Furnished vs Unfurnished Apartments in Qatar: Which to Choose? (2026)
The furnished versus unfurnished decision is one that most expats arriving in Qatar make too quickly, usually defaulting to furnished because it seems simpler, without doing the actual cost calculation that sometimes points clearly in the other direction.
The truth is that for some Qatar expats, furnished accommodation is the obviously correct choice. For others, the furnished premium represents a significant annual cost for furniture you didn’t choose, that doesn’t fit your taste, and that you’re paying to maintain without owning. Understanding which category you’re in before signing a lease saves money and daily aesthetic frustration over a posting that might last two to five years.
This guide does the honest cost comparison, covers the practical trade-offs that financial calculations miss, and provides the specific situation-based guidance that makes the furnished versus unfurnished answer clear for most expat profiles.
For current listings of both furnished and unfurnished properties across Doha, browse properties.alzeenah.com.
Understanding Qatar’s Three Furnishing Categories
Qatar’s rental market uses three furnishing descriptions that mean different things in practice and are worth understanding precisely before searching.
Fully Furnished
A fully furnished property in Qatar typically includes: all bedroom furniture (bed frames, mattresses, wardrobes, bedside tables), living room furniture (sofas, coffee table, TV unit, sometimes a TV), dining furniture (table and chairs), and kitchen appliances (refrigerator, washing machine, microwave, sometimes a cooker/oven).
The word “typically” is doing significant work in that sentence. Qatar’s furnished market has no standardized definition and what one landlord calls fully furnished, another might not. Some furnished apartments include high-quality beds, proper sofas, and a fully equipped kitchen. Others have the bare minimum to qualify for the “furnished” label: a mattress on a frame, a plastic garden chair masquerading as a dining chair, and a 15-year-old refrigerator.
This variability makes viewing furnished apartments more important, not less, than viewing unfurnished ones. The furniture quality and completeness directly affects whether you need to supplement it with purchases that erode the convenience rationale for choosing furnished in the first place.
Semi-Furnished
Semi-furnished in Qatar almost always means: major appliances are included (refrigerator, washing machine, AC units, sometimes a cooker) but no furniture. This is the most common furnishing category in Qatar’s mid-range market and represents a practical middle ground: the appliances that are expensive to buy and awkward to sell are included, while the furniture that reflects personal taste is left to the tenant.
For expats who are shipping furniture from their previous posting or home country, semi-furnished is the most sensible starting point. For those buying furniture in Qatar, semi-furnished reduces the total purchase requirement to furniture only, which is a meaningful cost reduction versus unfurnished.
Unfurnished
Completely empty except for built-in elements (built-in wardrobes where they exist, kitchen cabinetry) and AC units. Requires the tenant to provide everything including all appliances unless the lease specifically includes them.
In practice, most Qatar landlords include at minimum the washing machine and refrigerator even in “unfurnished” properties because these appliances are built into the kitchen design and impractical to remove and store. If viewing an unfurnished property, clarify specifically which appliances are included because this is not always consistent.
The Financial Comparison
This is where most furnished versus unfurnished guides stop at a superficial level. The honest financial comparison requires calculating the total cost over your specific expected tenure, not just comparing monthly rents.
The Furnished Premium in Qatar’s Market
Furnished properties in Qatar command a monthly premium of approximately:
| Property Type | Unfurnished (QR) | Furnished (QR) | Monthly Premium (QR) | Annual Premium (QR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 4,000-5,000 | 4,800-6,000 | 800-1,200 | 9,600-14,400 |
| 1-bedroom | 6,000-8,000 | 7,200-9,500 | 1,200-2,000 | 14,400-24,000 |
| 2-bedroom | 9,000-13,000 | 10,500-15,500 | 1,500-2,500 | 18,000-30,000 |
| 3-bedroom apartment | 12,000-17,000 | 14,000-20,000 | 2,000-3,000 | 24,000-36,000 |
| 3-bedroom villa | 12,000-18,000 | 14,500-21,500 | 2,500-3,500 | 30,000-42,000 |
These premiums represent what you’re paying annually for the furniture. The next question is whether buying equivalent furniture yourself would cost more or less than this annual premium over your expected tenure.
