How much does it cost to furnish a rental property?

In England, a landlord does not have to furnish a rental property, so the real question is whether the rent and tenant demand justify the extra upfront cost, replacements and compliance duties. UK cost figures vary sharply by quality level, whether you buy new or second-hand, and how complete fully furnished needs to be.

How much does it cost to furnish a rental property?

A practical UK budget for furnishing a rental property is about £1,400 at the cheapest second-hand or budget route, about £5,500 for a typical two-bed rental-grade package, and £12,900–£15,500 for a whole 100 m² home furnished to a broader consumer standard. There is no verified average cost of furnishing a house in the UK by bedroom count, so the most usable rental estimate is to build from the market breakdown: one living room and kitchen at about £2,000, plus roughly £1,750 per bedroom. On that basis, a 1-bed flat is around £3,750, a 2 bedroom flat or 2 bed house around £5,500, and a 3-bedroom house around £7,250 before unusually high-spec items, delivery, assembly or replacements. One market guide states: “According to the above calculations, you can furnish a living room and kitchen for £2,000 and each bedroom for £1,750, so a typical two-bed would set you back £5,500.” The wider whole-home range is much higher: “Based on current UK averages, furnishing a typical 100 m² home costs between £12,900 and £15,500, which works out at roughly £130 to £155 per square metre.” If the landlord supplies upholstered furniture, it must be fire safe: the government says the 1988 Regulations “set flammability requirements for domestic upholstered furniture supplied anywhere in the United Kingdom.”

How much does it cost to furnish a living room?

A UK living room costs about £360 on an extreme budget route, from about £800 for a basic IKEA or Wayfair-style new setup, and more if the rental needs a durable sofa, TV unit, coffee table, side tables, lamps, rug, curtains and replacement-ready stock. The lowest documented example simply lists “Living room (£359.98)”, but that is a bargain route rather than a normal furnished-let standard. A broader UK furnishing guide puts a budget living-room setup at “Budget (from £800): Basic setups from IKEA or Wayfair.” For a rental, the number that matters is not just purchase price: a cheap sofa that fails after one tenancy can cost more than a sturdier one, because the landlord pays for replacement, delivery, disposal and the tenant disruption. A sensible furnished-let living-room allowance is therefore around £800–£1,500 if buying mostly new, with the lower end suited to a small flat and the upper end more realistic for a family house or higher-rent listing.

How much does it cost to furnish a house from IKEA?

A basic house furnished mostly from IKEA can come in around £1,500 for a modest 2-bed rental if the landlord keeps to budget lines, but a fuller new-furniture package is more likely to land nearer the £5,500 two-bed rental-grade benchmark. The best concrete IKEA example is a landlord-style forum account: “I furnished a 2 bed property last year from £1500 from IKEA for 2 beds (double & single + mattresses), 2 wardrobes, 2 chest of drawers, 2 bedside tables, sofa, armchair, side tables, dining table and chairs, rug, bookcase, TV table, curtains x 4 sets, lampshades, shower curtain and rail.” That answers how much to furnish a house from IKEA only at the budget end: it excludes the variability from delivery, assembly, appliances, kitchen equipment, bedding, décor and choosing stronger items for tenant wear. A realistic IKEA-led rental budget is about £1,500 for a stripped-back 2-bed using cheaper ranges, around £3,750–£5,500 for a more complete 1–2 bed, and about £7,250 or more for a 3-bed house.

Is furnishing a rental property worth it?

Furnishing a rental property is worth it only if the rent premium, faster letting or target-tenant fit beats the upfront spend, because HMRC’s Replacement of Domestic Items Relief does not cover the first £1,550 spent on furniture, white goods or appliances. Landlord guides commonly say the relief only applies to furnished lets, but HMRC’s own condition is simply that “the individual or company looking to claim the relief must carry on a property business that includes the letting of a dwelling-house(s).” HMRC also says the relief “allows a deduction for the replacement (not initial purchase) of certain domestic items”, so letting unfurnished would not lose this landlord relief on later replacement items either. If £1,550 of furnishing produces £100 extra rent a month, the simple payback is 15.5 months before repairs, voids, insurance excesses, cleaning, disposal and replacement risk. Furnishing also adds duties: hiring out goods counts as supply under the Consumer Protection Act because it includes “selling, hiring out or lending the goods”, and in Scotland any landlord-provided furnishings must be “capable of being used safely for the purpose for which they are designed”. In England, a furnished empty property can also face a council-tax second-homes premium of up to 100% from day one, although the let-marketing exemption covers a dwelling “that is being marketed for let under a tenancy” on reasonable terms.

Last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

• GOV.UK, private renting tenancy agreement guidance — “make sure the furniture and furnishings they supply are fire safe” Source
• GOV.UK, Furniture and Furnishings Fire Safety Regulations — “The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 set flammability requirements for domestic upholstered furniture supplied anywhere in the United Kingdom and were created using powers in the Consumer Protection Act 1987.” Source
• House Designer, The Cost to Furnish a Home in the UK — “Based on current UK averages, furnishing a typical 100 m² home costs between £12,900 and £15,500, which works out at roughly £130 to £155 per square metre.” Source
• Property Investor Today, How much does it really cost to furnish a rental property? — “According to the above calculations, you can furnish a living room and kitchen for £2,000 and each bedroom for £1,750, so a typical two-bed would set you back £5,500.” Source
• ThinkMoney, How much does it cost to furnish a flat? — “So there you have it, a fully furnished home for less than £1,500 – our total in the end came to just £1377.94, and that's including a new TV as well.” Source
• ThinkMoney, How much does it cost to furnish a flat? — “Living room (£359.98)” Source
• House Designer, The Cost to Furnish a Home in the UK — “Budget (from £800): Basic setups from IKEA or Wayfair.” Source
• Mumsnet forum, How much did it cost to furnish your home? — “I furnished a 2 bed property last year from £1500 from IKEA for 2 beds (double & single + mattresses), 2 wardrobes, 2 chest of drawers, 2 bedside tables, sofa, armchair, side tables, dining table and chairs, rug, bookcase, TV table, curtains x 4 sets, lampshades, shower curtain and rail.” Source
• HMRC Property Income Manual PIM3210 — “Condition A – the individual or company looking to claim the relief must carry on a property business that includes the letting of a dwelling-house(s).” Source
• HMRC Property Income Manual PIM3210 — “Broadly, it allows a deduction for the replacement (not initial purchase) of certain domestic items.” Source
• Consumer Protection Act 1987 s.46 — “selling, hiring out or lending the goods” Source
• Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 s.13 — “capable of being used safely for the purpose for which they are designed” Source
• Local Government Finance Act 1992 s.11C — “the amount of council tax payable in respect of that dwelling and that day is increased by such percentage of not more than 100 as it may specify” Source
• Council Tax (Exceptions to Higher Amounts) (England) Regulations 2024 reg.2 — “that is being marketed for let under a tenancy on terms and conditions, including the proposed rent, that are reasonable for letting the dwelling” Source