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Furnished or Unfurnished - How should you let your Property?

Whenever you consider letting a new property, the question of its contents naturally arises. Whether to offer furnished or unfurnished property might initially seem just a matter of convenience. However, the decisions can affect what sort of tenants you attract and how you prepare for them.

In this article, we’ll examine some of the pros and cons of furnished and unfurnished properties to let and what you should consider.

First, let’s establish what we mean by a furnished vs an unfurnished property.

How to Define Unfurnished, Part-Furnished and Furnished Properties

In an unfurnished property, tenants will only find minimal fixtures and fittings. Generally, this includes bathroom and kitchen fixtures, flooring, and carpets. Basic appliances like a fridge, freezer, oven and washing machine are also usually included. However, this may differ from landlord to landlord.

If on top of these appliances, your property includes a dining table or wardrobe, it would already be considered partially furnished.

A part-furnished property marks a midway point between unfurnished and furnished. It includes some furniture, in other words, but restricts its furnishings to the bare minimum to make it liveable. There are no homely touches or accessories, like coffee tables or lamps.

And finally, a furnished property should make tenants feel like they are moving into a completed home. No tenant should have to purchase additional furniture. This means there should be a bed in each room, a sofa, comfort appliances like a TV, microwave, kettle, and even necessities like cutlery and crockery.

Furnished vs Unfurnished Properties: Pros and Cons

The advantages of unfurnished properties include the following:

Unfurnished properties attract tenants that want to stay for longer. They’ll be people who want to bring their own furniture, making the whole process more costly, lengthy and involved, and therefore more committed. This can mean viewer voids in your properties’ letting.

On the other hand, furnished properties are a great way to attract students and professionals. However, they might be quicker to move on again.

An unfurnished property allows tenants to furnish as they see fit. So you won’t get requests to replace furniture they don’t like.

You don’t need to worry about wear and tear on furniture. This makes the inventory simpler.

With furnished properties, the responsibility for replacing broken items is down to you. With unfurnished property, the tenants own their own things, so they must replace them. It’s also your responsibility to ensure furnished properties are fire-safe and that appliances are tested.

You can charge a higher amount of rent for furnished properties. This is especially handy if you’re paying off the mortgage on the property you’re letting.

Do You Need an Inventory of Unfurnished Properties?

While unfurnished properties appear empty, there's still lots to note on the initial inventory, such as the state of carpets, walls, windows, doors, basic appliances and more. Furnished properties are far more involved, as you also have to note the wear and tear on all furniture.

The extensive paperwork of a property inventory can be a hassle. If you’re unsure how best to organise it, you sadly won’t find a free inventory clerk to help you. But you may very well make use of a free inventory clerk app like Reports2Go.

Our simple free inventory app allows you to combine images and notes and even dictate observations to be written down on your mobile device. In addition, the free inventory app easily compares older and newer inventory versions and guides you through the process.

Visit our website to learn more!

Gary, 18 November 2022