Letting a property-Furnished v Unfurnished

Hi Folks

I am letting a property. An interested party has asked if I will let the house unfurnished as he is from the UK and has his own furniture. When I mentioned this to some people they said that this gives the tenant rights, that he woould not have it were furnished, as in, it could be difficult to get him out. Any ideas on what the position is. Have tried to get through to the PRTB and Threshold but they dont seem to answer their phones. He's ready to move in and having a tenant would make life so much easier, but dont want hassle at the same time.
Thanking you

Did you draw up a tenancy agreement?

I will have one drawn up if I go ahead. Have been on to the Property Owners Association who tell me that once the tenant is in place and hasnt received notice to quit after the first 6 months, under the law he can exercise his right to stay for a further 3 and half years, unless I plan to refurbish, sell or move back to the property. The advice from them is that the issue of whether its furnished or not is irrelevant, as the tenancies act conveys all sorts of rights that can be abused by the "wrong" tenant..hmmm

So from that I gather you must tell you tenant to move out within 6 months of moving in or he has the right to stay there for a further three years??..Very odd.
If your tenancy agreement/lease is binding for one year which I believe in the normal/regular period, you would then be in breach of that agreement if you asked him to move on before 6 months. The best you can do is look for and follow up references from your proposed tenant, be fussy about who you let your property to.

Thanks Cat101

The last tenant left the place in a bit of a mess, so youre right, I need to check any new tenant thoroughly.

Furnished or unfurnished makes no difference to tenants rights. The PRTB website has loads on information on the 'rules'. You should look at some of the very informative other posts on AAM in relation to landlord/tenant issues. Be careful who your rent to as if you get a bad tenant you are on your own. I would imagine someone bringing their own furniture is more careful but you never know.

Cat101 said:

So from that I gather you must tell you tenant to move out within 6 months of moving in or he has the right to stay there for a further three years??..Very odd.
.

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Why do you find it odd that tenant's have rights to stay in a property?

There is no legal distinction between furnished v. unfurnished.

You will probably find that families are more likely to need unfurnished properties as they will be older and have accumulated furniture.

That tends to mean that more commonly houses are sought unfurnished and apartments more comonly sought furnished.

From a landlord's point of view (I have been tenant and landlord) unfurnished is far superior, as it makes inventory far cleaner and fewer issues on cost of wear and tear, damage etc.