A short-term lease is a rental contract that generally lasts less than six months, where a typical apartment lease will usually be a year. Naturally, a short-term lease is shorter than that.
Such leases can be week-to-week, month-to-month or you can commit to a specified time period, depending on what you can negotiate with the landlord.
There are many situations in which one should opt for a short-term lease. You may need to temporarily relocate for work or aren't sure about living in a certain area and would like to try it out for a bit.
Whatever the situation, if you need to be flexible, a short-term lease can benefit you. You can move in and out quickly without much notice and landlords can be more lenient with contracts.
Short-term leases do tend to have higher rent prices and more relaxed terms, meaning both the price and rental terms could change at any time. This includes contract termination, which means the tenant or landlord could terminate the contract at any time, leaving the rental property empty or a tenant high and dry without anywhere to go.
While many landlords don't specifically offer short-term leases, some are willing to negotiate a deal, so don't be afraid to ask! You can also check out our page of cities with short-term rentals for a wide variety of apartments that already offer short-term leases.
Morgen Henderson is a writer who grew up in Utah. She lived in the Dominican Republic for a year and a half, where she was involved in humanitarian service. Some of Morgen's work has appeared in State of Digital, The Next Scoop and TechPatio. In her free time, she loves to travel, bake, master DIY projects and improve her Spanish skills.