Mattresses for rental properties: the fire label, the protector, and buying in threes
A furnished let comes with a mattress, and the mattress comes with rules. Here is what a landlord in England, Wales or Scotland has to provide, what to buy, and how to make it last through tenants.
This is a plain summary, not legal advice; the regulations and your local authority's landlord guidance are the authorities.
The legal part: the fire label
The Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 apply to furniture supplied in the course of business, and letting a furnished property counts. Every mattress, divan and bed base you supply must meet the fire resistance requirements, which for mattresses means BS 7177, and must carry the permanent label showing it. No label, and you cannot prove compliance; the mattress should be replaced.
In practice: buy new mattresses from a UK retailer or maker, keep the label on, and keep the receipt. Second-hand mattresses and imports without labels are the risk. See what BS 7177 means.
There is no legal requirement for a mattress to be new, of any particular quality, or replaced on a schedule, though tenancy agreements and deposit disputes turn on "reasonable condition".
What to buy
A rental mattress is slept on by people who did not choose it, of every size, for years, and inspected at every check-out. That points to:
- Medium-firm pocket springs, which suit the widest range of tenants and do not transfer movement across a shared bed.
- A firm edge (foam rail of 50 kg/m³ or a steel rod), because edges collapse first in a rental.
- Foam densities that last: 50 kg/m³ memory foam and 35 kg/m³ support foam and up. A cheap mattress that dishes in two years is replaced at every second tenancy, which costs more than a good one once.
- A breathable knitted cover rather than a wipe-clean vinyl one, which tenants hate and which sweats.
- 22 to 25 cm deep: comfortable, fits standard sheets, and light enough to move at check-out.
Size
Double (135 × 190 cm) in a standard double room; small double (120 × 190 cm) in a small room lets you list it as a double room; single in a box room. King only in a main bedroom of a family let. Match the frame you are providing.
Protection, which decides whether it survives
- A waterproof protector with a breathable membrane on every mattress, provided by you, listed on the inventory, and expected to be used.
- A full zipped encasement underneath the protector in HMOs and student lets, against spills, stains and bed bugs. A stained mattress is a deposit dispute; an encasement is £30.
- The inventory: photograph the mattress, label and protector at check-in and check-out.
Replacement
Plan on five to seven years in a standard let, three to five in a student HMO, or sooner if a check-out shows a dip, a stain through the protector, or damage. Check the fire label is still attached at each check-out; if it has been cut off, the mattress cannot be re-let.
Buying several
If you have several properties or an HMO, buy the same mattress in the same size for every room. One spare covers all of them, tenants moving rooms get the same bed, and a maker who builds to order will price three or more of a size better than one. Ask for delivery to the rooms by a two-person team on a changeover day, with the old mattresses taken away on the same visit.
Disposal
Old rental mattresses go to recycling or the council's bulky waste service, never left at the property or by the bins, and never re-let without a label. See old mattress disposal.
How we fit in
The Empty Nester is built as a rental mattress: 22 cm, medium-firm, 1,000 pocket springs, memory foam top, a firm edge, breathable cover, BS 7177 labelled, no fibreglass, in single to king. Ask about three or more of a size and same-visit take-back on a changeover day.
The short version
- Every mattress you supply must carry the permanent BS 7177 label; keep the receipt.
- Medium-firm pocket springs, firm edge, lasting densities, breathable cover.
- Breathable waterproof protector plus an encasement; photograph everything.
- Same mattress, same size, every room; replace at five to seven years, sooner in HMOs.
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