson terraces

FamiliesValueFoodiesParks

Commute: 10 minutes to Central station by train

  • Much better value than the West End for equivalent tenement stock
  • Queen's Park and the Southside's best independent food
  • Frequent direct trains into Central
  • Less nightlife than Finnieston or the centre
  • No Subway on this side, so trains and buses only
  • Gentrifying fast and prices are climbing

Dennistoun & Alexandra Park

GBP 600–850 / month for a 1-bed

East End tenements with the best value close to the centre, a genuine local high street and a big park

BudgetYoung professionalsCommunityTransit

Commute: 10 minutes to the centre by bus, 15 on foot

  • Cheapest good tenement stock within walking distance of the centre
  • Duke Street has genuinely improved and has good independents
  • Alexandra Park and the Necropolis both close
  • Patchier street by street than the West End or Southside
  • Some buildings have significant deferred common repairs
  • Fewer amenities than its rents-adjusted reputation suggests

Pollokshields & Maxwell Park

GBP 750–1,050 / month for a 1-bed

Wide leafy streets, large sandstone villas and Scotland's best South Asian food

FamiliesSpaceFoodiesQuiet

Commute: 10–15 minutes to Central station by train

  • The largest and greenest properties close to the centre
  • Outstanding food along Albert Drive and Kenmure Street
  • Pollok Country Park and the Burrell nearby
  • Quiet in the evenings compared with the West End
  • East and west Pollokshields are very different in character
  • Larger flats and villas mean higher heating bills

Merchant City & the centre

GBP 800–1,150 / month for a 1-bed

Converted warehouses and new build in the grid, with everything within a ten-minute walk

CentralWalkableNightlifeModern buildings

Commute: Walk to almost everything

  • Genuinely central with both main stations and the Subway
  • Warehouse conversions with lifts and modern layouts
  • Best placed for the city's nightlife and theatres
  • Loud on weekend nights
  • Very little green space
  • The city centre has visible vacancy and street-level problems in parts

How renting works in Glasgow

Every private let in Scotland since December 2017 is a Private Residential Tenancy: open-ended with no fixed term, ending only when you give 28 days' notice or the landlord establishes one of a defined set of grounds. Deposits are capped at two months' rent and must be lodged with an approved scheme within 30 working days. Rent can be raised only once in any twelve months and only on at least three months' written notice on the prescribed form, and you can refer an increase to a rent officer within the window stated on that notice. Letting agents cannot charge tenants fees — unlawful in Scotland since 2012, well before England.

  1. 1

    Understand you are not signing a fixed term

    Scotland abolished fixed-term private tenancies in 2017. Your tenancy runs until you end it with 28 days' notice, at any point, for any reason. The landlord can only end it on specific statutory grounds. This is better than England's position even after the Renters' Rights Act, because England's tenant notice period is two months against Scotland's 28 days.

  2. 2

    Ask who factors the building and what repairs are outstanding

    Most Glasgow tenements share a roof, close, stairwell and gutters, managed by a factor registered with the Scottish Government. As a tenant you should not be billed for common repairs — that is the owner's cost — but a building with a disputed factor or a deferred roof will disrupt your life and can mean scaffolding for months. Ask the agent directly and ask a neighbour if you can.

  3. 3

    Check the landlord is registered

    Scottish landlords must be registered with the local authority, and the registration number should appear on any advertisement. You can search the register online. An unregistered landlord is committing an offence, and this is the fastest quality filter available to you.

  4. 4

    Confirm the deposit goes into an approved scheme

    The landlord must lodge your deposit with one of the government-approved tenancy deposit schemes within 30 working days and tell you which. If they do not, you can apply to the tribunal for up to three times the deposit.

  5. 5

    Do not pay any letting agent fee

    Charging tenants a fee for a tenancy has been unlawful in Scotland since 2012. Any agent asking for an administration, referencing or renewal fee is acting unlawfully. Deposits and rent in advance are the only lawful payments.

  6. 6

    Look hard for damp before you commit

    Pre-1919 sandstone tenements have solid walls and no cavity, and poorly maintained ones get rising and penetrating damp. Check the corners of external walls, behind furniture and around the window reveals. A landlord's duty to keep the property free of damp is enforceable through the First-tier Tribunal, but it is much easier not to move in.

Upfront cost

Typically one to two months' rent as a deposit — capped at two months in Scotland — plus the first month in advance. Letting agent fees to tenants are unlawful. So around two to three months' rent in total, and on Glasgow's rents that is one of the lowest cash requirements of any city in this set.

Where to search

Rightmove and Zoopla — the dominant UK portalsCitylets, Scotland-specific and where a lot of Glasgow stock appears firstS1homes, long-established and still widely used by Glasgow landlordsSpareRoom for houseshares, very active in the West End and SouthsideFacebook groups for Glasgow flatshares, busiest around the academic yearThe Scottish Landlord Register, to check any landlord before committing

Insider tips

  • The 28-day notice right is genuinely valuable — take somewhere adequate while you learn which side of the river you want to be on, then move properly.
  • The Southside is where the value is now. Shawlands and Strathbungo give you West End housing stock at a meaningful discount, on a fast train line into Central.
  • Ask what floor the flat is on and whether the close has a controlled entry. Top-floor tenement flats are quieter and lighter but there is no lift, ever.
  • Check the EPC rating and ask what it costs to heat. Solid sandstone walls and high ceilings are beautiful and expensive in January.
  • September is the worst month to look, with three universities intaking at once. May and June are far easier.
  • Bin collection and back-court condition vary a lot between closes. Walk round the back of the building before you sign — it tells you more about how the place is run than the flat does.

Avoid these

  • Assuming a fixed term exists — Scottish tenancies are open-ended and you can leave on 28 days' notice.
  • Signing a tenement lease without asking who factors the building or what common repairs are pending.
  • Paying a letting agent fee, which has been unlawful in Scotland since 2012.
  • Not confirming the deposit was lodged in an approved scheme within 30 working days.
  • Accepting visible damp as a normal feature of old buildings rather than a repairing obligation.
  • Budgeting rent without Council Tax, which the occupier pays separately.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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