Advice on Starting a Furniture rental business

[HT8282]

Hi everyone, thank you for your time in viewing my post. I’m looking at starting a furniture rental business, whereby I would by items of furniture (e.g sofa set) and then rent to someone. I have already found a first customer who would do this, however I wanted to ask where I would stand legally with this set.

Please see example of detail below:

Buy Sofa Set for £500 / rent to a customer for £25 per month for a set period of time, and then when they are finished with the furniture items, simple return back to my storage place. I would own the items, and the customer would simply be paying for the use of this, no payments towards owning these.

Any advice / comments would be much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[mattk]

The first problem I foresee is that after you've rented the sofa to your first customer, you either have to recoup the entire cost or you're then renting out second hand furniture - which is vastly less attractive.

Given that almost any credit worthy individual can buy an interest free sofa from a variety of outlets, what's your USP?

 

[Mitch3473]

Agree with above, do people still rent TVs ?? What would be deemed normal wear and tear upon return, renting to tenants or house owners ??, security bond/deposit ??, delivery and collection charges..Insurance. There are firms that rent furniture but that is aimed at film or Tv companies, show homes, event companies etc etc.

 

[fisicx]

Suppose someone rents the sofa and brings it back after 3 months. You would have to pay for cleaning and fumigation. Probably cost you more than the rental fee.

Or returns after a year and it’s in such poor condition you have to write it off. You could ask for a cleaning deposit but if I could afford that I could afford to get a sofa from a second hand shop.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

@HT8282

Check your messages

It's a brand idea so I can't post it here

 

[SEODEV#338055]

Suppose someone rents the sofa and brings it back after 3 months. You would have to pay for cleaning and fumigation. Probably cost you more than the rental fee.

Or returns after a year and it’s in such poor condition you have to write it off. You could ask for a cleaning deposit but if I could afford that I could afford to get a sofa from a second hand shop.

I have rented furniture before

They make you sign a contract which stipulates all aspects of the condition of the item upon return

The company inspects the item upon pick-up, takes photographs, and deducts anything in breach of the contract from your deposit

 

[Mark T Jones]

The absolute first thing you need in any rental business is a very robust, legally compliant collections process.

You will also probably need to be authorised by the FCA

It's s capital intensive business, so lots of cash- and warehousing

Oh, and lots of customers, so the warehouse is empty

 

[SEODEV#338055]

Agree with above, do people still rent TVs ??

Yes

There are many people who will move to an unfurnished apartment in the city for a short-term contract of say one month

They are used to a 40'' Sony plasma screen TV at home

Renting solves the problem of paying £2,000 and being lumbered with a massive TV at the end of the contract

For example at Hughes Rental you can hire a 43'' Sony HDR flatscreen TV for only £18 per month https://www.hughesrental.co.uk/tv-a...isions/kdl43wf663bu-43-full-1080-hd-smart-tv/

 

[Mark T Jones]

Yes

There are many people who will move to an unfurnished apartment in the city for a short-term contract of say one month

They are used to a 40'' Sony plasma screen TV at home

Renting solves the problem of paying £2,000 and being lumbered with a massive TV at the end of the contract

For example at Hughes Rental you can hire a 43'' Sony HDR flatscreen TV for only £18 per month https://www.hughesrental.co.uk/tv-a...isions/kdl43wf663bu-43-full-1080-hd-smart-tv/

I had a customer who ran a very succesful furniture hire business. The rump of the business was specialist furniture for showhomes (unique sizes, designed to faller rooms, not to be sat on!)

The general hire was a sideline, mostly they targeted professional landlords.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

The general hire was a sideline, mostly they targeted professional landlords.

Who would be responsible for the contract with the hire firm, the landlord or the tenant?

 

[Mark T Jones]

Who would be responsible for the contract with the hire firm, the landlord or the tenant?

In their case it was the landlord - a managed contract rather than pure rental

 

[NickGrogan]

unfurnished apartment in the city for a short-term contract of say one month

Why would anyone rent an unfurnished apartment for a month?

There are thousands of furnished ones with giant TVs.

Can you even rent unfurnished for a month?

 

[John Hemming]

Probably best to try renting second hand furniture really cheaply that is not like Sofas etc. I am not sure it will work out because of admin costs, however.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

Why would anyone rent an unfurnished apartment for a month?

Each to their own I say

I prefer unfurnished lets, you can rent almost everything and you get a much higher living standard

The less stuff you have the less stuff you have to clean is always a bonus

Also I like to have space for rented treadmill and rented ultra HDTV and surround sound with gaming chair for FIFA on xbox

Unfurnished and renting is so much better than accepting default tat

There are thousands of furnished ones with giant TVs.

