What Does Unfurnished Mean?

adg1

Un/Part/Fully furnished is a grey area.

To me, unfurnished means that white goods (fridge/freezer/cooker/washing machine) and floor coverings are provided. Thats the limit though.

Part furnished means everything from a sofa through to mostly furnished.

Fully furnished to me means everything down to the last tea spoon.

In my opinon, I would maybe think about a fridge but tell them where to stick their bedroom furniture. Only a thick tenant would assume that an UNfurnished would include some furniture.

I have always rented unfurnished and been provided with full white goods. If I were to rent my property unfurnished I would provide them too. I don't want a new tenant dragging a washing machine or dishwasher he probably hasn't drained properly over my nice carpets to the kitchen and ruining them.

From a tenants point of view, why would I want to move house with my own washing machine/dishwasher etc every time I move?! My £300 washing machine might not fit in the gap in the new kitchen or require another downpipe or water supply - then what do I do? I'd be able to start a new rival to Curry's with all the white goods I'd have left over!

I second the poster who stated the agent seem to be representing the tenant here. Remember who pays their fees - YOU.

NEH

We rent an unfurnished place and we got carpets, cooker, fridge freezer and that was it....We supplied our own curtains etc....and a fair few unfurnished places we looked at didn't have curtains so it's lucky he is getting them....

I did once look at an unfurnished place that didn't even have a cooker or haf the kitchen so it sounds like yours is fairly well eqquipped for unfurnished.

Danjames90

Some good advice thanks guys.

It appears that this is a grey area and that there is room for interpretation.

What is annoying is that I showed this tenant round my house with all my furniture in and said that none of it is staying. The tenant said she had a lot of stuff so no problem. The tenant has paid the deposit to the letting agent and we have agreed a moving in date and I am moving into my new house. At the 11th hour the tenant is now demanding more furniture, dinning tables, wardrobes etc... essentially hold me over a barrel. I have to now go an buy these things or I guess they are not moving in.

This is an expensive mistake I admit and I should have agreed this in writing prior to anything being agreed.

I know what people are going to say tell the tenant to stick it and find someone else but I am not in that position as I am moving to a new house and relying on the new tenant to pay a percentage of my mortgage.

NEH

Danjames90 wrote: »

Some good advice thanks guys.

It appears that this is a grey area and that there is room for interpretation.

What is annoying is that I showed this tenant round my house with all my furniture in and said that none of it is staying. The tenant said she had a lot of stuff so no problem. The tenant has paid the deposit to the letting agent and we have agreed a moving in date and I am moving into my new house. At the 11th hour the tenant is now demanding more furniture, dinning tables, wardrobes etc... essentially hold me over a barrel. I have to now go an buy these things or I guess they are not moving in.

This is an expensive mistake I admit and I should have agreed this in writing prior to anything being agreed.

I know what people are going to say tell the tenant to stick it and find someone else but I am not in that position as I am moving to a new house and relying on the new tenant to pay a percentage of my mortgage.

If you have to go out and buy that amount of furniture surely it is better to save the money and wait for a new tenant who accepts the place as it is? You wouldn lose more money on wasted furniture than getting another tenant in....

Jowo_2

How about a compromise - provide a fridge and be firm and say unfurnished means no furniture and you will not supply any other furniture. instruct your agent (who represents you) to remind the tenant that it was advertised as unfurnished and that the tenant was personally informed of this during the viewing.

yes, you may have a void period finding a new tenant who understands what unfurnished (or minimally furnished) actually means but then again, maybe the current tenant is going to be a pain with additional demands and petty issues during the tenancy.

landlordzone website has a good section on how to find a good agent.

Danjames90

Jowo wrote: »

How about a compromise - provide a fridge and be firm and say unfurnished means no furniture and you will not supply any other furniture. instruct your agent (who represents you) to remind the tenant that it was advertised as unfurnished and that the tenant was personally informed of this during the viewing.

yes, you may have a void period finding a new tenant who understands what unfurnished (or minimally furnished) actually means but then again, maybe the current tenant is going to be a pain with additional demands and petty issues during the tenancy.

landlordzone website has a good section on how to find a good agent.

