A report by a construction economics consultant group suggested it is cheaper to sell and rent buildings unfurnished.  

The report by Mitchell McDermott said in some European locations, it is common to sell or rent apartments with exposed concrete slabs – such as bare ceilings and no floor finish. 

It is also common for apartments to have no fitted wardrobes, no light fittings and sometimes minimal or no fitted kitchen. 

Senior Lecturer at Technological University Dublin Lorcan Sirr told The Hard Shoulder the cost of a sale or rental of a property “has nothing to do with the construction costs”.  

“It can cost €200,000 to build a house and it might sell for €600,000,” he said. “Or it can cost €200,000 and it sells for €300,000. There is no link between construction and price.” 

He agreed that in rental sectors in other countries it is common to rent unfurnished apartments and get furniture – and a kitchen – yourself.  

“Whether it would make rent any cheaper, I’m not sure,” he said.  

Furnishing

Mr Sirr said, following World War II, the Government told landlords to furnish their apartments, or they would cap rents.  

He said rentals are often furnished because people typically live there in the short-term. 

“If you go to France, if you rent a place for a year, it will be furnished,” he said. “But if you’re renting for longer than a year, it won’t be furnished.” 

“It’s very much tied with security of tenure and your right to stay in a property. If you spend €3,000 to €5,000 on [furniture], you don’t want to be getting turfed out after 12 months. That’s an investment.” 

Mr Sirr said it would be challenging to bring unfurnished rentals to Ireland if the length of tenancies remains short.  

Kitchens

He said, “less built-in future, wardrobes, fewer ensuites, maybe no flooring is endlessly doable.” 

Despite that, Mr Sirr said selling an apartment without a kitchen would be difficult, as it would lead to higher costs in the future. 

"Kitchens are tied into vertical things like gas and waterpipes, selling an apartment without a kitchen would be very tricky,” he said. 

“You could have people putting a kitchen anywhere in the apartment,” he said. “Which could possibly contravene or make it dangerous in terms of fire.” 

“If you had to leave your bedroom and go through a kitchen that was on fire to get to your front door, that wouldn’t go down well.”