But not to my taste or requirements

Can you even rent unfurnished for a month?

Yes - and cheaper than furnished

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Each to their own I say

I prefer unfurnished lets, you can rent almost everything and you get a much higher living standard

The less stuff you have the less stuff you have to clean is always a bonus

Also I like to have space for rented treadmill and rented ultra HDTV and surround sound with gaming chair for FIFA on xbox

Unfurnished and renting is so much better than accepting default tat


But not to my taste or requirements


Yes - and cheaper than furnished

I'm intrigued - how often, why, and under what circumstances as an SEO developer, are you renting an unfurnished apartment for one month, separately renting and moving in the equipment you mention, then sending it all back after 4 weeks?

Because that doesn't sound very common to me and I don't see it being a large customer base for the OP.

 

[NickGrogan]

Yes - and cheaper than furnished

Can you link to a website offering unfurnished monthly lets in the UK?

 

[SEODEV#338055]

Can you link to a website offering unfurnished monthly lets in the UK?

Douglas and Gordon

https://www.douglasandgordon.com/short-term-lets/list/anywhere/houses-and-flats

https://www.douglasandgordon.com/short-term-lets/property-details/55661/hamlet-gardens-w6/

 

[NickGrogan]

They're all furnished, and not for 1 month only.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

https://www.douglasandgordon.com/short-term-lets/property-details/55661/hamlet-gardens-w6/

"Available on a furnished or unfurnished basis immediately"

They do offer one month lets, would you like the telephone number?

That's not a plug, I don't know this company, just one of hundreds across the UK offering unfurnished one month lets

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

My question still stands though.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

My question still stands though.

Sorry for not following the masses

Directly relevant to o/p by @HT8282

I don't know what the customer base would be, but I'd imagine @HT8282 will be undertaking the necessary market research

 

[Energise Accounting]

The market would attract people on benefits and low-income families. The problem that has been mentioned is if someone rents a sofa for 6 months and it comes back all stained. what are you going to do about it?

For £25 a month they could buy a brand new sofa. It is going to take 20 months before the sofa starts showing you a profit.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

Here's some useful information from an active UK furniture rental business
https://www.roomservicebycort.com/about-us/how-furniture-rental-works

I'm halfway through reading it

Very interesting

 

[Energise Accounting]

Here's some useful information from an active UK furniture rental business
https://www.roomservicebycort.com/about-us/how-furniture-rental-works

I'm halfway through reading it

Very interesting

It looks like you can rent by the room or a single peice. Just saw prices for a living room set. from £132.00 to £362.00 per month.

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Sorry for not following the masses

Directly relevant to o/p by @HT8282

I don't know what the customer base would be, but I'd imagine @HT8282 will be undertaking the necessary market research

so...you don’t then?

 

[SEODEV#338055]

so...you don’t then?

You're correct

I didn't undertake the necessary market research to start a UK furniture rental business

Did you?

I was merely reflecting on my own experience of furniture rental

Have you any experience of furniture rental?

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

You're correct

I didn't undertake the necessary market research to start a UK furniture rental business

Did you?

I was merely reflecting on my own experience of furniture rental

Have you any experience of furniture rental?

And I was merely asking for more insight into your own experiences. But if you don’t want to give that then fair enough.

Personally, limited experience depending on what you define as furniture. If you include tv’s for example as mentioned above, then I have rented them a long long time ago, I don’t know anybody that does any more or would have any interest in doing.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

And I was merely asking for more insight into your own experiences. But if you don’t want to give that then fair enough.

Personally, limited experience depending on what you define as furniture. If you include tv’s for example as mentioned above, then I have rented them a long long time ago, I don’t know anybody that does any more or would have any interest in doing.

You're not likely to know people who hire home furnishings such as furniture and electronic equipment

This is typically performed by landlords, agents and councils

However the market is also open to private individuals, for many reasons which you could easily research in Google

Whether or not the private home furnishings market is big enough to sustain a business I have no idea, and I am not opining on that matter any further

 

[BusterBloodvessel]

Sigh.....I mean, we’re at the risk of going round in circles here. I asked you a question regarding your specific experience. I didn’t ask for any further opinion on the rental market.

Im intrigued as to when, why and in what circumstances you would choose the option you said which involves a month long rental of an unfurnished property and hiring a treadmill and TV?

I’m assuming, but I may be wrong, that most people hiring somewhere for a period of around 4 weeks would be there for work purposes. In my own experience of travelling away for work for similar periods I could not be arsed for one second going through all that effort - I want to turn up to an apartment, empty my case and crack on. I try and choose services apartments, or even a hotel, that have a gym/treadmill.

