What Does Unfurnished Mean?

Danjames90

I am renting out a property as unfurnished and took this to mean just that, no furniture.

The only things I am leaving is carpets, blinds and a cooker and nothing else. I have had a call from my letting agent who has told me that the tenant is not happy as I am not leaving a fridge and bedroom furniture.

What are peoples thoughts?

Am I in the wrong?

After a little research on the net it appears there is no agreed standard on what unfurnished, part furnished and furnished means. There is a lot of scope for interpretation and each letting agency translates this differently.

A word of warning to anyone renting out their property is to get this definition from your letting agent upfront and agree with your tenant EXACTLY what is being left.

Sounds obvious now. Its a lesson learned..............

niklepic

ours was marketed as part-furnished. on looking at it, it turns out thta our house has white goods and a desk in the spare bedroom :rolleyes:

might just be me but i always thought unfurnished was just that - unfurnished, ie. no furniture!!

emsywoo123

I have rented a few houses in the last 10 yrs, always unfurnished, and all I expect is the things you listed.......I have my own furniture

pastmybest

We have spent a few days looking at unfurnished for rent and found exactly as you say you thought. No furniture but with carpets, blinds, ceiling light fittings and a cooker. A odd one only had fridge and freezer.

Ulfar

Unfurnished to me means a cooker and heating, no furniture.

I have had a Landlord in the past try to say that he didn't have to repair a gas cooker when it went wrong half way through the tenancy because the flat was classed as unfurnished.

This didn't wash with myself or the private rent officer at the council. Cookershave to be covered by the gas safety certificate and that is why I wouldn't class them as furniture but a fixture, a bit like the boiler.

Fridge/Freezer is different they are freestanding, I would always check when viewing a property what is included. Sometimes like you have just found out it gives an indication of how nice the Landlord is.

superfran_uk

Never rented 'unfurnished' and been left anything more than blinds, carpets, lightshades, curtains and a cooker. When I was renting I have everything else myself and I wouldn't be able to store them anywhere, so any furnishings wn the house would have been a nightmare!

Think your tenant might be a bit on the dim side...I would watch out for them!

Little_Miss_Saving_Money

Unfurnished in my book normally means - no furniture. Did the letting agent not ask you for an "inventory" to list things like carpets, curtains, blinds, light fittings, shower door/shower curtain etc.

I can only speak of Spain where we rent at the mo and normally, even though unfurnished, the owner usually supplies all white goods.

Perhpa the tenants are trying you for a few extra things?

Hope all works out well for you, LMSM

LeeSouthEast

'Unfurnished' in my view as an ex-tenant should mean carpets, blinds/curtains if I am lucky, and a cooker. Everything else is self-supply!

VickyA_2

The past 3 houses that we have rented were all unfurnished and for that we got carpets, curtains/blinds and a cooker. Nothing more.

G_M

I have had a call from my letting agent who has told me that the tenant is not happy as I am not leaving a fridge and bedroom furniture.

I don't understand. Your post reads as if you already have a tenant in occupancy. So presumably you, and he, have signed an agreed inventory?

So the tenant knew what he was getting.

If on the other hand this is a prospective tenant, who is reluctant to sign/move in unless you provide certain items, well then it's up to you to decide whether getting this tenant in place is worth the cost of the extra items.

Entirely up to you.

sillyvixen

unfurnished - curtains and carpet and cooker - no furnishings as such, certainly not bedroom furniture!! in the last unfurnished rental i had contained the 3 c's plus an integrated dishwasher as a added bonus - we did not notice it was there when we viewed and only found it after moving in and discovering it was not a cupboard!