Furnished vs unfurnished: a UK landlord's guide | August

Furnished, part-furnished or unfurnished: which should you choose?

Letting a property furnished, part-furnished or unfurnished is one of the first commercial decisions a landlord makes, and it shapes the rent you can charge, the tenants you attract, how long they stay and the costs and compliance you take on. A furnished let usually commands higher rent but carries more cost and more regulation. An unfurnished let tends to attract longer, steadier tenancies. Part-furnished sits between the two. The right choice depends on the property, its location and the tenant you want, rather than on a single rule that fits every rental.

What furnished, part-furnished and unfurnished mean

There is no statutory definition of a furnished, part-furnished or unfurnished property in the UK, so what each term includes is set by your tenancy agreement and your inventory rather than by law. That makes spelling out the contents in writing the single most important thing you can do, whichever level you choose.

Unfurnished does not mean empty. An unfurnished property almost always includes flooring, curtains or blinds, fitted kitchen units and the bathroom suite, and many landlords also provide white goods such as a cooker, fridge freezer and washing machine. A furnished property adds the items a tenant needs to move straight in, typically beds, wardrobes, sofas, and a dining table and chairs, and sometimes smaller appliances and kitchenware. Part-furnished is a defined middle ground, most often the white goods plus a few of the larger items, with the tenant bringing the rest.

One point of confusion is worth clearing up early. A furnished residential let is not the same thing as a furnished holiday let, which was a separate tax category for short-term holiday accommodation and whose special regime was withdrawn in April 2025. This guide is about standard residential lettings.

How much more rent does a furnished property earn?

A furnished property in the UK can command roughly 10 to 20 per cent more rent than the same property let unfurnished, although the premium depends heavily on location and tenant type. In city centres, university districts and areas with strong professional or short-stay demand, tenants will pay extra for the convenience of moving in with nothing but a suitcase. In family suburbs, where most tenants already own their furniture, the premium is often small or non-existent.

The headline premium is not the same as extra profit. Furnishing costs money upfront, the contents wear out and need replacing, and a furnished property can carry higher insurance and faster turnover. It is worth modelling the difference on a rental yield calculator and benchmarking against local listings before you assume furnishing pays. Our guide to setting the right rent covers how to read that local evidence.

Which tenants prefer each option?

Tenant demand is the factor that should drive the decision, because letting against local demand is what creates voids. Furnished and part-furnished properties suit professionals on work assignments, students, corporate tenants and anyone relocating at short notice, all of whom value moving in quickly and not owning furniture they would have to move again. Unfurnished properties suit families and long-term tenants who already own their belongings and want to make a home their own. Across the self-managing landlords we work with, the clearest pattern is that the furnishing level which matches the surrounding listings lets fastest, and the one that fights the local market sits empty longest.

Tenancy length, turnover and void risk

Historically, furnished lets turned over faster while unfurnished lets attracted longer tenancies, and that affected re-letting costs and void periods. The link between furnishing and lease length has now weakened. Since the Renters' Rights Act 2025 took effect on 1 May 2026, all assured tenancies in England are periodic, fixed terms have gone and Section 21 has been abolished, so you can no longer tie a tenant in for a fixed furnished or unfurnished term. The new tenancy landscape sets out what that means in practice. What has not changed is that frequent turnover costs money in voids, re-advertising and cleaning, so if you expect short stays, the furnished premium needs to cover that churn.

The cost of furnishing, and the tax position

Furnishing a property is a real upfront investment, often several thousand pounds for a flat, followed by ongoing replacement as items wear out. The tax treatment of that spend is widely misunderstood, so it is worth stating plainly.

You cannot claim the cost of first furnishing a property against your income tax. Since 6 April 2016 the old 10 per cent wear and tear allowance has been abolished and replaced by Replacement of Domestic Items relief, which (as at June 2026) lets landlords of furnished, part-furnished and unfurnished dwellings deduct the cost of replacing, rather than initially buying, domestic items such as movable furniture, white goods, soft furnishings and kitchenware, on a like-for-like basis. The practical consequence is that the relief now applies regardless of furnishing level. A furnished let does not attract a special allowance any more, it simply has more replaceable items, so it generates more replacement claims over time. This is also distinct from fair wear and tear, which governs what you can deduct from a deposit at the end of a tenancy rather than what you can claim against tax.

Because the relief turns on replacing specific items, the landlords who claim it cleanly are the ones who keep an itemised inventory and the receipts to match. Logging furniture and appliance costs as you incur them, for example in August's expense tracking, makes the year-end claim far simpler than reconstructing it from memory.

Fire safety and compliance for furnished and part-furnished lets

Any landlord who supplies upholstered furniture and soft furnishings must ensure they meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, as amended. The regulations set ignition-resistance standards for items such as sofas, armchairs, beds, headboards, mattresses and scatter cushions, require a permanent fire-safety label, and are enforced by local Trading Standards, with criminal penalties for non-compliance. Furnished and part-furnished lets carry this duty in full, while an unfurnished let where the tenant supplies their own furniture carries far less of it. Furnished properties also typically need contents insurance to cover the items you own.

The extra compliance is manageable, but it is real, and it is one more reason the furnished premium has to earn its place. Keeping the fire-safety position, certificates and renewal dates in one compliance checklist keeps the obligation from slipping through the cracks across a portfolio.

Furnished vs unfurnished: a side-by-side comparison

So which should you choose?

For a city-centre flat aimed at professionals or students, furnished or part-furnished usually wins, because the tenants expect it, it lets faster and the rent premium tends to be real. For a family house in a residential area, unfurnished is normally the stronger choice, since most tenants bring their own furniture, stay longer and demand less maintenance. Where local demand is mixed or you are unsure, part-furnished is a sensible hedge, offering the white goods and a few key items that remove a tenant's biggest moving headaches without committing you to fully furnishing and insuring a property. Whatever you decide, read the local listings, match what comparable properties offer, set out the contents in the tenancy agreement and back it with a signed inventory.

If you want one place to hold the inventory, the receipts behind your replacement-relief claims and the fire-safety and certificate dates for each property, you can start with August for free and keep the whole furnished-or-unfurnished decision properly documented from day one.

Frequently asked questions

What does part furnished mean? 

Part-furnished means the landlord supplies some, but not all, of the furniture and appliances, most commonly the white goods plus a few larger items such as beds or wardrobes, with the tenant providing the rest. Because there is no legal definition, the exact contents should be listed in the tenancy agreement and inventory.

Does an unfurnished property have to be completely empty? 

No. Unfurnished does not mean bare. An unfurnished property usually still includes flooring, curtains or blinds, fitted kitchen units and the bathroom suite, and many landlords also provide white goods such as a cooker, fridge freezer and washing machine.

Can landlords claim the cost of furniture against tax? 

You cannot claim the cost of first furnishing a property. You can claim the cost of replacing existing domestic items, on a like-for-like basis, through Replacement of Domestic Items relief, which applies to furnished, part-furnished and unfurnished dwellings alike.

Is furnished or unfurnished better for landlords? 

Neither is better in every case. Furnished can earn a higher rent but costs more to set up and maintain and carries fire-safety duties, while unfurnished tends to attract longer tenancies and lower running costs. The right answer depends on the property, its location and the tenants you want to reach.