The Cost to Furnish: What Furniture Actually Costs in Qatar
Qatar has a broad furniture market ranging from budget flat-pack to premium imports. Here are realistic furnishing costs for different quality levels for a 1-bedroom apartment:
Budget furnishing (IKEA-equivalent, functional quality):
| Item | Cost (QR) |
|---|---|
| Bed frame and mattress | 1,500-2,500 |
| Wardrobe | 800-1,500 |
| Sofa | 1,500-3,000 |
| Dining table and 4 chairs | 800-2,000 |
| Coffee table | 300-800 |
| TV and TV unit | 1,500-3,000 |
| Bedside tables (x2) | 300-600 |
| Curtains/blinds | 500-1,500 |
| Kitchen essentials (cookware, dishes) | 500-1,000 |
| Miscellaneous (lamps, rugs, storage) | 800-1,500 |
| Total budget furnishing | 8,500-17,400 |
Mid-range furnishing (decent quality, more considered choices): Total: QR 18,000-35,000
Premium furnishing (imported brands, high quality): Total: QR 40,000-80,000+
The Break-Even Calculation
For a 1-bedroom apartment, the furnished premium is approximately QR 14,400-24,000 per year. If you furnish at the budget level for QR 10,000-15,000, the break-even point (where furnishing yourself becomes cheaper than paying the furnished premium) is approximately 8-14 months. After that point, every month in unfurnished accommodation saves money compared to paying the furnished premium.
For a 2-year posting: budget self-furnishing saves approximately QR 15,000-30,000 versus the furnished premium over the tenure. For a 3-year posting: budget self-furnishing saves approximately QR 25,000-50,000.
These are significant sums that should inform the decision explicitly rather than defaulting to furnished because it “seems easier.”
The critical caveat: This calculation assumes you can resell your furniture when you leave Qatar at a reasonable proportion of its purchase value. Qatar’s second-hand furniture market, primarily through Facebook Marketplace and Dubizzle, is active and you can generally recover 30-60% of furniture purchase cost at departure if you bought reasonable quality and sell 2-3 months before leaving. Budget flat-pack furniture recovers less; mid-range furniture recovers more. Factor resale value into your calculation: if you spend QR 15,000 on furniture and recover QR 8,000 on departure, your net furniture cost is QR 7,000, which compares to QR 28,800-48,000 in furnished premiums over a 2-3 year posting.
Beyond the Financials: The Practical Trade-Offs
The Convenience Factor
Furnished accommodation is genuinely more convenient at arrival. Walking into a furnished apartment on the day you land in Doha, when you’re jet-lagged, disoriented, and have a hundred other settlement tasks to handle, is meaningfully better than walking into an empty shell.
This convenience advantage is real for the first 4-8 weeks. After you’ve settled, found your routine, and started to accumulate local knowledge, the unfurnished apartment is a weekend of IKEA shopping away from being furnished, and that weekend is a one-time event rather than a recurring advantage.
If your Qatar posting begins with a particularly intensive work period (project startup, immediate demanding schedule), the convenience of furnished accommodation has higher value because the time and energy cost of furnishing is higher in that context. If you have a more graduated start, the convenience advantage diminishes.
The Living-with-Someone-Else’s-Choices Problem
This is the furnished accommodation trade-off that financial calculations don’t capture: you’re living with furniture you didn’t choose, that doesn’t reflect your taste, and whose quality you didn’t control.
For some people this genuinely doesn’t matter: furniture is furniture and what matters is that it functions. For others, spending two years sleeping in a bed that’s not quite right, sitting on a sofa that’s the wrong firmness, and eating at a table that’s the wrong height for your body is a constant low-level irritant that compounds over a posting.
If you’re someone who cares about your living environment aesthetically and ergonomically, the unfurnished option with your own furniture choices typically produces meaningfully better daily quality of life. This is not vanity; it’s the genuine difference between a home and a hotel room in long-term accommodation.
The Maintenance Responsibility Question
Furnished accommodation comes with maintenance responsibility questions that unfurnished doesn’t. Whose responsibility is it when the furnished sofa’s legs break? When the furnished dining chairs deteriorate? When the furnished mattress develops a sag? When the furnished TV stops working?
Qatar leases don’t always address this clearly and disputes about furnished item maintenance and replacement are more common than they should be. The standard position is that normal wear and tear is the landlord’s responsibility and damage caused by the tenant is the tenant’s responsibility, but what constitutes “normal wear and tear” on a sofa versus “damage” is genuinely ambiguous after three years of daily use.
With your own furniture, these questions disappear. Maintenance, replacement, and quality are entirely your decisions.
The Departure Logistics
Leaving furnished accommodation is straightforward: hand back the keys and negotiate over any disputed damage to furnished items. The one complication is that damage disputes about furnished items are one of the more common deposit deduction disputes in Qatar’s rental market. Documenting furniture condition at check-in with photographs is essential for furnished properties.
Leaving unfurnished accommodation requires selling your furniture. This is the primary inconvenience argument for furnished: the departure logistics of selling furniture when you’re simultaneously managing an international move, completing work handover, and dealing with the hundred practical tasks of leaving Qatar are genuinely burdensome.
