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A twelve-month tenancy gives a furnished flat one tenant and one rent, with the tenant paying the bills. Furnished stays of 28 nights or more through Flexiestays keep the flat flexible: each stay ends, bills are included and paid by the owner, and the flat is free again for summer, for a sale or for your own use. Since 1 May 2026 the choice matters more, because a new tenancy is periodic and the owner cannot end it at will.

This page compares the two for an owner. It is general information, not legal advice.

Two different products

A tenancy is a home. Under the Renters' Rights Act, at the time of writing, every assured tenancy in England is periodic: the tenant may leave on two months' notice, and the landlord needs a legal ground to recover the property. The deposit is capped at five weeks' rent where the annual rent is under £50,000 and must be protected within 30 days.

A furnished stay is a serviced let. The guest books for 28 nights or more, keeps a home elsewhere and leaves on a set date. Flexiestays has let 130 properties this way in Bournemouth since 2018. Electricity, gas, water, Wi-Fi and council tax are in the price, and there is a cleaning and security deposit rather than a tenancy deposit. A genuine holiday or a stay by someone whose main home is elsewhere sits outside the assured tenancy rules. A guest who makes the flat their only or main home may be a tenant whatever the booking is called, which is why we check who is staying and use the right agreement.

Who takes each

Tenants on a twelve-month let are households settling in the area. Furnished stays suit people in Bournemouth for a season or a project: contractors on three to twelve-month jobs, people relocating, remote professionals for two to six months, hospital staff, academics, corporate teams and households displaced by an insurance claim. Our winter lets and corporate lets pages describe them.

Money: rent, bills and fees

A tenancy pays rent with no bills for the owner. Furnished stays bring the bills back to the owner and add a clean between guests, in return for flexibility. Flexiestays charges 8% on the bookings it brings to managed properties. A tenancy is let on our fees per tier:.

Voids and wear

A tenancy has a void only when the tenant leaves. Stays have gaps between guests, which the booking platform and repeat corporate demand fill. Wear is faster with more arrivals, so furniture, mattresses and linen need replacing sooner.

The holiday let owner's winter

For an owner who runs a holiday let in summer, winter stays keep the flat earning from November to March. Two limits apply. GOV.UK counts only lettings of 28 nights or less towards the 70 let nights a holiday let needs for business rates, so a winter of long stays needs balancing with short ones. And each stay must end before the summer bookings start.

Which suits you

Choose a tenancy for one rent and the least work. Choose furnished stays to keep the flat flexible and earning through winter. If you are weighing a holiday let as well, read long let or holiday let, and see long term lets for how Flexiestays lets furnished flats.