Price difference between furnished vs. unfurnished room vs. flatshare?

204POSTS

14 years ago

Dear Oxonians, I would be glad to receive comments about the 'get a room' question, as follows:
I might move to Oxford and accommodation seems... not cheap.

I like flatshare, but hope at least that ~450 pounds (incl.bills) would buy a good one: good quality housing, not too cramped, in a student/young professional neighbourhood within biking distance (ca. 1.5 miles) from the Headington campus and, ideally, also from the center. Hope to find a place with a few caf茅s around to invite a lady for the cheapest mineral water (a salary of 1570 gbp seems not astronomical for oxford prices)

Hence my cunning plan:
For minimising long term living costs it seems to be an idea to open a flatshare myself, i.e. rent a 2- (or even 3 ?) bedroom-flat/house unfurnished, long-term, get my old ikea-style furniture from Berlin (might work for a few 100 pounds paid by employer), and let the furnished room(s) to some nice guys - demand seems to be there, and if we don't get along, its not me who would move (had that once, indeed). Edit: All assumed the landlord agreed to it - no I don't want to do it behind their backs, but I am the liable one, so what's the risk?

This is based on the assumption that there is a marked difference btwn. prices for furnished and unfurnished rooms - do you think that is true? (I'm not sure even after browsing through classifieds sites).
(In Berlin that scheme got me a nice room for some 350 eurs in hip Prenzlauer Berg, while my 'tenants' were happy to pay a bit more but be less tied down. The 'Landlord' company doesn't mind and charges 10 EURs more per person - obviously, I am liable to all damages.)

- still, I am afraid that total costs per person (rent, tax, electricity, internet...) would be more than GBP 500 per month. What do you think?

Edit:
references- what info do they usually contain? I have been renting the unfurnished flat in Berlin from a large company for 6 years, I might not even have moved out yet by the time I am looking in Oxford...(subletting my room). Was in student accommodation (studentenheim) before 2005.

thanks for your comments!

And: B脷脡K from Budapest - Happy new year :-)
(well, for those living in Hungary, I'd go with 'I wish you a slightly-less-tragic new year!' - if you don't get it, search for hungary in 'the economist':-/

See also

How to find accommodation in England - Guide
Living in Oxford - 16 Replies
Salary Expectations - 4 Replies
sport adict! - 8 Replies
Going out in Oxford - 2 Replies

LoopyLou87 Serial expat

526POSTS

14 years ago

Well I dont believe you are allowed to sublet without permission and I'm sure you will find that either landlords wont want it or will hike your rent up - brits are rather greedy on the housing market. You are rent that renting is not cheap at the moment. But I think your best bet is to just share for the time being ... If you are renting a three bedroom house that 15oo pounds you earn is not going to get you much further than paying you bills ... what are you going to do about living costs if no one is renting your property or you only fill one room for three months. .... I think asking for more trouble than it is worth on that salary im afraid.

And there is not a great deal of difference between furnished and unfurnished from what I have seen anyway.

Longonot62 Kenya Advisor

1521POSTS

14 years ago

I agree with the above; if you take out a tenancy, then sub let the rooms, then you would be immediately in breach of your contract and could be evicted. One way round this is to try to take out a joint tenancy (you and one or two other people). However, finding a landlord who will agree to this is difficult. Many landlords use agents to find their tenants and the rental contract is generally between one person, or a single family. Landlords like to get references from previous landlords, so any known breach of contract could make it more difficult to rent again.

The lowest cost of renting accommodation is to rent a room. You should expect to pay approximately 拢80 - 拢100 per week, including bills (except telephone).

Renting unfurnished accommodation is the next cheapest option. The minimum term is 6 months and you pay one month returnable deposit, one month rent and any agency charges, before you move in. Prices are likely to be from around 拢600 per month, upwards, plus bills and Council Tax (often around 拢100 per month).

Furnished accommodation is generally far more expensive - often 拢250 per week upwards. However, minimum terms are shorter, often a week. It is generally inclusive of bills, so the 'hidden' costs of bills and taxes does narrow the cost difference.

The UK is quite an expensive country, unfortunately.

The Oxford expat guide

Updated in 2025, comprehensive and free

Read it now

LoopyLou87 Serial expat

526POSTS

14 years ago

Longonot62 wrote:
I agree with the above; if you take out a tenancy, then sub let the rooms, then you would be immediately in breach of your contract and could be evicted. One way round this is to try to take out a joint tenancy (you and one or two other people). However, finding a landlord who will agree to this is difficult. Many landlords use agents to find their tenants and the rental contract is generally between one person, or a single family. Landlords like to get references from previous landlords, so any known breach of contract could make it more difficult to rent again.

The lowest cost of renting accommodation is to rent a room. You should expect to pay approximately 拢80 - 拢100 per week, including bills (except telephone).

Renting unfurnished accommodation is the next cheapest option. The minimum term is 6 months and you pay one month returnable deposit, one month rent and any agency charges, before you move in. Prices are likely to be from around 拢600 per month, upwards, plus bills and Council Tax (often around 拢100 per month).

Furnished accommodation is generally far more expensive - often 拢250 per week upwards. However, minimum terms are shorter, often a week. It is generally inclusive of bills, so the 'hidden' costs of bills and taxes does narrow the cost difference.

The UK is quite an expensive country, unfortunately.

I totally agree that UK is very expensive and rarely do you have anything nice to show for you outgoings but I think you are looking at quite expensive appartments... 250 a week plus bills??? What does this get you??

Granted I have never lived in central london and only on the outskirts but I would never pay 250 a week for a room even if it was furnished and bills included. You can rent a reasonable 2/3 bedroom house in Slough for this price and travel is easy to london, fast train to Paddington 15minutes