Cambridge commuters and professionals
Professional couples and single professionals commuting into Cambridge make up the largest group of tenants. They tend to be on the 15-minute train, or working remotely for London employers. They want two or three-bed houses with outside space, and they tend to stay for at least a couple of years because Ely gives them the balance of small-city life and easy access to work.
Healthcare and life sciences workers
The Cambridge biomedical cluster means a steady flow of AstraZeneca staff and healthcare workers come to rent in Ely. This group tends to stay in properties for longer than the wider tenant base, because contracts and postings in the sector often run for a few years. They’re also less price-sensitive and tend to look at the three-bed and four-bed end of the market.
Families and local movers
A meaningful part of the rental market is families who are upsizing from smaller properties, or local buyers who’ve sold and are renting between purchases. This group brings the steadiest demand and the most predictable behaviour: they not only know the town, they know the school catchments, and exactly what they’re looking for. They also tend to renew tenancies year on year rather than moving on.
International arrivals
American families posted to the region for work make up the largest part of Ely’s international tenant base, alongside occasional academic and research arrivals and short-term corporate placements. These tenancies tend to run for the length of the posting or contract, and American families in particular tend to settle into one property rather than moving between rentals mid-stay, which makes them a steady part of the mix.
Why Ely works for landlords
Ely is a rare rental market. It combines quick let times with stable rent growth, and if there’s a downturn in one, it’s not the end of the world. This is the top-line reason landlord enquiries into Ely have picked up through 2025 and 2026.
Who you’ll be letting to
The mixed tenant base is the most valuable thing about Ely for a landlord. Healthcare workers and life sciences professionals bring longer average tenancies than the market norm, because their contracts often run for multiple years. American families posted here for work typically stay for the length of the posting rather than moving halfway through. Cambridge commuters and local families provide the steady turnover between them and so that mix of demand also means voids tend to be short. When one segment softens, the others usually don’t.
Where landlords are buying
The best-established landlord play in Ely is a two or three-bed house with parking and outside space in central or east Ely, on or near the streets that let fastest. The value alternative is the north side of the city, where the same kind of house comes in at a lower purchase price and still lets at around £1,100 per calendar month. If you don’t need the fastest let time in the town and you’re happy with the trade-off of a slightly quieter demand pool, north Ely delivers better yield.
Flats, however, are not the strongest Ely landlord bet. Tenants here want outside space and parking, and while two-bed flats let quickly, the ceiling on rent is lower and the tenant pool is a bit smaller. Houses are what the Ely market rewards.
A quick note on the new-build supply
Unusually for a Cambridgeshire market with active new-build development, Ely’s new supply is largely going to owner-occupiers rather than landlords. Taylor Wimpey, Linden Homes and Hopkins Homes have all been active in and around Ely, but the buyers on those developments have mostly been families and Cambridge relocators purchasing to live in the properties themselves. For existing landlords, that’s good news. You’re not going to see a wave of new rental supply appearing on the market and putting a lid on rents.
The Renters’ Rights Act
The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has changed how tenancies work across the country. Cheffins’ Renters’ Rights Act hub covers the practical implications for landlords, including the new tenancy structure, notice periods, and how to prepare your existing tenancies for the transition.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average rent in Ely?
The average rent in Ely across Cheffins’ active rentals is £1,200 per calendar month. This ranges from £900 for a two-bedroom flat up to £2,042 for a four-bedroom house, with two-bedroom houses at £1,100 and three-bedroom houses at £1,397.
How quickly do rental properties let in Ely?
Well-priced properties in Ely are letting within four weeks of instruction, and popular addresses near the station and around King’s School often go even faster than that. Cheffins agrees a lot of Ely tenancies before the property has fully reached the portals, because our registered applicant list is deep enough to find a match at listing.
Are rents rising or falling in Ely?
Rents in Ely have grown 20% since 2022, from £1,002 to £1,200 today. Rather than falling, like some other regions, rents have been flat in the past 12 months. That puts Ely in a different position to Newmarket, where rents have softened by around 10%, and to Saffron Walden, which has gone through a peak-and-fall.
Who rents in Ely?
Ely doesn’t have a typical tenant. Cambridge commuters and single professionals make up the largest group, followed by healthcare and life sciences workers (including AstraZeneca staff), local families upsizing or renting between purchases, and a smaller international contingent including American families posted here for work. The variety is what makes Ely’s demand base an unusually resilient one.
Where should I invest in Ely as a landlord?
Two-bed and three-bed houses with parking and outside space are the strongest Ely landlord bet, and the streets near the station (Broad Street, Victoria Street, Back Hill) are the highest-demand addresses. If you’re looking for better yield on a lower purchase price, the north side of Ely offers the same kind of property at a lower entry price and lets around £1,100 per calendar month.