Same building, different rent
Two 2 BHKs one floor apart can ask rents ₹15,000 apart. That is not always greed or a bargain: the flats are different. Here is what Mumbai means by furnished, and what moves a rent.
What furnished means in Mumbai
There is no official definition. These are the meanings most owners, brokers and tenants use. Always ask for the inventory list.
Unfurnished
Bring everything except the walls
- Lights and fans, sometimes not even these
- Kitchen platform and sink
- Bathroom fittings
- Often no wardrobes, ACs or geysers
Semi-furnished
Fixed items in place, no furniture
- Lights, fans, geysers
- Wardrobes, often a kitchen with cabinets
- Sometimes one or two ACs
- Curtain rods; no beds, sofa or appliances
Fully furnished
Move in with a suitcase
- Everything in semi-furnished
- Beds with mattresses, sofa, dining table
- ACs in most rooms, fridge, washing machine, microwave, water purifier
- Curtains; often a done-up interior with false ceiling and lighting
How much does furnishing add?
We compared asking rents per sq ft for the same flat size in the same building, across Rentu's listings in the last 12 months. The bar shows the middle half of cases; the red mark is the typical (median) gap.
- Semi-furnished adds almost nothing. Wardrobes, fans and geysers are expected in Mumbai; they do not lift the rent.
- Fully furnished adds about 10–15%, and up to about 25% for a recently done-up flat with good furniture and appliances.
- The spread is wide because the word hides the quality. "Fully furnished" covers ten-year-old furniture and a new designer interior alike. Judge the flat, not the label.
These are asking rents, not final signed rents. Based on 277 to 867 building-and-size pairs per comparison.
Two flats, one building
Flat A · 2 BHK, 3rd floor
₹80,000- Unfurnished, original 2012 fittings
- Faces the inner compound
- No covered parking
Flat B · 2 BHK, 18th floor
₹95,000- Fully furnished, renovated last year, 3 ACs, appliances
- Open view, more light
- One covered parking
Both can be fair. Flat B asks about 19% more: roughly 12% for the furnishing, the rest for floor, view and parking. An example to show the reasoning, not a quote.
What else changes a rent
What to do with this
- Tenants: compare like with like: same building, same size, same furnishing. Then decide what the extras are worth to you.
- Owners: price against the flats that match yours, not the most expensive one in the building. Furnishing pays back slowly: ₹8 lakh spent for 12% more on ₹1 lakh a month earns about ₹12,000 a month, about 5½ years to recover.
- Both: put the full inventory in the agreement and in the move-in photos. Furniture is where deposit disputes start.
Rentu.in, Mumbai rentals since 1995. General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change; confirm current figures before you sign or pay. Last reviewed October 2026.