Very true you might be right.

Here is the funny thing. I just spoke to the letting agent of the property I am renting out, which is a different agent to the one I am using to rent my house out. The house I am renting is unfurnished.

I asked this agent what does unfurnished mean and according to them they advertise a property with NO furniture as unfurnished and also a property with white good as unfurnished.

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

What a pickle...

NEH

Danjames90 wrote: »

Very true you might be right.

Here is the funny thing. I just spoke to the letting agent of the property I am renting out, which is a different agent to the one I am using to rent my house out. The house I am renting is unfurnished.

I asked this agent what does unfurnished mean and according to them they advertise a property with NO furniture as unfurnished and also a property with white good as unfurnished.

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

What a pickle...

Well we are renting out our flat once we get it ready and I know the agent was keen that we would consider putting a washing machne in even though it was unfurnished...One rule for one agent and one for another...

For our place here we even had to ask if we would be allowed to put up blinds...

casper_g

I'm currently renting an unfurnished house that came with carpets, some (not all) curtains, cooker, fridge, freezer, and a washing machine. Previous house (also let as unfurnished) had carpets, all curtains, cooker but no fridge, freezer or washing machine. There was a fridge-freezer in the kitchen when we looked round, but we were told it would not be included. After signing up, the landlord contacted us to say the outgoing tenant would be interested in selling us the fridge-freezer. I wondered how many generations of tenants in the house would have owned it over its lifetime....

ETA: Seems to me that unfurnished means a house doesn't come with furniture. The situation re. white goods is a bit variable, with things being more likely to be provided if they need more installation -- cookers, especially gas cookers, usually mean getting someone in to install them, so seem to be almost universally provided.

kitschkitty

We've always rented unfurnished and had a a cooker, all have been carpeted. Some have had a few curtains and lampshades but not necessarily in all rooms (don't consider that an issue to worry about at all).

First place was a bedsit and had a fridge too.
Second was a house had fridge freezer, washing machine and dishwasher too.
Current house has a washing machine which the LL replaced last year as the old one was so old it stopped working!

I'm sure I read that any let that includes a bed is classed as furnished, never mind what other stuff is included but it does seem a grey area.

At the end of the day the LL should decide what they want to provide, have a clear inventory and decide if they want to compromise to get in a tenant (and can afford to buy new items or arrange removal and storage of unwanted items if necessary).

seven-day-weekend

Geenie wrote: »

We don't leave it in the property. When the new tenant is viewing, often just after a previous one has left the day before, there is still stuff left in the property. We will say quite clearly it is going and not part of the tenancy agreement. We love nothing better then to clear a place out completely. But if a new tenant says they don't want certain items to be removed, then they sign to say so. We don't provide dishwashers, but if they want to keep the newish one of a previous tenant, and in 20 years we have never had any come back to us to replace or moan about it, then they do so off their own backs.

We have had tenants leave beds, wardrobes etc, which the new ones have wanted. They don't go on the inventory because we are more then happy to not have them as part of the deal. We let unfurnished. If tenants are happy to recycle, and what could be greener in this day, then that is their perogative. Haven't had any complaints yet, as common sense still goes down well here in rural Devon.

We did a similar thing when we were renting out a flat. It had all the flooring, curtains, light fittings, cooker etc and we were also including a fridge/freezer (although didn't need to).

However there was some furniture ( a sofa and a bed) left by a previous tenant. The new tenant said she wanted them, so we sold them to her for 50p and gave her a receipt. Then they became her possessions and not ours. We did this because we did not think they came up to safety regulations. We explained this to her and she was quite happy to pay 50p for her new furniture!

(She also left them in the flat at the end and we had to throw them away before selling it! )