Updated: June 22 | The Trulia Team
Sometimes life doesn’t fit a 12-month lease. You might be relocating for work, waiting on a home purchase, or not ready to commit to a new city. A short-term rental is any rental with a lease shorter than 12 months.
But the ‘short term rental’ category is broader than most people expect. It covers furnished apartments, corporate housing, month-to-month leases on standard units, vacation rentals, and other short leases. Each type can be found on different apps and websites, and have different price points and rules. Knowing which one you actually need changes where to look and how much to budget.
Key takeaways:
- Short-term rentals generally refer to rentals with leases that are less than 12 months.
- Short-term rentals include vacation rentals, furnished apartments, corporate housing, and month-to-month leases, in addition to short-term leases for standard units. Each has different price points and rules, and can be found on different websites.
- Furnished units and corporate housing typically run one to six months and often include utilities. The all-in cost may be closer to a standard lease than the monthly rate suggests.
- Month-to-month leases typically roll month-to-month, allowing you to plan a month ahead while giving you flexibility to leave after a month.
- Many buildings also offer many different options for lease length, including options that are less than 12 months.
- Some landlords will also agree to shorter terms on a unit that isn’t advertised as short-term, especially with the right offer.
- Even on short leases, plan for a security deposit, first month’s rent, and sometimes last month’s rent upfront.
What counts as a short-term rental?
The 12-month lease is the default in most of the U.S. Anything shorter is generally considered short-term. But within that category, there are meaningfully different types. The main categories break down like this:
| Type | Typical length | Furnished? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacation rental | Days to a few weeks | Yes | Short trips, no lease needed |
| Furnished apartment | 1-6 months | Yes, often with utilities | Relocation, temporary stays |
| Corporate housing | 1-6 months | Yes, fully turnkey | Business travel, work assignments |
| Month-to-month lease | Rolling, no fixed end | Sometimes | Maximum flexibility |
| Short-term lease | Fixed, under a year | Varies | Known end date in a standard building |
The 30-day mark is a meaningful threshold. In many cities, such as San Francisco, rentals under 30 days are treated more like hotel stays, subject to things like lodging taxes. Rentals of 30 days or more usually fall under standard landlord-tenant protections.
What do short-term rentals cost?
Short-term rentals tend to be more expensive per month than equivalent annual leases. Landlords charge a premium because they take on more vacancy risk and turnover costs. The shorter the lease, generally, the higher the monthly rate.
Standard upfront costs also apply to short leases. Most landlords require a security deposit, first month’s rent, and sometimes last month’s rent at signing. Some short-term units charge a cleaning fee on top of that. Those costs repeat every time you move, so running them through your budget is important, especially if you’re doing back-to-back short-term rentals.
In the case of month-to-month leases, a landlord can also adjust the terms with proper notice upon monthly renewal. Asking upfront about the notice period and how rent changes are handled is worth doing.
On the other hand, short-term rentals like furnished units and corporate housing often include utilities, internet, and sometimes parking. So, the all-in comparison can look different once those costs are factored in. A furnished one-bedroom at $2,400 per month with utilities included might nearly match an unfurnished one at $2,000.
How can I find a short-term rental?
Search with specific terms
On Trulia, you can filter for short-term rentals in a few ways. Searching “short term rental,” “month-to-month,” “furnished apartment,” or “corporate housing” in the keyword search pulls different types of inventory. You can also use “short-term lease” and “furnished” filters to filter your search for these listings.
