So you want to rent out your property, but you now have a decision.
Should you rent the property furnished, unfurnished or part-furnished?
Lets define the differences firstly:
- Unfurnished – unfurnished is the most popular and easiest to find tenants as it allows room for the tenants to bring their own items of furniture including bedroom furniture and beds which tend to be more personal. Unfurnished generally means that carpets, curtains and some white goods (i.e. fridge, cooker) are included.
- Part-furnished – this really is somewhere between the two – several items such as wardrobes, dining table and chairs may be supplied, but not beds, 3-piece suites, TV, dish washers, washing machines tumble dryers.
- Furnished – it’s to the landlord’s discretion and to some extent by negotiation as to the standard and amount of furniture required by your target tenant group. In a fully furnished letting you would expect to see similar to above with the addition of beds, 3-piece suites – in fact everything needed to make a comfortable living home. Crockery, cutlery, towels, bedding etc while expected in the high-end lettings may be subject to negotiation and not always provided.
When you have viewings of a property, while still tenanted, point out to the new tenants exactly what is to be included and excluded and discuss requirements then.
Property Guide for Furnished or Unfurnished
If you are willing to be flexible as a landlord, for example removing and storing unwanted items or adding additional items as required, you will increase your chances of letting quickly, increasing your annual rental income.
Furnishings Fire and Safety
So the choice of furnishing may make a difference when you discover recent legislation. This outlines furnishings regulations act 1998. Fire and safety has meant that upholstered articles must have a fire resistant filling, they must have passed a match resistance test or, if certain typesbe used with a fire resistant interliner and the cover fabric and the filling material must have passed a cigarette resistance test.
The regulations apply to beds, headboards, mattresses, sofa beds, nursery furniture, scatter cushions and seat pads, pillows, loose and stretch covers for furniture. The regulations do not apply to: antique furniture or any furniture manufactured before 1950, and bed clothes (including duvets) loose covers for all mattresses, pillowcases, curtains, carpets and sleeping bags since 1st march 1993. All properties rented from that date must have fire/cigarette resistant furniture and coverings. Lettings beginning prior to 1st march 1993 must have fire resistant furniture by 1st July 1997.
Landlords Responsibility for Furnished Property
Compliant labels should be displayed on all suitable furniture, a copy of which is shown below. As a guideline, all furniture purchased after 1st march 1990 from a reputable uk manufacturer or retailer are likely to meet the required standards and exhibit suitable labels. All furniture will display the appropriate safety label at point of purchase and all new furniture must now display a permanent and non-detachable label.
As a landlord it’s a punishable offense to supply soft furnishings which do not meet official fire resistant standards and carry permanent labels to that effect. All landlords must comply and there will be no exceptions to this rule. If items do not comply with the above-mentioned standards, they should be removed prior to the tenancy commencing. You may not sell or give any non-compliant items to the tenant.
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