Furniture for Landlords: The Maths Behind Authenticated Originals

May 29, 2026

Published on: May 29, 2026 | Read time: 6 minutes

Most furniture for landlords is sold by the room and written off by the tenancy. A flat-pack package at £2,400 covers a full property, lasts three lets, depreciates to skip-value. For a standard rental at standard rent, the maths works.

For the operator running a £200-a-night serviced accommodation unit in Marylebone, the developer staging a show home, or the buy-to-let landlord letting at £3,200 a month in Hackney, the calculation flips. A 1970s Ligne Roset Togo, authenticated and delivered in five days, arrives at roughly half its £6,000 to £9,000 new price. It holds value across a decade of tenancies. It photographs the listing. It trades back when you refresh.

Different property. Different audience. Different maths.

About the author

Tom Allason is the founder and CEO of REHAUS, the circular designer furniture platform. He works directly with the REHAUS authentication, sourcing, and operations teams, and writes on iconic design, circular ownership, and the economics of designer furniture.

Short on time? Here are the key takeaways

The standard "furniture for landlords" market in the UK is built around furniture packs, furniture packages, and HMO-grade products designed for student lets and the £900-a-month rental. Different audience, different budget, different brief.
For premium short-let operators, serviced accommodation, design-led buy-to-let, and developer staging, the maths runs differently. Furnished rentals earn 10 to 20 percent more long-term and up to 50 percent more short-term, per Steadily's landlord-insurance industry data.
A new Ligne Roset Togo costs £6,000 to £9,000 from the showroom with an 8 to 16 week wait. Through REHAUS the authenticated original arrives in 1 to 5 days at a meaningful saving on retail.
The Forever Guarantee covers the trade-back. Trade your piece back for 100 percent of what you paid, forever, or resell anytime. After nine months of ownership, the piece is eligible for exchange against any other piece in the REHAUS range.
Every piece is one of one, authenticated, durable across multiple tenancies, with white-glove delivery and placement complimentary on orders above £3,000.

The Kind of Landlord This Is For

This guide isn't for the HMO operator, the student-let landlord, or the £900-a-month rental. The packs market in the UK exists because it specialises in those properties. The established suppliers in that space deliver a working answer to a real question.

This is for a different kind of landlord:

The serviced accommodation operator running short-let stays at £180 to £400 a night.
The buy-to-let landlord with a furnished property letting at £2,500 plus a month in London, Manchester, Bristol, or Edinburgh.
The property developer staging a show home where the cost of furniture is recovered, with interest, in the sale price.
The letting agents dressing a premium property to push achievable rent rather than match the comparable.

What these clients have in common is a property where the rent reflects what's in it. The photography sells the stay. The tenant pays for the finish. The exit price reflects the staging. At that end of the rental market, the cost-per-tenancy of every item of furniture is a margin lever.

That is where authenticated original designer furniture earns its rent.

The Maths in Three Layers

Three things compound when you furnish at this end of the market.

1. Furnished commands a premium.

Industry data from US landlord brand Steadily puts the rent uplift on a furnished long-term let at 10 to 20 per cent, and short-term stays at 40 to 50 per cent. The UK premium-rental market follows the same shape. Operators like Blueground list central London studios from £1,860 a month upwards. Equivalent unfurnished stock lets for materially less.

2. Designer furniture holds value where flat-pack furniture does not.

A £2,400 pack on completion is worth £400 in three tenancies and skip-value at the four-year mark. A Togo bought through REHAUS at roughly half its £6,000 to £9,000 new price holds the bulk of its value across the same period.

Across REHAUS pieces sold since 2022, sellers have seen an average resale appreciation of 18 per cent. Closer to an asset that holds its value than one that depreciates.

3. The tax position changed in April 2025.

The Furnished Holiday Lettings regime was abolished on 6 April 2025. Initial furnishing of a residential rental is no longer a capital allowance write-off. What survives is the Replacement of Domestic Items Relief under HMRC's Property Income Manual PIM3210, which allows landlords to deduct the cost of replacing items, including delivery and installation.

A trade-back and refresh cycle fits inside that framework cleanly. Confirm specifics with an accountant. REHAUS does not give tax or finance advice.

How the Trade-Back Actually Works

The Forever Guarantee is the mechanic that makes the model land. Every piece bought through REHAUS can be traded back for 100 per cent of what you paid, forever. After nine months of ownership, the piece is eligible for exchange against any other piece in the REHAUS collection.

For a premium short-let operator, refreshing styling between seasons means capital recovered, not written off. For a developer rotating staging stock across show homes, it means a furniture line that flexes with the project pipeline. For a buy-to-let landlord repositioning a property between tenancies, it means the Togo in the original photography moves out, the next configuration moves in, and the depreciation curve never starts.

Delivery is 1 to 5 days, white-glove, complimentary on orders above £3,000. The 30-day home trial covers the rest, with free same-day returns. None of the service requires the landlord to be on-site. It is built around remote landlords, letting agents, and property managers operating across multiple sites.

