Leaving my furniture behind in rented flat

en10jjp

I’m moving out of my current flat in a few weeks and it’s now being advertised on all the property sites as ‘furnished.’ This is incorrect as I originally rented the flat unfurnished and provided all of the furniture myself.

My new flat is furnished, so once I’ve taken everything I need (which won’t be a lot, if anything) I’d be happy to leave the rest in there provided I was compensated in some way for doing so, given that they’ll be getting extra rent for a furnished flat – I was thinking maybe 50% reduced rent for the final month of the tenancy? Does that sound like something the landlords and agents would entertain?

natrapx

Hell no.

They'll charge you a "disposal fee" instead.

HappyMJ

en10jjp wrote: »

I’m moving out of my current flat in a few weeks and it’s now being advertised on all the property sites as ‘furnished.’ This is incorrect as I originally rented the flat unfurnished and provided all of the furniture myself.

My new flat is furnished, so once I’ve taken everything I need (which won’t be a lot, if anything) I’d be happy to leave the rest in there provided I was compensated in some way for doing so, given that they’ll be getting extra rent for a furnished flat – I was thinking maybe 50% reduced rent for the final month of the tenancy? Does that sound like something the landlords and agents would entertain?

Not to me...and that's me speaking as a landlord.

I would only let out unfurnished houses/flats. It may be a mistake by agency.

As a tenant I would take everything. You can be charged by LL to dispose of your items so take it all out.

elverson

Discuss it with the landlord first. If you can agree it in writing with the landlord then great - but don't just leave it to chance.

It's either a mistake by the agency, or the landlord is planning to furnish it after you move out.

The landlord won't necessarily get extra rent - round here places are often advertised as 'furnished or unfurnished'.

theartfullodger

So it's advertised as furnished: Nothing wrong with that, maybe landlord is going to buy a load of furniture.

I'd not touch unknown-source furniture (fire regulations apart from anything else..). What does your tenancy agreement say about items you leave?? The most recent tenancy I signed has

The tenant will be responsible for meeting all reasonable removal and/or storage
charges when items are left in the accommodation. The landlord will remove said
items and store them for a maximum of one month. The landlord will notify the
tenant at his last known address. If the items are not collected within one month,
the landlord will consider same to be abandoned and shall dispose of the items.
The tenant shall be liable for the reasonable costs of disposal which may be
deducted from any funds arising from the sale of the items or the deposit.

- afaik standard landlord association tenancy agreement clause: You could have a big bill coming!

Pixie5740

If you don't want/need certain pieces of furniture see if a local charity would want them as they usually pick up items for free.

en10jjp

Yeah I guessed it was just a mistake, but as it's advertised as such I thought I'd take my chances by trying to negotiate some recompense. Not just gonna leave it there without saying anything though. Here's what I've got in a draft email:

I’ve seen the flat is listed on Zoopla as ‘furnished.’ Unless you are planning to furnish the flat after our departure, this is inaccurate – we rented the flat unfurnished and all of the furniture belongs to us. Given that renting the flat furnished will generate more revenue for yourselves and the landlords, we’d be happy to leave most of the furniture where it is for the benefit of the next tenants, provided we were compensated in some way.

Does that sound reasonable? If they say no, then most of it's going on Freecycle.

PasturesNew

Advertising it as furnished is possibly an EA error where they forgot to change their standard template.

The increased price is probably not reflective of the furnished offering - but simply because all agents/landlords will wish to advertise at the maximum rent they think they can now get for it.

Your furniture might not be wanted/legal from a landlord's perspective.

50% might be more than it's worth/the landlord is prepared to pay for things they didn't choose, that might be of a higher quality than he'd have bought. e.g. a £1k sofa, at half price (£500) is still dearer than a brand new one from DFS at £300.

You need to speak to the landlord to discuss all this. If he doesn't want it/it's illegal and you leave it, he might charge you a disposal fee.

Speak to the landlord.... only way to do this.

en10jjp

It's definitely not a standard template thing - the ad is exactly the same as it was when we moved in a year ago, just with 'Unfurnished' changed to 'Furnished.'

Just mailed the agents, fingers crossed I can wangle myself a deal.

Guest101

Probably should've stated clearly 'I am offering to sell you the furniture for the price of: £X'

ognum

It pays to talk. Have a conversation with your LL.

I would not as a LL accept your used furniture but I would also advise you put it on gumtree for a few days before Freedycle, you may make a few pounds.

Of course if it's only good enough for Freedycle then why would the LL want it?