Unfurnished flat, nothing to sit on? Rental furniture in London: what a three-month package really costs
Short answer: yes, you can furnish an unfurnished London flat in 24 to 48 hours without buying anything. Rental one-bed packages start at about £195 to £290 a month, though minimum-spend rules at some suppliers mean three months costs what five or six would. Buying a basic pack starts at £1,150 plus VAT. Nobody can make you take either.
We wrote this for the tenant who has just taken an unfurnished flat, or is about to, and needs somewhere to sleep this week. We read every supplier's own prices, minimum terms and delivery times on 18 September 2026 and put them in one place. We take no commission or referral fee from any company on this page and have no arrangement with any of them. If a figure has changed by the time you read this, the supplier's page wins.
Can I rent furniture for a London flat by the month, and how fast?
Yes. Five companies rent furniture to tenants in London on terms as short as a month, and three of them will deliver inside 48 hours. Instant Home says it often installs within 24 hours of a signed contract, once identity and credit checks are done. Roomservice by CORT says as little as 48 hours. Fully Furnished says 48 hours nationwide. Homebound aims for two weeks. Bradbeers quotes delivery case by case.
The catch is not the term. It is the minimum spend. Instant Home will rent for as little as a day, but the whole hire must add up to at least £1,740 including VAT and eight items. CORT's minimum term is one month, but the minimum spend over the initial term is £750 plus VAT, and delivery and collection is £300 plus VAT within 100 miles of its Chessington depot. Homebound has no minimum order value; its minimum term is not stated on its site, so ask.
What does a one-bed rental package cost?
Prices as shown on each supplier's site on 18 September 2026. "Quote only" means the price is not published.
| Supplier | One-bed package, per month | Minimum | Paid up front | Delivery in London | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instant Home | Standard £290.40 inc VAT (sofa, coffee table, table and four chairs, 4ft 6in divan set, two bedsides, chest); Premium £646.75 | One day, but at least £1,740 inc VAT in total and eight items | One month's rent plus the delivery and collection charge; hires under three months paid in full before delivery | Often within 24 hours of signing | Items insured at no charge; normal wear and tear accepted; dilapidation deposit |
| Roomservice by CORT | Quote only | One month, then rolling; up to 36 months; at least £750 plus VAT over the initial term | One month's rent plus one month's refundable deposit, plus delivery and collection (£300 plus VAT within 100 miles) | As little as 48 hours | A damage-waiver charge is added to each month unless your own insurer names them; no automatic right to buy; the landlord or the tenant can pay |
| Homebound | Fully furnished from £195; a bedroom from £78 on a 24-month term; the monthly price falls on longer terms | Not stated; no minimum order value | Delivery and collection £118; installation quoted separately | Within two weeks | FCA-regulated consumer hire; deposit refunded if items come back in good condition; options to buy |
| Bradbeers | Bedroom packs from £104.53 plus VAT; living-room packs from £118.91 plus VAT | One month; will discuss shorter | Delivery charged, quoted | Quoted | The site does not say which term the displayed prices belong to, so check before you rely on them |
| Fully Furnished | Quote only | One month; no deposit | Delivery charged | 48 hours nationwide | Collection is free, or you can buy any of the items at the end |
Is three months' rental cheaper than buying?
Not always, and the arithmetic is worth a minute. Three months of Instant Home's standard one-bed package would be £871.20 at the monthly rate, but the £1,740 minimum spend means you pay for the equivalent of six months whatever you do. At CORT, three months costs at least £1,050 plus VAT before the damage waiver, whatever the monthly rate turns out to be.
Set that against buying. The cheapest one-bed pack we found is Lets Furnish London's Hyde pack at £1,150 plus VAT, with a double divan and headboard, two bedsides, a chest, a wardrobe, a three-seater sofa, a coffee table and a dining table with four chairs, dispatched in one to three working days. Base Furnishings in Ealing sells its one-bed Express Living pack for £2,634 including VAT with delivery and installation inside the M25 in as little as 48 hours. Landlord Furniture Packages charges £2,310 plus VAT for its Camden one-bed pack, delivered and installed within two to three days. LOFT's Silver package starts at £2,400 plus VAT and delivery from Manchester. In:Style Direct's Investor one-bed is £3,899 plus VAT, completed in 24 to 48 hours when stock allows.
So renting wins when you will be gone in a few months, when you cannot wait for a delivery slot, or when you do not want to own and later dispose of a sofa. Buying wins once you are staying past about five months, and buying your own furniture wins outright if you are staying a year or more: it is yours, you chose it, and it comes with you.
Can my landlord or letting agent make me take a furniture package?
No. Section 1(3) of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 says a landlord must not require a tenant to enter into a contract with a third party for the provision of a service in connection with the tenancy. The only exceptions are utilities and communication services. A furniture rental contract is a service contract. It can be offered to you, explained to you and arranged for you. It cannot be a condition of getting, keeping or renewing the tenancy. We won't make a furniture package a condition of any tenancy we let, and our tenant fees schedule lists everything we can ask you to pay.
What do other tenants do?
Three things we see across our own lettings. Relocation agents acting for larger employers often supply a furniture package for the first three months, and the tenant then buys their own. At one Canary Wharf development we manage, the employer is renting the furniture and the tenant will buy their own after that. We asked the tenant whether they were happy with the arrangement; they said they preferred it, and the relocation agent called it a good solution. Second, tenants in premium homes tell us they would rather not use furniture other tenants have used, and like to choose their own. Third, students do not mind used furniture, and a rental package or a second-hand set suits a nine-month stay.
The pattern is the same each time. The package is a bridge, not a way of living. Rent for the weeks you need, then buy what you will keep.
What to check before you sign a rental contract
- The minimum spend, not just the minimum term. Ask what the total will be for your exact dates.
- Delivery and collection. Some charge both ways, some quote, one includes them in a published fee.
- The damage waiver or insurance. Instant Home insures its items at no charge; CORT adds a monthly waiver unless your insurer names them.
- The deposit. How much, and what "good condition" means when it comes back.
- The end of the hire. Whether you can buy the items, and how much notice they need to collect.
- Your inventory. Tell your agent what is yours so the check-in report records it as yours, not the landlord's.
Who is still trading, and who is not
If you search for furniture rental in London you will find old names. David Phillips, once the best-known landlord furniture supplier, went into administration on 15 July 2025 and its websites no longer work. Harth, an earlier London rental start-up, has no live website or company we could find. John Lewis's furniture-rental trial ran through Fat Llama, which became Hygglo in November 2025; the John Lewis page is empty. IKEA does not offer rental in the UK. We list this so you do not waste a morning on a dead link.
A note for landlords
The reason more flats are coming to market unfurnished is in our post on whether new-build landlords should stop furnishing. Two facts to hold beside it. The first set of furniture a landlord buys is capital, and HMRC's replacement of domestic items relief covers replacements only, never the first purchase (Property Income Manual PIM3210). Whether monthly hire charges are deductible turns on the general rule that an expense must be wholly and exclusively for the business and not capital (PIM2005 and PIM2010); HMRC's manual does not say so in terms, so ask your accountant before you plan around it.
Sources
- Instant Home: https://www.instanthome.co.uk/furniture-rental-packages/one-bedroom-standard-range-package/ · https://www.instanthome.co.uk/furniture-rental-packages/one-bedroom-premium-range-package/ · https://www.instanthome.co.uk/how-it-works/
- Roomservice by CORT: https://www.roomservicebycort.com/faqs · https://www.roomservicebycort.com/furniture-rental-tenants/short-term · https://www.roomservicebycort.com/areas-we-work/london
- Homebound: https://www.homebound.co.uk/pages/how-it-works · https://www.homebound.co.uk/pages/rental-furniture-packages
- Bradbeers: https://www.furniturerental.co.uk/furniture-pack/furniture-rental-bedroom-packs/ · https://www.furniturerental.co.uk/frequently-asked-questions/
- Fully Furnished: https://fullyfurnished.com/furniture-rental/
- Lets Furnish London: https://lets-furnish.co.uk/pages/furniture-packages · https://lets-furnish.co.uk/policies/shipping-policy
- Landlord Furniture Packages (Sublime Furnishings): https://www.landlordfurniturepackages.co.uk/1508/furniture_packages/camden_package.html · https://www.landlordfurniturepackages.co.uk/faq.html
- Base Furnishings: https://basefurnishings.co.uk/furniture-packages/express-living · https://basefurnishings.co.uk/delivery
- LOFT: https://www.loft.co.uk/pages/furniture-packages · https://www.loft.co.uk/pages/landlord-furniture
- In:Style Direct: https://www.instyledirect.com/investor-furniture-package/
- Tenant Fees Act 2019, s.1 (prohibitions applying to landlords): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/4/section/1
- HMRC Property Income Manual PIM2005, PIM2010 and PIM3210: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/property-income-manual/pim2005 · https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/property-income-manual/pim2010 · https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/property-income-manual/pim3210
- David Phillips Furniture Group administration: https://servicedapartmentnews.com/news/industry/david-phillips-furniture-noi/ · Companies House: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/search/companies?q=david+phillips+furniture
- Fat Llama to Hygglo: https://hygglo.com/uk/fatllama · John Lewis: https://www.johnlewis.com/content/furniture-rental · IKEA UK services: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/customer-service/services/
Every supplier page and statute above was read on 18 September 2026. Prices, terms and delivery promises are the suppliers' own and change without notice; we re-check this page each quarter.
Looking for a flat, furnished or not? Our current list is at homes to rent, and the renting with us page explains what happens between an offer and the keys. If you are moving in the next few weeks, our post on the best time to rent in London is worth ten minutes.