When you are looking for rental accommodation, whether it is a house or an apartment, you can look at both furnished and unfurnished accommodation. When you already have equipment, it is better to opt for unfurnished accommodation in order to avoid renting a storage unit, but when you are starting out in working life or are a student, you generally do not have any furniture. This is why furnished rentals are ideal. An owner must follow precise regulations to equip his home, he cannot put just anything and above all, it must be complete. A tenant must be able to live with dignity and normally in the accommodation directly by arriving only with his belongings.
What equipment is required in furnished accommodation?
To qualify as furnished accommodation, and the advantages that go with it, an owner must equip it well. There must be, at a minimum, “bedding with duvet or blanket, shutters or curtains in the bedrooms, hotplates, an oven or microwave, a refrigerator and a freezer or a refrigerator with a compartment at less than 6°, dishes, utensils kitchen, table, chairs, shelves, lighting and housekeeping equipment“, specifies the French administration website. In the event that the owner does not respect this list of furniture, then the furnished lease can be transformed into a lease of empty accommodation.
Can the tenant of furnished accommodation remove the furniture to put in their own?
If a tenant wishes to change the furniture in furnished accommodation, he has the right, but he must put everything back with the same furniture when he leaves. For example, if he finds that the table provided is not practical or that he does not need it, then he can remove it and put it back when he leaves. However, it is better to ensure that it is kept in a place that will not damage it. So, if it is in a cellar, then you have to be careful with the humidity because at the time of the exit inventory, everything must comply with the entry inventory. If any of the furniture has been damaged in transport, then it will be charged. If the tenant actually wishes to change the furniture during the rental, it is better to notify the owner. It is also advisable to take photos of the furniture at the time of the inventory, to prove the condition in which it was. In the case where the tenant buys new furniture or appliances because the one provided has broken, it is a little different.
Furnished accommodation: can a tenant replace equipment that has been broken?
The owner must therefore provide furnished accommodation that allows the tenant to live there suitably. If, for example, the refrigerator (which is mandatory) breaks down and this is not the fault of the tenant, then it will have to be replaced. The tenant can contact the owner to pay it himself and deduct it from the rent or the owner can come and bring a new one. On the other hand, if the equipment was broken due to the tenant not taking care of it – because he did not use it in the right way – this will be his responsibility.
Source : What is furnished accommodation?, Public Service