rental furniture

You need high-quality tenants who pay rent on time and take care of your investment property while making sure you find them fast. The longer your property is vacant, the more rental income you’re losing. After listing your property, the next step is showing your property to tenant leads. It’s a good idea to stage your property with rental furniture if your unit is currently sitting empty.

In this article, we’ll outline different ways that rental furniture can help you rent your unit faster. We’ll also provide information on how to rent furniture and what it costs. Please note, if you have current tenants living in your rental, we recommend reading how to show your property with current tenants.

The Benefits of Renting Furniture as a Landlord 

Here are four ways to use rental furniture to rent your unit faster:

1. Take Quality Photos of Your Rental

If your rental listing currently has pictures of your property when it’s empty, you should take pictures of the space with furniture. It’s better to have staged rental furniture, rather than a previous tenant’s furniture because it will likely make the space look bigger and more polished.

Furniture in your rental listing photos will also help tenants imagine the space. In fact, having photos in your listing is proven to create more leads:

Rental Listing Photos

As you can see in the graph above, having approximately 13 photos is perfect for maximizing renter attention.

If you rent furniture and take photos for your listing, you should also keep in mind that these photos are useful for more than just listing photos. You can also use furnished photos to make your listing more appealing on social media. You can potentially justify a higher rent price (a polished listing and rental property is worth more to renters!), and you can also use the photos to document the condition of the unit.

2. Improve Your Property Showing With Furniture 

To make a space look bigger (and warmer), it helps to show the space with furniture, rather than empty. According to interior decor experts, having furniture in a room, especially when it’s not directly up against a wall, helps visually open up the space. If you’re showing an empty rental, it’s hard for the prospective tenant to know how much furniture fits in the room.

In addition to making the room look bigger, having furniture in your rental also helps the prospective tenant imagine the space as their home. Rather than staring at a blank canvas of space, the renter will see potential and get excited.

3. Rent Your Property With Furniture 

Renting furniture for listing photos and property showings can seem like a lot. Keep in mind that you can rent furniture for as little as one month. However, you can also choose to rent the furniture for a full year and rent your property furnished.

According to this article, when most landlords rent the unit furnished, they raise rent by approximately $400-600. If you rent furniture for a reasonable price, you can potentially make more rental income by renting your unit furnished!

Here’s an example of how this can work:

Rental furniture – $296/month

Increase Monthly Rent Price By $400/month

In this example, you would make an extra $104 each month, or $1,248 for the year. That’s similar to renting a unit for an extra month. If you do this model across multiple rental units, you can end up with even more profit.

STRATEGY TIP: Rent your property furnished, take pictures showing it furnished and the next time the property is up for lease, advertise it furnished and unfurnished and use the pictures to promote it as such. You only contract furniture if you lease the property furnished. This is a great long-term strategy that gives you flexibility every time your property is up for rent.

4. Rent Your Unit Faster

A key part of renting your unit faster is making it look its best. Staging your rental with the right furnishings is a must. Furniture rentals are an affordable option to ensure your property spends less days on the market.

Here’s a recap of how you can use furniture rentals to rent your unit faster:

  • Take photos of your furnished unit for your rental listing to attract more tenant leads
  • Improve your [property showing](https://www.avail.co/education/articles/how-to-show-your-rental-property-while-its-occupied/) with furniture that makes your space look bigger and more polished
  • Help tenants imagine the space as their home so they’re more willing to apply and sign a lease
  • Offer your unit as a furnished rental to generate interest and raise rent

How Do You Get Rental Furniture?

When you rent furniture, you’ll shop online for a furniture set that you’d like. You can search by room and buy a whole set, or you can search by different pieces of furniture, such as renting just a couch, desk, etc.

Next, you’ll continue to the checkout where you’ll select how long you’d like to rent the furniture for. You typically get the best deal if you rent for a full 12 months, which is great if you’re looking to rent your unit furnished. However, if you’re looking to only furnish the unit for a property showing, you can rent furniture for as little as one month.

How Much Does it Cost to Rent Furniture? 

A sofa, for example, can range from $66-133 per month depending on the style you choose. Your final cost will also depend on the lease length: