Renting a furnished flat vs unfurnished: what costs more in the long run?

As new research reveals that tenants pay up to 21% more a month for a furnished property – we reveal how many months rent you need to kit out a flat

Research by property portal OnTheMarket shows that renters are paying a premium to rent properties that are furnished – money that could be spent buying furniture that they can keep for years.

OnTheMarket looked at rents across 10 UK cities and found that there is a big hike in the amount tenants are being asked to pay for a furnished flat versus an unfurnished flat.

The company looked at tens of thousands of two-bed flats or apartments currently on the rental market and compared the prices of those in the same areas.

In London the discrepancy between furnished and non-furnished was 9%, a relatively modest difference compared with Sheffield, where tenants are being asked to pay £726 per month for a furnished flat versus £598 for unfurnished – a hike of 21%. Meanwhile, in Leeds the difference was £128 (19% more) and in Manchester it was £101 (15% more).

See a full table of how prices compare across 10 of the UK’s biggest cities:

UK CITIES	Furnished	Unfurnished	Difference	Percentage Difference
Birmingham	£768.73	£641.73	£127	20%
Cardiff	£748.09	£698.54	£49.55	7%
Coventry	£793.57	£691.14	£102.43	15%
Edinburgh	£801.32	£725.96	£75.36	10%
Glasgow	£731.98	£646.07	£85.91	13%
Leeds	£786.77	£658.71	£128.06	19%
London	£1,487.92	£1,360.25	£127.67	9%
Manchester	£771.31	£670.76	£100.55	15%
Newcastle	£683.42	£598.06	£85.36	14%
Sheffield	£725.69	£597.85	£127.84	21%

How much does it cost to furnish a flat?

OnTheMarket estimates that it costs around £1,800 to furnish a two-bed flat, if you were to buy furniture (sofa, table and chairs, two double beds, a bookcase, coffee table and a desk and an office chair) from IKEA and a TV from Curry’s.

If you are renting in Leeds, London, Sheffield, Manchester or Coventry, you would recoup this cost in under 18 months in saved rent, so it is definitely worth considering.

Helen Whiteley, Commercial Director at OnTheMarket.com, says: “Ultimately this research suggests it’s worth calculating the cost of furniture to decide whether the initial financial outlay can be off-set over time during the rental period.

“Spread throughout a 12-month tenancy, these costs become around £150 per month, meaning it is worth prospective tenants giving serious consideration to whether or not they are embarking on a long-term let. That said, there are clear benefits and a level of convenience of walking into a ready-to-live-in property when weighed against the alternative of buying everything yourself.”

Photo: Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock