A furnished tenancy is a full package of furniture provided to new tenants as a condition of the tenancy. The cost of the furniture is covered through the service charge element of both Universal Credit and legacy benefits, allowing the landlord to recoup their costs and cover admin, repairs and replacements.
Existing tenants can be offered a Furniture Rental Agreement, an addendum to their tenancy, and can also be covered through the service charge.
A furnished tenancy should include the following items:
The fundamental benefit for landlords is they will be helping their tenants who would otherwise be living without essential furniture items. However, there are other very tangible benefits too.
Furnished tenancies can make hard to let properties more attractive and help to compete with the private rental sector so making some allocations easier. And those longer tenancies help to create more sustainable communities which can have an impact on safety, reduced crime and better living standards.
Social landlords with long running schemes also say that they can generate a significant profit, profit that can be reinvested to expand the scheme or provide support for tenants in other ways.
Please see the Blueprint for Furniture Provision in Social Housing for more information.
Living in furniture poverty can have a devastating impact on people’s physical and mental health, and their financial and social wellbeing. Tenants may have medication that needs to be stored in a fridge for example. Without a cooker or a fridge, they will struggle to store and prepare fresh food. They need a bed to get a decent night’s sleep, and they are far less likely to invite someone into their home if they don’t have a sofa for them to sit on.
