Q: What is the best site or way to find house rentals in Iceland? Long and short term?
Kim Bohon, Iceland (originally from Burleson, Texas, USA)
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A: The rental market in Reykjavík is difficult for renters; the selection is sparse and available apartments sought after, especially in the city center and surrounding neighborhoods, and the price is rather high.
For example, a 80 to 100-square-meter apartment with two to three bedrooms in an apartment complex in postal code 105 Reykjavík, could be rented for approx. ISK 280,000 (USD 1,945, EUR 1,870) monthly, while a 60-square meter apartment with one bedroom in an apartment complex in the suburb Grafarvogur, 112 Reykjavík, went for ISK 240,000 (USD 1,670, EUR 1,600) per month, as stated on mbl.is. (Numbers as of Nov. 2022.)
On leigulistinn.is, a 10-square meter room in Torfufell in 111 Reykjavík was advertised for ISK 80,000 (USD 560, EUR 530) per month, while a 12-square-meter room on Hringbraut, in Vesturbær 101 Reykjavík, was rented for ISK 120,000 (USD 830, EUR 800) monthly (Numbers as of 2011).
The main three websites with information on rental apartments in Reykjavík are Leigulistinn, Leiga.is and news website mbl.is under properties (“Leigueignir”).
For the first two websites you might be able to receive help via email: [email protected] and [email protected], but please note that on Leigulistinn you have to pay a small fee for using the website. In the ads on mbl.is, telephone numbers and emails are usually included (if you’re calling from abroad, dial +354 first).
Rent tends to be lower outside the capital region and in smaller towns but not necessarily.
There are several Facebook groups where rental housing is listed and where you can post about what you are looking for. ‘Leiga‘ (e. Rental) is the biggest of those groups, other groups include ‘Leiga á Íslandi / Rent in Iceland‘, ‘Leiga í Reykjavik – Rent in Reykjavik‘ (focus on accommodation in Reykjavik) and ‘Leiga 101 Reykjavík‘ (rental housing in downtown Reykjavík only, postal code 101).
As for short-term rental accommodation, holiday apartments or cottages, there are a few websites you can check out.
In Reykjavík, there is for example airbnb.com, and in Akureyri in the north, there is a range of options presented by Visit North Iceland.
For summer houses around the country, viatis.is has a good selection.