The mitigation: start selling furniture 2-3 months before departure rather than the week before. Facebook Marketplace moves furniture quickly in Qatar’s high-turnover expat market. Departing expats who plan ahead generally sell furniture successfully; those who wait until the last week often have to give items away or abandon them.
The Decision by Situation
Short Posting (Under 18 Months)
Recommendation: Furnished, clearly.
The financial break-even for self-furnishing at the 1-bedroom level is approximately 10-14 months. For postings under 18 months, the financial advantage of unfurnished is minimal or negative and the convenience advantage of furnished is significant relative to tenure. Short postings should default to furnished unless there’s a specific reason not to.
The exception: if you’re shipping furniture from a previous posting anyway, semi-furnished accommodation avoids the furnished premium while your existing furniture covers your needs.
Medium Posting (18 Months to 3 Years)
Recommendation: Calculate specifically, then decide.
At 18-24 months, the financial comparison is genuinely close and depends on specific premium amounts and furnishing costs. Run the actual numbers for the specific properties you’re comparing. If the furnished premium is at the low end (QR 1,000-1,200 per month) and you’ll be there for 18 months, furnished may still be the rational choice. If the premium is at the high end (QR 2,500 per month) and you’re there for 2.5 years, unfurnished with your own furniture saves QR 30,000+ net of furniture costs.
Also factor your personal response to living with someone else’s furniture choices. If it genuinely doesn’t bother you, the furnished convenience may be worth a modest financial premium. If it would affect your daily quality of life to live with furniture you dislike, buy your own.
Long Posting (3+ Years)
Recommendation: Unfurnished, strongly.
For postings of 3 years or more, the financial case for unfurnished is compelling in almost all scenarios. The financial saving over 3 years is typically QR 25,000-50,000+ net of furniture costs and resale, the living quality with your own furniture is better, and the maintenance responsibility ambiguity of furnished items becomes a 3-year-long potential source of dispute.
The one exception: if your employer provides furnished accommodation as part of the package and you have no choice, the furniture quality becomes the relevant variable rather than the furnished/unfurnished distinction.
Families with Children
Recommendation: Unfurnished or semi-furnished, generally.
Families with children go through furniture at a different rate than adults-only households. Children are hard on sofas, on dining chairs, on beds. Furnished accommodation where the family is responsible for damage to furniture they didn’t choose and can’t replace to their own standard creates ongoing low-level tension with landlords.
Families who own their own furniture control quality, replace items on their own schedule, and don’t have deposit-deduction disputes about child-related wear and tear. The additional upfront investment is recovered through the furnished premium saving over a typically longer family posting.
Newly Arrived Single Professional
Recommendation: Furnished for the first year, then reassess.
Many single professionals make the practical choice to start in a furnished apartment for the first 6-12 months: you’re settling in, establishing your Qatar routine, building your social network, and may not yet know whether you’ll extend your posting. Furnished accommodation during this period makes sense.
After the first year, when you have a clearer sense of your tenure and have established your Qatar life, the reassessment is: am I staying long enough for unfurnished to make financial sense? Are the limitations of furnished furniture genuinely affecting my daily quality of life? The answer at that point often points toward unfurnished for an extension.
Where to Buy Furniture in Qatar
For expats choosing the unfurnished route, Qatar’s furniture market is more accessible than many assume.
IKEA Qatar: The Doha IKEA is one of the world’s largest and offers the full range of Swedish flat-pack furniture at prices comparable to European markets. For budget and mid-range furnishing, IKEA covers most needs comprehensively. The Saturday delivery service handles assembly and delivery across Doha. Budget approximately QR 8,000-15,000 to furnish a 1-bedroom apartment from IKEA at reasonable quality.
Home Centre and Pan Emirates: Mid-range furniture retailers with multiple Doha locations. Prices sit between IKEA and premium imported furniture. Good range of complete room packages and individual pieces. Budget approximately QR 12,000-22,000 for a 1-bedroom at this level.
The One and premium retailers: Premium furniture retailers stocking higher-quality pieces at significantly higher prices. For expats who want quality pieces they’ll potentially ship home at departure, this tier makes sense.
Second-hand market: Facebook Marketplace, Dubizzle/Bayut, and the Expat Woman Qatar Facebook group all have active second-hand furniture markets. Departing expats regularly sell quality furniture at 30-60% below retail. For expats comfortable with second-hand, this market offers excellent value and often includes delivery within Doha.
Wholesale Market Road: Qatar’s furniture wholesale market has commercial-grade furniture at lower prices than retail outlets. The quality is functional rather than aspirational and requires some browsing to find good pieces, but experienced Qatar residents often furnish significant portions of their homes here at meaningful savings.