Five Pieces That Earn Their Rent

Each of these changes how a property is photographed, priced, and let.

Ligne Roset Togo (Michel Ducaroy, 1973)

The most-photographed sofa in design-led short lets. Sits flat to the ground, which means it works in apartments with low ceilings or floor-to-ceiling windows where conventional sofa height interrupts the line. Roughly half the £6,000 to £9,000 new price through REHAUS. Browse the Ligne Roset collection at REHAUS.

Roche Bobois Mah Jong (Hans Hopfer, 1971)

Modular floor seating designed for the open-plan living room where the sofa is the listing photo. Reconfigurable across property layouts, which matters when a developer is staging more than one unit, and comfort scales with the configuration. Browse the Roche Bobois collection at REHAUS.

B&B Italia Camaleonda (Mario Bellini, 1970)

Modular sofa. Premium copy-buyer territory in the consumer market, which translates directly to the design-aware short-let guest who knows what they are looking at. The B&B Italia collection at REHAUS holds Camaleonda configurations at intervals.

Vitra Eames Lounge (Charles and Ray Eames, 1956)

Universally recognisable. Earns its rent the second a property listing crops to a single chair against a clean wall. Works in a developer show home and a one-bed serviced apartment in the same hour. Browse the Vitra collection at REHAUS.

Cassina LC2 (Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, 1928)

Cassina holds the licence, which means every original LC2 is authenticated to the maker. A single LC2 against a stripped-back wall does the work of a full living-room set in the listing photo. The Cassina collection at REHAUS is updated as authenticated stock arrives.

What a Complete Property Typically Needs

A full property fit-out through REHAUS goes well beyond the sofa. Authenticated dining sets (Saarinen Tulip tables, Eames chairs), coffee tables (Noguchi, Eames moulded plywood), beds (Cassina-licensed frames, B&B Italia headboards), and a sofa bed for the second room where a unit needs to sleep four. Choosing the right mix of pieces for the property, the budget, and the tenant profile is part of how REHAUS designed the service. Anything from a single statement piece to a full property in one delivery window.

For developers and operators managing multiple sites, a named contact handles sourcing, delivery scheduling, and trade-backs across the portfolio. Add an enquiry through the contact page or by email, and the team responds today or the next working day.

Speed, Authentication, and What Changes Operationally

The new-furniture lead time on most of the pieces above is 8 to 16 weeks. Through REHAUS the same authenticated piece arrives in 1 to 5 days. For a landlord, that translates directly into avoided void weeks. A serviced apartment empty for three weeks waiting on a sofa delivery is three weeks of zero revenue.

Every piece is condition-graded and authenticated by REHAUS before listing. The authentication process covers maker marks, frame integrity, upholstery condition, and restoration history.

Upholstered furniture supplied through REHAUS complies with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. Quality and durability are not features bolted on; they are the reason the original pieces are still in production sixty years after they were designed.

REHAUS is not a furniture packs company. Pieces are sourced, authenticated, and delivered one at a time, or as the full property requires. For landlords running premium serviced accommodation, design-led buy-to-let, or developer staging, the proposition is simple.

Originals. Authenticated. Delivered in days. Traded back when you refresh.

Browse the originals currently in stock at REHAUS.

Frequently Asked Questions About Furniture for Landlords

Is pre-owned designer furniture worth it for a rental property?

For premium short lets, serviced apartments, design-led buy-to-let, and developer staging, yes. Furnished rentals earn 10 to 20 percent more long-term and up to 50 percent more short-term, per Steadily's industry data. Authenticated designer pieces hold value where standard rental products depreciate to nothing. Across REHAUS pieces sold since 2022, sellers have seen an average resale appreciation of 18 percent. The model works at the upper end of the rental market.

How quickly can REHAUS deliver to a rental property?

One to five days on stocked pieces, against an 8 to 16 week production wait for new from the manufacturer. White-glove delivery is complimentary on orders above £3,000 and includes placement and care in the room. None of the process requires the landlord to be on-site, which suits remote landlords, letting agents, and property managers operating across multiple sites.

Can I trade designer furniture back when I refresh the property?

Yes. The Forever Guarantee covers it. Trade your piece back for 100 percent of what you paid, forever, or resell anytime. After nine months of ownership, the piece is eligible for exchange against any other piece in the REHAUS collection. The mechanic suits between-tenancy refresh, repositioning, and staging-cycle turnover.

Is REHAUS furniture compliant with UK landlord fire safety regulations?

Yes. All upholstered furniture supplied through REHAUS is sold in compliance with the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988. Certification on a specific piece is confirmed at order.

Where can I buy authenticated designer furniture for a rental in the UK?

Authenticated original designer furniture is available through REHAUS, where every piece is verified against the manufacturer's production specifications, delivered in 1 to 5 days, with a 30-day home trial and the Forever Guarantee. To visit the REHAUS team or contact us about a specific piece or a full-property fit-out, the contact options are on the REHAUS contact page.