When Lodgeur’s founder moved to Houston from London in 2018, he was amazed by what he discovered. Following living in eight countries on five continents, his experiences overseas became the cornerstone for creating Lodgeur’s flexible and fully-furnished apartments in Houston.
Here are some of the main distinctions between renting homes in the United States and the United Kingdom:
In the UK, apartments are typically rented fully furnished, with furniture and household items provided by the landlord. In the US, apartments are almost always rented unfurnished, so renters must provide their own furniture and household items. The British don’t have U-Haul or a shared image of a couple eating pizza amid boxes on their moving day.
Leasing agents always tell us that tenants ask to rent the model unit – for some reason, they can’t! Lodgeur is based on the idea that the apartment should be ready to live in when you collect the keys. Moving shouldn’t be a major chore. If people want a moved-in already home, why wouldn’t you offer them exactly that?
(For more info on furnished apartments, check out our post Move People, Not Furniture post.)
In the UK, floor plans are typically included in rental postings, while they’re hardly ever accessible for single-family homes or apartments offered by furnished rental businesses in the US. At Lodgeur we provide both floor plans and virtual tours so you can ensure that the layout fits your needs – even before reserving it!
In the UK, tenants are typically granted a lease for six months whereas in America, it is likely to be twelve. This means that when renting for less than a year, you often have to pay higher rates each month due to potential vacancy between renters.
Life doesn’t always fit into 12-month plans, so we at Lodgeur offer more flexible solutions. Our short term rentals and early termination options on longer stays make sure that your booking fits your life instead of the other way around. We understand that sometimes you need to adjust plans quickly, and our services will help ensure that they are much easier to do!
Here in the US, it is not unusual to see single businesses managing several apartment complexes with 200-600 units each. In contrast, most landlords in the UK are residential property owners who invest in 1 or 2 properties at a time.
Moreover, when leasing from professional investors and large organizations within the United States you can often enjoy access to recreational facilities such as gyms, swimming pools and pet amenities! Compared to independent landlords, professional property managers are more likely to provide consistent maintenance and upkeep of their units. That’s not always the case with individual owners, who vary more widely in keeping their properties in good condition.
In the US, it is common for renters to be responsible for paying their own utilities, such as electricity, gas, and water. In the UK, utilities are often included in the rent and the chore of connecting utilities falls to the landlord.
With landlords staying in place even as tenancies change, it’s only logical for the landlord to manage the utilities. Likewise, Lodgeur apartments are ready for you to live in – with wifi and all utilities connected too. That means no extra appointments or contracts, and definitely no deposits. By making Lodgeur furnished apartments available with all utilities connected, we take the hassle out of maintenance and make it easier for renters to move in and out quickly.
In the United States, tenants are expected to take care of regular maintenance tasks such as changing air filters or light bulbs, cleaning gutters, mowing lawns, and repairing minor damages. Regular maintenance tasks may also involve preventive maintenance tasks such as checking smoke detectors and ensuring that all appliances are working properly. Landlords are usually responsible for larger repairs such as fixing broken windows or replacing the roof.
In contrast, in the United Kingdom it is typically a landlord’s responsibility to maintain their rental property, including both preventive and repair maintenance tasks. This means that renters don’t have to worry about taking care of any maintenance tasks – landlords handle it all! With Lodgeur furnished apartments, tenants get the benefit of all maintenance needs being taken care of by the landlord, making it easier to move in and out quickly without worrying about who will fix things when something goes wrong.
As you can see there are quite a few differences between home rentals in the US and UK. The furnished apartment model of Lodgeur looks to bridge those gaps to create a more intuitive rental experience for those moving in and out of furnished apartments. With furnished apartments, tenants can enjoy the same sense of home from wherever they are, without having to worry about lugging furniture around or haggling with lease terms. It’s like a subscription to a home.
Moving to Houston from the UK? Read our expat blog post or click here to book a home in Midtown Houston or the Texas Medical Center!
