‘To furnish or not to furnish?’ – advice for landlords

Landlords are often advised by letting agents that it is easier to find a tenant for a furnished property than an unfurnished one. However, contrary to popular belief, it may not be the best option for you to offer the property furnished. It is expensive to buy and maintain furniture and if the tenant doesn’t want the property furnished, it is yet another cost to move and store that furniture.

Whether a property is offered furnished or not often depends on its type. Most four or five bedroom houses would usually be marketed unfurnished but a typical urban apartment frequently comes ready furnished. However landlords should not feel compelled to offer a property furnished just because the agent thinks that will help it let more quickly.

When asked the question of whether to furnish or not to furnish, we believe that marketing your property as unfurnished but with a furniture rental option is the happy medium. It means the property can appeal to tenants that both want furnished and unfurnished, thus capturing both sides of the market, without any costly outlay on your behalf.

Nowadays the tenant market, especially in London, has very high expectations for their rental property and values flexibility and choice.

Allowing tenants to personalise a property by enabling them to select their own furnishings can also benefit the landlord, as it often means the tenant wants to stay put for longer. It also means they can choose a level of furnishing to suit their needs

We believe that enabling landlords to offer a quality furniture rental service is something that is increasingly valued by tenants. With a boom in the global mobility market and young professionals finding it increasingly difficult to get a foot on the property ladder, it makes financial sense for landlords to broaden their offer to the ever growing and demanding rental sector.

Our furniture rental agreements are usually negotiated directly with the tenants, giving them a hassle-free choice of furnishings tailored to their taste, lifestyle and tenancy length, which in turn allows the landlord to concentrate their cash and energies in their core business. However, if a landlord does still wish to let their property furnished, we also offer a long-term managed rental option, which is a very cost effective alternative to an upfront capital outlay on furniture and possible storage should tenant circumstances change.

Next time we will look at the question of whether to furnish or not to furnish from the letting agents’ perspective.