Common Problems and Solutions
Problem 1: “The furnished apartment I’m viewing has terrible furniture quality.” Negotiate. In Qatar’s rental market, landlords can be asked to replace specific furniture items before you move in as part of the lease negotiation. If the mattress is clearly inadequate, the sofa is broken, or major items are unusable, request replacement as a condition of signing. Get any agreed replacements confirmed in writing before signing. Alternatively, factor the cost of replacing or supplementing poor-quality furnished items into your total cost comparison with an unfurnished alternative.
Problem 2: “The landlord is claiming damage to furnished items at checkout that I believe is normal wear and tear.” Your check-in photographs are your primary defense. If you documented the condition of furnished items photographically on check-in day with timestamps, you have evidence of pre-existing condition. The Rental Disputes Resolution Committee handles these disputes and generally distinguishes between normal wear and damage, but having clear photographic evidence significantly strengthens your position. For furnished apartments, check-in documentation is non-negotiable.
Problem 3: “I want to replace furniture items I don’t like but the landlord won’t agree.” Most Qatar leases prohibit alterations without landlord consent, and replacing furnished items typically requires agreement. Some landlords are flexible if you agree to restore original items on departure; others aren’t. If this is a significant concern, negotiate the right to replace specific items (particularly the mattress, which is the most personal of furnished items) as a lease clause before signing.
Problem 4: “I’m leaving Qatar and I can’t sell my furniture in time.” Start selling 2-3 months before departure, not the week before. Price competitively rather than optimistically: a quick sale at 50% of purchase price is better than an unsold item at 70%. For large items that won’t sell, contact Qatar Charity and similar organizations which collect usable furniture for donation. QAWS volunteer events sometimes organize furniture collections. Leaving furniture for the next tenant (with landlord agreement) is another option that some landlords appreciate.
FAQ
Is furnished or unfurnished cheaper in Qatar? Unfurnished is cheaper monthly. Furnished costs 15-25% more per month. Whether unfurnished is cheaper overall depends on your specific tenure: for under 12-14 months, furnished is often cheaper in total. For longer postings, unfurnished with purchased furniture is cheaper in total.
What does furnished include in Qatar? Typically: bedroom furniture, living room furniture, dining furniture, and kitchen appliances. Specifically what’s included varies significantly by landlord and property. Always verify exactly what’s included before comparing furnished options.
What does semi-furnished mean in Qatar? Usually means major appliances are included (refrigerator, washing machine, AC units) but no furniture. The most common middle-ground option in Qatar’s mid-range market.
Can I negotiate what’s included in a furnished apartment? Yes. If furniture quality is inadequate, requesting specific replacements as a condition of signing is legitimate and some landlords will accommodate it. Get any agreements in writing as part of the lease.
Where can I buy furniture quickly after moving to Qatar? IKEA Qatar has same-week delivery and assembly services covering all of Doha. Home Centre and Pan Emirates have similar delivery services. For immediate needs, Facebook Marketplace and Expat Woman Qatar’s selling groups have available second-hand furniture with quick collection.
Can I ship my furniture to Qatar? Yes. Qatar has no restrictions on importing personal furniture as part of a relocation shipment. Many expats moving from previous postings ship furniture. The practicality depends on your employer’s relocation package (some cover shipping costs), the distance from origin, and whether your furniture suits Qatar’s apartment sizes and style.
What happens to furnished items that break during my tenancy? Standard position: the landlord is responsible for defective furnished items and normal wear and tear. The tenant is responsible for damage caused by negligence or misuse. In practice, disputes arise around this boundary. Document everything photographically at check-in and report any item defects to the landlord in writing immediately upon discovering them.
Is the second-hand furniture market in Qatar reliable? Generally yes for Facebook Marketplace and Expat Woman Qatar group transactions. Standard precautions apply: inspect before buying, meet in a public place for small items, bring help for large items. The expat community’s high turnover creates a consistent supply of quality second-hand furniture from departing residents.
Next Steps
- Calculate your specific break-even using the financial framework in this guide: your expected tenure and the specific furnished premium for properties you’re comparing determine whether furnished or unfurnished makes financial sense
- View furnished properties critically rather than accepting the furnishing quality as given: assess mattress quality, sofa condition, appliance age, and kitchen equipment comprehensiveness rather than just noting that the apartment is “furnished”
- Document furnished apartment condition photographically on check-in day if you choose furnished: this is your protection against unjustified deposit deductions at checkout
- Browse both furnished and unfurnished listings at properties.alzeenah.com to compare current premiums in your specific target neighborhoods
- Read the complete renting guide for the full picture of Qatar’s rental process including deposits, contracts, and checkout procedures: Complete Guide to Renting Property in Qatar
Last updated: February 2026.
Furnished premiums and furniture costs reflect general market conditions in early 2026. Individual property premiums vary. Browse verified current listings at properties.alzeenah.com.
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