Apartment Furniture Rentals: Everything You Need to Know

For renters entering short-term leases, moving cross-country, moving in with a partner, or moving internationally, buying or moving in bulky furniture can be incredibly expensive and difficult. It usually requires hiring movers or renting a large moving truck (and convincing friends and family to help lug heavy items up and down stairs). Not to mention, many renters move — a lot — which means that they need to go through the hassle of packing and unpacking all of their furniture as often as once a year.   

That’s where furniture rental companies come in. Rather than selling you a piece of furniture, these companies allow you to pay monthly fees for furniture — whether you’re renting one chair for a dining room or an entire living room set. Plus, they handle the delivery and the removal of the furniture you rent. For those not looking to keep furniture around for long, this can be a much easier and more cost-effective option. It can also be a more sustainable option, as it prevents lightly used furniture from ending up in the landfill.

While furniture rental has long used in the real estate world for staging homes on the market, it has become a more and more common solution for renters.

Below, we answer all of your questions about apartment furniture rentals and share some of our favorite furniture rental companies.

Furniture rental companies allow you to pick pieces either from a showroom or a website to have delivered to your apartment. The customer leases these pieces from the company in exchange for monthly payments, as well as an initial delivery fee (although some companies offer free delivery). While some of what they send over will be new furniture, much of it will be used — and thoroughly cleaned.

Rent-to-return furniture is the standard model of most home furniture rental companies. This means that you sign up to lease furniture for a rental period (like three, six, or 12 months), and return it at the end of the lease length. Some companies, however, will let you rent furniture with the intention of buying it eventually — also known as rent-to-own. This can be a more budget-friendly option than paying the entire upfront costs of furniture when you move into an apartment. Whether or not they apply the monthly fee that you’ve paid toward the purchase price of the furniture you are looking to buy will depend on each company’s individual policy. 

Rent-to-return furniture is the standard model of most home furniture rental companies. This means that you sign up to lease furniture for a rental period (like three, six, or 12 months), and return it at the end of the lease length. Some companies, however, will let you rent furniture with the intention of buying it eventually — also known as rent-to-own. This can be a more budget-friendly option than paying the entire upfront costs of furniture when you move into an apartment. Whether or not they apply the monthly fee that you’ve paid toward the purchase price of the furniture you are looking to buy will depend on each company’s individual policy.

Most apartment furniture rental services handle all deliveries and returns. To return the furniture, schedule a pickup with the company that you rented from.

We’ve highlighted a few of our favorite apartment furniture rental companies below.

CORT is the nation’s largest furniture rental companies, with showrooms across the U.S. and a number of packages that can make furnishing a new apartment as easy as clicking a few buttons. They offer a Move-In Ready rental package, in which their designers pick out pieces for you that match your budget, style, and living space, as well as a rent by item option. Their team will also handle delivering and assembling furniture, as well as picking it up. Their Move-In Ready packages start at $129 per month.

AFR Furniture Rental is another affordable option for renting furniture. With 22 showrooms mostly located on the east and west coasts, their range is more limited than CORT. However, for those within delivery range, they send over the rented pieces in as little as 48 hours after an order is placed. Customers can choose to rent by room or by “collection” and even have the option to rent appliances and other housewares. It is not possible to rent a single piece of furniture from AFR. They charge a fee for delivery, but their team will set up all furniture. Packages start at $130 per month.

Brook Furniture Rental (or BFR) allows users to rent by item or rent by room, with service offered in 17 states in the US. After furniture is delivered and assembled (which will occur within one to two business days of the lease terms being signed and approved), customers also have a seven-day period for free returns and exchanges. There is no extra fee for delivery or pick up. The base rent minimum per month is $225, with higher prices for short-term rentals (like one month).

If you are looking for a hassle-free way to fill your new home with high-end, quality furniture, then Feather may be the option for you (although it comes with a higher price point than most other companies on our list). With Feather, you pay for a monthly membership as well as for the furniture you select. If you’re interested in renting-to-buy, monthly payments will go toward the final cost if you choose to purchase the furniture outright. The membership fees depend on the length of your rental and typically include delivery and assembly. If your rental period is 12 months or longer, you pay $19 per month for a membership (as well as the monthly cost of the furniture).

Feather is only available in the New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco Bay areas.

Also on the higher end is Fernish, which offers pieces for rent from companies like Crate&Barrel, CB2, and Floyd. Similar to Feather, Fernish allows customers to rent-to-buy, applying the payments made during the rental period to the final balance if one chooses to buy a piece of furniture outright. The site also offers a virtual design quiz to help users figure out their interior design goals. With Fernish, customers pick their furniture by item and must reach a minimum monthly rent price of $149 (and a minimum lease period of 4 months). Delivery and assembly are included. Prices start at $149 per month. 

Fernish is only available in the NYC, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Seattle areas.

With Nickson Living, you don’t have to worry about design. Their team will help you fully furnish an entire room or apartment based on its floorplan for a monthly base fee, making it one of the more affordable options on our list. For example, if you choose to have Nickson furnish your one-bedroom apartment, that plan will include furniture for an entryway, living room, bedroom, kitchen, dining area, and more — for $299 per month plus a $199 initial set-up fee. You can also choose to just furnish one room, like a living room or home office. Plans starting at $149 per month plus set-up fee.