Maybe your experiences weren’t for work, I don’t know. I was just asking because it seems a little unusual. Maybe you spend a month at a time in the Maldives in a private apartment just because you can. I’ve no idea.

Like I said, if you don’t want to answer then fine. It was just curiosity.

 

[fisicx]

I’m assuming, but I may be wrong, that most people hiring somewhere for a period of around 4 weeks would be there for work purposes.

Yes, this is how it normally works. The rental market that @SEO Developer describes is used by people waiting to move into a new house, short term work contracts and similar. And whilst unfurnished properties are available they are very few in number. They are also more expensive that a standard 6/12 month let. Anyone paying month by month to stay in a property for any length of time is either very rich or bonkers.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

Your question: "Im intrigued as to when, why and in what circumstances you would choose the option you said which involves a month long rental of an unfurnished property and hiring a treadmill and TV?"

When: Short-term contract in central London

Why: Because I want specific furnishings, and I can afford it

In what circumstances: When undertaking short term contract in central London

Clear it up any?

 

[SEODEV#338055]

Anyone paying month by month to stay in a property for any length of time is either very rich or bonkers.

Rich is a subjective statement

I can afford it

Might be bonkers, thanks for the compliment

 

[jimbof]

Rich is a subjective statement

I can afford it

Might be bonkers, thanks for the compliment

That's a million miles away from what it sounds like the OP is in the market for - £500 sofas SETS rented for £25 per month. It's hard to imagine such quality pieces of furniture being worth anything after being rented out for a year. Probably do as well to burn it as to clean it for another customer.

I'm sure there are top end businesses which are interesting, with libraries of designer furniture, interior design services, etc, covering relocations. And then you have firms specialising in events. I know one firm I worked for used to pay eye-watering rentals for sofas at trade shows. I'd imagine they're all hurting a lot though in the current pandemic situation (hopefully getting better soon).

But down at the very low end, surely you're competing against the likes of Brighthouse and their bottom-feeding credit offerings? Who themselves are a great example of why that end of the market is crap, given they've gone to the wall...

I can't imagine a worse way to make money than dealing with the hassles at that end of the market, where I assume you'll mostly get folk renting who can't even pass the credit worthiness bar for small amounts of consumer finance. Then trying to collect after things go bad, damages monies, etc.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

That's a million miles away from what it sounds like the OP is in the market for

Talk about #obsession

You're the one who keeps bringing it up!

Let's just get back on topic now

 

[SEODEV#338055]

@jimbof

What you're basically saying is it's not an industry, there's no money in it, and the op should choose another business niche?

 

[fisicx]

What you're basically saying is it's not an industry, there's no money in it, and the op should choose another business niche?

No. He is just saying the monthly flat/furniture rental you posted about is totally different to the low cost furniture rental business the OP wants to set up.

 

[jimbof]

Talk about #obsession
You're the one who keeps bringing it up!

I think you confuse me with someone else. This is my first comment on the subject.

@jimbof
What you're basically saying is it's not an industry, there's no money in it, and the op should choose another business niche?

I don't think there is. I think £500 sofa sets are sold, and not rented. If they can't be bought outright, they're financed. I don't think the Venn diagram has many folk overlapping between the "reliable payers" and "need to rent a cheap sofa for 3 years" sets though, which is why the likes of Brighthouse struggle. Even at what amount to terrible rates of interest, and selling crap product for expensive prices.

But if the OP has found a niche of people who they know can reliably pay £25/m for, say, 4 years of rentals on a £500 set, then maybe it could work.

I really think these would have to be basically "rented" almost only in name - the expectation would have to be that the first renter covers the entire cost and profit, and priced accordingly based on the term of the rental. That turns the rental basically into a means to an end, circumventing the matters of predatory finance that Brighthouse were engaged which I think pretty much got them regulated out of being a business.

 

[SEODEV#338055]

Ok so we've established that my input wasn't relevant to the o/p, in your opinion

Let's move on now chaps, it's getting boring

You made your respective points

 

[Financial-Modeller]

... when they are finished with the furniture items, simple return back to my storage place...

You may need to re-think this. Someone in the market for renting a cheap sofa might struggle with the logistics of returning it. And a single collection could wipe out your profit from the rental.

 

[fisicx]

You may need to re-think this. Someone in the market for renting a cheap sofa might struggle with the logistics of returning it. And a single collection could wipe out your profit from the rental.

Not only that, if you do get the sofa back and it’s knackered they won’t have the cash to pay for cleaning and refurbishment. You could ask for a hefty deposit but if they have that sort of money they won’t be renting a sofa.