Renting Property: Furnished, Part Furnished or Unfurnished?

When renting a property there may be the option of furnished, part furnished or unfurnished properties. The definitions of furnished, part furnished and unfurnished can vary depending on the landlord or the estate agent. It is important to know whether the property meets your needs in terms of furnishings or lack thereof. The following descriptions of the three options of property furnishings will help you make an informed decision and what you should check before moving into a property to make sure you are going to have what you need.FurnishedFurnished usually means that you will have seats, beds and white items, for example a washing machine already fitted in the property. The benefit of this is that you don’t have to buy expensive items if it is your first property, or move heavy items from one property to another. With furnished properties you will be liable for any damage made to the furniture so you do have to be careful not to spill anything on them. Furniture may not be covered by any security deposit you may pay before you move in, so you will need to check with the agency or landlord you are letting from.Part FurnishedWhen a property is part furnished it usually includes white items and kitchen appliances in the letting agreement.

There is no standard to what is included in a part furnished property, and you may find that you only have an oven or hob installed. This will mean that you will still need to supply your own white items and vice versa if an oven and hob is not already installed. As with furnished properties you are responsible for the care of these items and will be liable for any damage. Part furnished can offer you a slight saving in terms of purchasing appliances as white good and kitchen appliances are often the most expensive features. As well as being the most expensive they are often the heavier and cumbersome items to move and carry. As with most things involved in moving in to a new property you will need to check the letting agreement to see what is included with a part furnished property.UnfurnishedProperties that are unfurnished will usually offer no installed appliances.

This means that as a tenant you are responsible to furnish the property and install your own appliances. This means the new tenants will be required to bring and install their own fridge, freezers and washing machines. With unfurnished properties you may find that oven and hobs will be installed. This is so the landlord knows the gas or electric has been fitted properly and their investment isn’t going to go up in smoke, literally. But as with all the different types of furnishings you will need to check your tenancy agreement to see what is already installed. If there is no cooking appliances installed you may be required to use a certified installer of the landlord’s choice to ensure they are correctly installed. This may add another additional cost to moving so be sure to check this before signing any contracts.The choice of furnished, unfurnished, or part furnished is an individual choice, and is advisable to choose the one that suits you best and a tenant. If you have a full complement of furniture you need to take with you moving to a furnished property is likely not going to be of any use. The most important part of signing any letting agreement is to check it thoroughly before committing. Making the wrong choice could cost you in the long run.