Flat Pack Assembly for Landlords and Letting Agents

Furnishing a rental is flat pack assembly at its most time-pressured. The property is empty between tenancies, every day of a void costs rent, and the job is rarely one item: a bed, a wardrobe and a chest of drawers per bedroom, a desk in each room of a student let, a sofa and dining set downstairs. This guide covers how to get it built in one well-planned visit, whether you have one flat or a portfolio.

Plan the furnish around the void, not the delivery

• Fix the deadline first. Work back from the move-in date, allowing a day spare for a missing box or a late delivery.
• Delivery a day or two before assembly. That gives someone time to count the boxes against the delivery note. An incomplete delivery is the most common avoidable reason for a wasted visit; see our missing parts guide.
• Book quotes as soon as you know the dates. Summer is busy in student cities, when many HMOs are furnished before September, and weekends fill first everywhere.
• Inventory and check-in. If a check-in inventory is booked, put assembly before it, so the report records the furniture built and in place.

Day rate, hourly or per item?

For one or two items, per-item or hourly pricing is normally the better deal. Hourly rates typically run £25–£45, and most assemblers have a minimum charge of around £30–£50 per visit (indicative ranges from our UK cost guide).

For a whole property, ask for a day or half-day rate. Travel and setup are paid once, and a fixed figure is easier to put against a budget or pass on to a client. Our hourly vs fixed price guide explains how to compare the two quotes fairly. To size the job first, build the item list in the price estimator; it gives an indicative per-item total you can hold a day rate against.

One enquiry per property

Several addresses on one day can work well if they’re close together, but assemblers price each address on its own access and travel. Send one enquiry per property, and say in each one that it is part of a bigger job. Each enquiry should include:

1. Every item, by product name if you have it, room by room (“Room 1: IKEA MALM double bed, MALM chest of 6 drawers, desk”).
2. The postcode and the deadline, including whether the work must be finished before a check-in or viewing.
3. Access: floor, lift or stairs, parking, and who holds the keys.
4. Wall fixing: which items need anchoring, and whether you approve drilling.
5. Photos of the boxes or labels, if they’ve arrived.
6. Packaging: whether the assembler should take it away. Agree this beforehand; some include it and some charge a little.

Access when you’re not there

Most landlords and agents can’t wait on site all day. Decide in advance:

• Who lets the assembler in: the agent, a key safe, a concierge or a tenant who has agreed to it. Flats and new-build blocks often want trades booked through the managing agent, and service lifts reserved.
• Who signs the job off. Ask for a photo of each finished room before the assembler leaves, and check drawers, doors and wall fixings yourself or through the agent before check-in.
• Tenants in residence. If the property is occupied, give the tenants proper notice of the visit, as your tenancy agreement requires.

Safety in a furnished let

• Anchor tall furniture. Wardrobes, bookcases and tall chests can tip if climbed on or pulled open fully. Anchoring is a small add-on (see the wall fixing ranges in the cost guide) and much easier before tenants move in than after.
• Keep fire safety labels on. Upholstered furniture supplied in a furnished let, such as sofas and armchairs, must meet the furniture fire safety rules, and the permanent label is your evidence. Ask the assembler not to cut labels off.
• HMOs. Check your licence conditions and any fire risk assessment before you change the layout of a room or a hallway, so new furniture doesn’t block an escape route or a door that must close by itself.
• Bunk and cabin beds need the guard rails and ladder fitted exactly as the instructions say; our bed assembly guide covers the checks.

Keep the paperwork

• Ask for an itemised invoice naming the property. It’s what your accountant or client will want, and it shows when each item was built.
• Keep the spare fittings and instructions in a labelled bag in the property. They save time when a tenant reports a loose hinge or a drawer that has come off its runners.
• Note who did the work. If an assembler does a good job, using the same one for the next void saves explaining the properties again.

If the furnish is part of a move you’re making yourself, our moving house guide covers the same planning from the occupier’s side.

Prices and timings on this page are indicative, based on typical quotes we see across the UK. Your job may cost more or less — the only way to know is to get quotes for your specific items and location. This site earns a fee when we pass enquiries to assembly firms; this never changes what you pay.