How to Start a Mid-Term Rental: A Step-by-Step Guide

A mid-term rental is a furnished home rented for one to several months. Here are the eight steps we follow to launch one, from checking the rules to running it on autopilot.

1. Confirm demand

Mid-term tenants come for work and life events. Look for hospitals, universities, corporate offices, construction and film activity nearby, and check what similar furnished homes rent for.

2. Know the rules

Confirm the home is legal to rent as a dwelling, check your city's short-term rental laws, and learn the landlord-tenant rules that apply to stays of 30 days or more, including deposit limits, fee limits and notice requirements. A one-time review by a local attorney is money well spent.

3. Furnish for real life

Tenants live in the home, so furnish for daily routines: a real bed in every bedroom, a fully stocked kitchen, a workspace, fast Wi-Fi, laundry if possible, two sets of linens per bed and a smart lock for self check-in.

4. Price against the real alternative

For insurance and corporate placements, the alternative is hotel rooms. Price competitively against that, include utilities in one monthly rate, and lock the rate when the lease is signed.

5. Prepare your paperwork

You'll need a furnished lease with required local disclosures, a one-page fact sheet for each home, a W-9, proof of insurance and the ability to invoice companies and insurers.

6. Screen every tenant the same way

Use an online application that verifies identity and income, apply the same written criteria to everyone, and follow fair housing rules. Sign the lease and collect funds before releasing entry codes.

7. List where mid-term tenants look

Furnished Finder for traveling professionals, Airbnb and Vrbo with monthly minimums, insurance and corporate housing networks, your own website with live availability, and a Google Business Profile.

8. Run it with systems

A property management system to sync calendars and automate messages, online leases, rent collection with bookkeeping by property, and scheduled cleaning and maintenance. The more that runs automatically, the more the rental pays you instead of the other way around.

Want all eight steps as printable checklists? Download our free Mid-Term Rental Starter Guide below.