The prevalence of a short-term rental varies a lot by city. For example, as a percentage of listings on Trulia, short-term leases are much less common in New York City than in Houston. As of June 2026, based on Trulia data:
| City | # of listings on Trulia with short-term leases | % of total listings |
|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX | 1,344 | 16% |
| Atlanta, GA | 485 | 14% |
| Phoenix, AZ | 686 | 14% |
| Miami, FL | 777 | 11% |
| San Francisco, CA | 122 | 10% |
| Kansas City, MO | 146 | 9% |
| Los Angeles, CA | 1,138 | 6% |
| Chicago, IL | 326 | 3% |
| Boston, MA | 239 | 2% |
| New York, NY | 127 | 1% |
Consider furnished apartment providers
Some providers focus specifically on furnished units for stays of 30 days or more. These aren’t vacation rentals. They operate with leases and standard tenant protections, just with shorter terms and move-in-ready units. If you need two to four months of stable housing and don’t want the uncertainty of a vacation rental, this category is worth looking at separately.
Look into extended-stay hotels for shorter stints
For stays of a few weeks, extended-stay hotels offer something between a hotel room and an apartment. Most have kitchenettes. Rates are quoted by the week. There’s no lease and no credit check. They’re not cheap, but they’re uncomplicated.
Think carefully about amenities
Three months in an apartment requires different thinking than three years. Furnished units cost more per month, but moving furniture in and out of a short-term rental rarely pencils out. If you’re testing a new city, a furnished place with utilities included removes a lot of setup cost.
Ask the landlord
You can sometimes negotiate a shorter lease even when a landlord isn’t advertising one. Most landlords post annual leases by default but they may be willing to negotiate a short-term lease. Landlords lose money on vacant units. A strong applicant offering a shorter term can be better than an empty apartment.
How can I negotiate a short-term lease?
Below are three tactics that can make the negotiation easier.
- Tactic 1: Target a lease that ends in peak rental season. Rental demand tends to peak in spring and summer, according to rental seasonality data. A landlord who agrees to a 6-month lease ending in August can re-rent when demand is strong. Filling a vacancy in February is harder. Moving in during fall or winter makes this especially useful, since a term ending the following summer is often an easier ask than a full 12 months.
- Tactic 2: Offer a small monthly premium. Offering $2,100 instead of $2,000 on a 6-month term shows the landlord you understand their risk. It also gives you more leverage to ask for other concessions. Running the math to confirm that premium still beats a furnished short-term unit takes only a few minutes.
- Tactic 3: Ask for a right-to-extend clause. A right-to-extend clause lets you stay past your original end date at the same rate, as long as you give notice by a set deadline. Landlords don’t always offer this language upfront and it’s worth asking for even if it’s not mentioned. Without it, you could find yourself scrambling to find new housing right when your short-term lease ends.
Short-term rentals solve a real need but the tradeoffs are real too. You pay for flexibility with higher monthly rates, upfront costs that repeat on short cycles, and lease terms that can shift at renewal. Going in with a clear sense of your timeline, and which type of short-term housing fits it, makes the search much more manageable. If you’re open to negotiating a shorter term directly with a landlord, you may find more options than you expected.
Frequently asked questions
It depends on the type of short-term rental. Corporate housing and furnished apartments come with furniture, housewares, and often utilities included. Vacation rentals are furnished too. Standard apartments rented on a month-to-month or short-term lease usually aren’t. The listing description will say “furnished” if it is, but when in doubt, asking the landlord before you tour saves time.
A short-term rental is arranged directly with a landlord or property manager. A sublease is when a current tenant rents their unit to someone else, often while they’re away. Subleases can be cheaper but it is important to verify whether the original lease actually permits subletting.
Corporate housing is typically arranged through a specialized provider and is fully turnkey: furniture, linens, kitchenware, utilities, and Wi-Fi are included in one price. A furnished apartment is usually leased directly from a landlord and may require you to set up utilities separately. The categories overlap quite a bit, and the same unit might be marketed either way depending on the provider. To effectively compare which one is a better deal, you should look at the all-in monthly cost, not just the listed rent.
Pet policies on short-term rentals tend to be stricter than on annual leases. Many furnished apartments and corporate housing units don’t allow pets at all. On Trulia, you can set a pet-friendly filter so search results show only listings that allow animals. Keep in mind that some listings have breed or size conditions that don’t appear in the filter, so a direct conversation with the landlord is often necessary before you commit.
