For landlords of rental houses and apartments, opting to furnish your property can help you to maximise your tenant pool and increase interest in, and drive demand for, your listing.
In this guide to all things furniture for rental properties, we’ll cover why you should consider furnishing your property, and the kinds of furniture you should consider.
Why Opt to Furnish Your Rental Property?
While families looking for a long-term property or couples renting their first home together may seek unfurnished properties, the convenience, flexibility and lower bar to entry offered by furnished rental properties is appealing to:
- Families and couples looking for a short-term rental property
- Young professionals
- Corporate tenants
- Students
- Single people (first time renters or those with a history of renting)
But, choosing furniture for rental properties takes careful consideration. In fact, 2/3's of UK tenants say they’re prepared to pay more for a well-furnished rental home, while between 23-26% report that dated, poor-quality furniture is a reason for them to discount a property. Choose carefully, and you could create a space that tenants fall in love with.
If you’re prepared to store your furniture, you could also offer your property in both states of furnishing, to widen your tenant pool further.
Got an Airbnb property? Your choice of furniture is equally important, helping you stand out from the many other listings in your area, and drive bookings.
Choosing the Right Furniture for Rental Properties
When approaching furnishing your rental property, you first have to decide whether you’re going to offer a fully furnished (featuring all the furniture your tenants could need), or part-furnished property (featuring only the basic essentials).
But before we dive into the perfect furniture for rental properties, let’s tackle some general rules of thumb to guide your search:
- Find durable furniture and furnishings that balance quality, attractiveness, and affordability. Buy once, cry once. Buy cheap, buy twice.
- Provide a fully functioning quality kitchen and bathroom with adequate extraction and ventilation.
- Be generous with lighting
- Choose hardwearing flooring that is durable and easy to clean - such as tiles, laminate flooring, engineered hardwood etc.
Your Furniture for Rental Properties Checklist
Part-Furnished Must Haves:
When it comes to seeking furniture for part-furnished rental properties, consider the core pieces that make a space feel homely and comfortable, but leave room for your tenants to add to the space with their own furniture choices and personalise the space to their unique taste.
Part-furnished properties should have:
Core Living Space(s): A sofa and armchair, media unit/TV stand/TVmount, coffee table and sideboard, dining table and chairs, and an office desk and check for remote working or gaming.
Consider bean bag sofa and chair models like ours as an affordable, unique, stylish, ultra comfortable, easy-to-wash alternative to traditional seating. Enabling your tenants to personalise their seating by purchasing a new bean bag cover in their choice of colour from your chosen manufacturer, they’re an excellent option for landlords seeking furniture for rental properties.
Bedrooms: Wardrobe, chest of drawers, bedside table, a bed frame, and a mattress if you so choose (which should be replaced at least every 8 years).
Fully Furnished Rental Properties & Airbnb’s:
You’ve no doubt curated the furniture and aesthetic elements in your own home over many years, or most of your lifetime, but when it comes to finding the perfect furniture for rental properties it’s a blank slate. There’s a lot to consider!
This is why some landlords choose to buy furniture packs from specialist landlord furniture companies, while others want to give their rental property a personal, curated aesthetic, and save some money in the process. If this is you, this checklist is for you.
The following items are in addition to those covered in the part-furnished section:
Core Living Space(s): Console tables, custom shelving, ladder shelving, side tables, standing lamps, sofa cushions, floor cushions (great for a reading nook), and throws.
Bedrooms: Ottoman, chests, luggage stands (for holiday rents) and storage units for clothing organisation.
Kitchen: Kitchen island and bar style chairs, new oven tray, kitchen bin, cooking utensils and holders, microwave and toaster, cutlery, plates and plans (especially for Airbnb properties).
Bathroom: Bathroom mirror, bathroom bins, toothbrush holders, soap dispensers, toiletries storage, and toilet brush.
Cleaning Equipment: For short-term renters and Airbnb guests, cleaning equipment like a mop and bucket, vacuum, dustpan and brush, ironing board and iron, and maiden are a great addition.
Decorative Elements: No list of furniture for rental properties would be complete without touching on key decorative essentials required across all kinds of rooms, like light fittings/ceiling light shades, rugs, mirrors, wall art, table lamps, ornaments and clocks.
So, go! Go create the most in demand rental property out there. Seating is going to be a major consideration in buying furniture for your rental property, so if you have any questions about bean bag seating, don’t hesitate to contact our team.
