Landlords: To furnish or not to furnish?

To furnish or not to furnish?

Obviously there are times when this choice is not really available to you. Tenants may only want to sign a contract if the property is either furnished or unfurnished.

It also depends on the type of property you are letting and the type of tenant you hope to attract. For example, a studio flat may require certain items of furniture to make the space workable. Alternatively, you may be aiming your property at the relocation market, and this would mean providing almost all items of furniture including crockery and cutlery.

Given the choice, and from my experience I would always err to the unfurnished side under the understanding that the more you have in a property the more that go wrong. Furthermore, tenants will also expect (quite rightly) if something does go wrong with a television for example, that if it is beyond repair a replacement be provided.

I think it is also easier to provide a new item of furniture than remove an old one. With the storage and inconvenience of taking away an old object it can often be a problem that you can do without.