Furnished Apartment Lease Agreement

A Furnished Apartment Lease Agreement in the United States sets out the rent, deposit, term and obligations governing a landlord and tenant's occupancy of a property.

Furnished leases are governed by the same landlord-tenant law framework as unfurnished residential leases in each state. The warranty of habitability — implied by statute or common law in all 50 US states — requires the landlord to maintain the premises, including essential appliances and systems, in a habitable condition throughout the tenancy. In California, Civil Code § 1941 defines the landlord's habitability obligation, which California courts (including in Green v. Superior Court, 10 Cal.3d 616 (1974)) have held includes maintaining essential furnishings and appliances supplied by the landlord. New York's Real Property Law § 235-b imposes a similar implied warranty of habitability. Texas Property Code § 92.052 et seq. governs the landlord's duty to repair and remedy conditions that affect habitability.

Security deposit law creates the primary legal framework for disputes over furnished item damage. California Civil Code § 1950.5, as amended by Assembly Bill 12 effective July 1, 2024, caps residential security deposits at one month's rent for both furnished and unfurnished units (with a two-month exception for small landlords who are natural persons owning no more than two rental properties of four units total) and requires the landlord to return the deposit with an itemized written statement of deductions within 21 days of the tenant vacating. New York's Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 generally caps deposits at one month's rent and requires return within 14 days with an itemized statement. Texas Property Code § 92.103 requires return within 30 days with an itemized deduction statement; failure to return timely entitles the tenant to three times the wrongfully withheld amount plus attorney's fees.

Short-term furnished rental platforms including Airbnb and Vrbo operate under a different legal framework than traditional landlord-tenant law for stays of 30 days or fewer. In most states, stays under 30 days are classified as transient occupancy (hotel-style) rather than tenancy, and the consumer-protection provisions of landlord-tenant statutes — including just cause eviction protections and security deposit return timelines — do not apply. Medium-term furnished rentals for corporate housing, academic visiting scholars at universities such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and the University of Michigan, and traveling healthcare professionals (travel nurses placed by agencies including AMN Healthcare and Cross Country Healthcare) typically involve written furnished lease agreements for terms of 1 to 12 months subject to standard residential landlord-tenant law.

A US Furnished Apartment Lease Agreement is needed whenever a landlord rents a residential unit with furniture, appliances, or other personal property included in the tenancy and requires a written record that documents the condition of the furnishings, allocates maintenance and replacement responsibility, and protects the landlord's ability to make security deposit deductions for damaged furnished items.

Urban landlords and condominium owners in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and Washington DC who rent furnished apartments to corporate housing clients, diplomatic personnel, visiting professors at universities, international students at law and business schools, and foreign nationals on short-term visa assignments require a furnished lease agreement that specifies the inventory of furnished items, addresses the security deposit structure under state law, and documents the condition of high-value furnished items (artwork, custom furniture, electronics) to support deduction claims.

Property management companies managing corporate housing portfolios for Fortune 500 companies relocating employees — including relocation management companies (RMCs) such as SIRVA Worldwide Relocation and Moving, Cartus Corporation, and Graebel Companies — use furnished lease agreements that document all furnished items with photographs and condition reports and specify the tenant's obligation to maintain the furnishings and the landlord's remedies for damage.

Platform-based furnished rental operators using extended-stay platforms including Furnished Finder (targeting travel nurses and healthcare professionals), Anyplace, and June Homes (targeting corporate housing tenants) must use written furnished lease agreements for tenancies of 30 days or longer that satisfy state landlord-tenant law requirements — including required disclosures, security deposit caps, and habitability standards — since platform terms of service do not substitute for a legally compliant written lease in most states.

Landlords renting furnished vacation homes and cabins in recreational markets — mountain properties in Colorado, Utah, and Vermont; beach properties in Florida, the Carolinas, and Southern California; and lake properties in Minnesota, Michigan, and the Adirondacks — to tenants for seasonal stays of 1 to 6 months use furnished lease agreements to document the inventory of recreational equipment (kayaks, bikes, ski gear), appliances, and household items, and to define the tenant's liability for damage beyond normal wear and tear.

Co-living operators — companies providing furnished, amenity-rich shared housing in major urban markets including Ollie, Common, and WeLive (WeWork's residential brand) — use furnished lease agreements that address both the private unit furnishings and the shared common area amenities included in the rental, and that specify the pro-rated charges for damaged common-area equipment.

A legally effective US Furnished Apartment Lease Agreement must contain the following essential provisions to document the furnished items, allocate maintenance responsibility, comply with state security deposit law, and protect both landlord and tenant against disputes at the end of the tenancy.

The furnished items inventory is the most critical provision unique to a furnished lease. The inventory must list every item of furniture, appliance, electronic equipment, kitchenware, and household item provided by the landlord, including: make and model for appliances and electronics; description of furniture by type, style, and material; quantity for sets (e.g., 'six dining chairs'); and the condition of each item at the time of move-in (excellent, good, fair, or poor with specific notes on pre-existing damage such as scratches, stains, chips, or missing components). The inventory should be signed by the tenant at or within 48 hours of move-in, and both parties should retain signed copies. Photographs or video of all furnished items at move-in should be attached as exhibits.

The condition of premises and move-in checklist must address both the real property (walls, floors, ceilings, windows, doors, plumbing, electrical) and the furnished items. Many states — including California (Civil Code § 1950.5(f)), North Carolina (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-42.1), and Hawaii (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 521-42.5) — require the landlord to provide the tenant with a written move-in checklist before or at the commencement of the tenancy, giving the tenant the opportunity to document the condition of the premises and furnishings at move-in to prevent deposit deductions for pre-existing damage.

The maintenance and repair responsibility clause must specify: (1) that the landlord is responsible for repairing or replacing furnished items that become unusable due to normal wear and tear or mechanical failure (in accordance with the landlord's implied warranty of habitability for essential appliances); (2) that the tenant is responsible for damage caused by misuse, negligence, intentional acts, or failure to notify the landlord of problems within a specified timeframe; (3) the procedure for reporting damaged or malfunctioning furnished items — typically written notice to the landlord within 24 to 48 hours of discovery; and (4) the landlord's timeframe for making repairs after notice.

The security deposit clause must comply with the applicable state security deposit statute. California Civil Code § 1950.5, as amended by Assembly Bill 12 effective July 1, 2024, now caps deposits at one month's rent for both furnished and unfurnished units (with a two-month exception for small landlords who are natural persons owning no more than two rental properties of four units total), eliminating the former higher cap for furnished units. The clause must specify the total deposit amount, the bank or escrow account where it will be held (required in some states including New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts), the conditions under which deductions for furnished item damage may be made, and the timeline and format for returning the deposit and itemized deduction statement at the end of the tenancy.

The prohibited actions clause for furnished items must specify what the tenant may not do: moving furnished items out of the unit; replacing furnished items with the tenant's own property without the landlord's written consent; making alterations to furnished items; using furnished items for purposes other than their intended residential use; subletting the unit with the furnished items to a third party without the landlord's written consent; and damaging furnished items through negligent or reckless conduct.

The end-of-tenancy obligations clause must specify: that the tenant must return all furnished items in the same condition as received, less normal wear and tear; the definition of normal wear and tear as distinct from damage (e.g., minor scuffs on furniture are wear and tear; burns, large stains, and broken frames are damage); the move-out inspection procedure; and the timeline and process for the landlord to assess damage and provide the itemized deduction statement as required by state law.