TENANTS in an Edinburgh residential block have been hit with an almost 20% rent increase, with a tenant campaign group calling the move “appalling”.
Residents of Dockside, a build-to-rent 373 unit block of flats near Ocean Terminal in Leith, were made aware of the increase in August of this year. The build-to-rent block, which opened in 2024, advertises studios, one-bed, two-bed, and three-bed apartments, ranging from £1525 per month to £2200 per month for residents paying full-price rent.
It is owned by property developers Goodstone Living, which also owns blocks in Birmingham and London.
Residents who have been hit with the highest price increase are those paying Intermediate Market Rent (IMR), who rely on rents set below market rent. Several tenants on IMR saw their rent increase by 18%, with documents from one tenant showing their rent increasing from £747.93 per month to £885.60 per month.
In March 2026, the Scottish Government laid out regulation exempting mid-market rent, intermediate market rent, and build-to-rent properties from rent controls under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, despite 94% of respondents to a September 2025 consultation stating their opposition to the plans.
Francesca Menichetti, who has lived in Dockside since it opened, said that residents on IMR rent were “told the increase was because of maintenance fees.”
She added: “I was told it was going to be a reasonable increase.”
Menichetti also said that residents are concerned as to where funds are being placed by Dockside, which she says includes advertising screens in the reception area.
She said: “We don’t really want the flatscreens as tenants that show advertisements such as gambling.”
Another resident, who wished to remain unnamed, said that they had been told by Dockside that rents would be increased once a year, but that they did not expect an 18% increase.
Residents concerned about the increase requested a meeting with building managers, with several noting that prior to the rent increases, Dockside had requested tenants to review their experience of living in the block. Following the meeting, a tenant said that residents “all felt a bit used, like props to get good reviews” by Dockside.
In an email sent to residents, Dockside said that “rents for these homes are reviewed annually in different ways” with “any proposed rent change is discussed at the 12-month anniversary of a tenancy.”
It added that its rents “are below the allowable threshold that is set by the Government.”
Izzi Brannen, member defence organiser for the tenant campaign group Living Rent, said: “An 18% rent increase is appalling, unaffordable and will push these tenants’ rents to the limit of what current guidance on intermediate and mid market rent allows.
“It is clear that Goodstone Living do not care about their tenants. They issued the rent increase as soon as they were able to, highlighting how opportunistic mid-market and intermediate landlords have become.
“The rapid increase in rents by this corporate landlord is making a farce of what constitutes ‘affordable housing’ where landlords are hiking up rents far beyond what is affordable for tenants. Intermediate market rents are supposed to protect low-income tenants from the hyper-inflated private rental market; they are not a cash cow that developers can use to milk their tenants dry.
“Goodstone needs to stop these rent hikes immediately. But crucially this behaviour highlights the lack of regulation or oversight of the intermediate and mid market sector. This behaviour is the perfect example of why mid-market tenancies cannot be made exempt from rent controls. Mid market tenants desperately need rent controls now.”
Dockside and Goodstone Living did not respond to a request for comment.
