Direct rentals for 1–3 months are the highest-value accommodation option for nomads staying in one place for a meaningful period. The cost savings relative to Airbnb or coliving are substantial, and the quality of living experience is typically better. The trade-off is effort: finding and securing a good direct rental requires active work, a process for verifying what matters, and some negotiating skill.
This guide covers the entire process from finding options to signing a lease.
Where to Find Direct Monthly Rentals
Local Property Portals
Every major nomad city has one or two dominant local property portals where landlords and agencies list rental properties. These are almost universally better sources for monthly furnished rentals than international platforms.
By country/region:
- Portugal: Idealista, Imovirtual, OLX Portugal
- Spain: Idealista, Fotocasa, Habitaclia (Catalonia)
- Colombia: Finca Raíz, Metrocuadrado
- Thailand: DDProperty, FazWaz, Hipflat
- Vietnam:com.vn (in Vietnamese — use Google Translate)
- Georgia (Tbilisi):ge, SS.ge
- Hungary:com
- Eastern Europe generally: OLX (available in many Eastern European countries), local country-specific portals
- Malaysia: PropertyGuru, Mudah
- Indonesia (Bali):com, Facebook groups
Most of these platforms are in the local language. Google Translate handles web pages reasonably well, and the search-and-filter functions are usually navigable even without the language.
Facebook Housing Groups
In most nomad cities, Facebook housing groups are the most active source for direct month-to-month furnished rentals — often more so than the local property portals. Search “[City] expats housing,” “[City] nomads accommodation,” or “[City] housing for foreigners.”
The quality of listings varies but the volume is high, and many landlords who specifically want international nomad tenants advertise exclusively here. The groups also often have pinned posts from established local agents who specialise in nomad-appropriate rentals.
The best group strategy: Post your own request. A simple post, “Looking for 1BR furnished apartment in [neighbourhood] for [dates] at [budget]. Short let, good internet essential. Can provide references.”, often produces better results than searching listings because it reaches landlords who haven’t listed yet.
SpotAHome
SpotAHome is an international mid-term rental platform specifically targeting 1–12 month furnished stays. It has good coverage in Europe (strong in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany) and expanding Latin American coverage. The platform offers some of the verification and process benefits of Airbnb with pricing closer to direct rental rates.
Best for: Nomads who want more platform-provided verification than a fully direct arrangement, particularly for first stays in European cities.
Walking the Neighbourhood
In many cities, particularly in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Southern Europe, walking your target neighbourhood and looking for “For Rent” signs (useful to know the local language term: “Se Alquila” in Spanish, “Se Aluga” in Portuguese, “ให้เช่า” in Thai, “for rent” notices in English in tourist-heavy areas) and calling the number directly is an effective approach.
Landlords who advertise this way are often open to negotiating directly and may offer better terms than those listing on platforms, precisely because they’re not paying platform fees.
Coworking Space Networks
If you’re using a coworking space in a city, its community Slack channel, WhatsApp group, or physical noticeboard often has accommodation listings from landlords who specifically want nomad tenants, and from residents leaving their apartments who want to find a good sub-tenant.
This is an underutilised channel that often produces some of the best-value listings, because it reaches landlords with existing positive experience of nomad tenants.
What to Negotiate
The Monthly Rate
Almost everything in a direct rental is negotiable, and the monthly rate is the main lever.
For a 2-month stay: Open negotiations at 10–12% below the listed price. Landlords typically have flexibility and expect negotiation.
For a 3-month stay: 15–20% below listed price is a reasonable opening position. Three months of guaranteed income with a reliable tenant is worth meaningful discount to most landlords.
For 6+ months: 20–25% below listed price is achievable with a reliable tenant profile. Landlords with apartments in nomad-popular areas often prefer longer reliable tenants to the unpredictability of short-term platform listings.
How to frame the negotiation: Not “I want to pay less” but “I’m planning to be here for [X months] and I maintain apartments well. I’m looking to agree a monthly rate that reflects the term.” Presenting yourself as a reliable, easy tenant is worth as much as the specific number.
Deposit Terms
Standard deposits in most markets are 1–2 months rent. For a 1-month stay, negotiating the deposit to 0.5 months is reasonable and worth asking for. For longer stays, the standard deposit is fair because it protects the landlord against damage and lease-breaking.
What to document: Photograph and video the apartment comprehensively on move-in, shared with the landlord in writing. This protects you from being charged for pre-existing damage on move-out.
Utility Inclusion
The standard in most nomad city markets is either: (a) all inclusive (rent covers electricity, water, WiFi), or (b) rent plus WiFi, with electricity and water metered separately.
For summer months in hot climates, electricity is the variable that matters, heavy air conditioning use can add €50–150/month to an otherwise cheap apartment. Negotiate an electricity cap or flat rate, or ensure the inclusions are clear before signing.
Departure Flexibility
For a 2-month rental, negotiate the ability to give 2 weeks notice and leave early rather than being locked into the full term. For shorter stays under 6 weeks, landlords are often willing to include this because they have less invested. For longer stays (3+ months), this is harder to negotiate and landlords reasonably want more security.
Equipment Additions
If the apartment is missing something you need, a proper desk and chair for working, a faster WiFi router, a specific piece of kitchen equipment — ask the landlord to provide it as part of the rental terms. Most reasonable landlords will accommodate this rather than lose a good tenant.
What to Verify Before Committing
Internet: Non-Negotiable
Internet quality is the single most important practical factor in whether an apartment will work for nomadic living, and it’s the most frequently misrepresented.
What to ask: “Can you run a speedtest at speedtest.net and send me a screenshot of the result? Both download and upload speed.” This request filters out landlords who don’t have working internet (they’ll stall or can’t produce the result) and gives you real data rather than claims.
What to verify in person or on video call: The location of the router relative to the workspace. A strong signal in the bedroom with the desk on the other side of a wall can mean half the stated speed at the point where you actually work.
Minimum thresholds: 25Mbps download / 10Mbps upload for standard remote work. 50Mbps symmetric or higher for regular high-definition video calls. If the stated internet is below this, ask whether it’s upgradeable or whether you can install a separate router.
Noise Profile
Ask: “What time do the bars/restaurants nearby close? Is there regular street noise? Are there any ongoing construction projects nearby?” These questions identify the most common sources of sleep disruption before you commit.
Visit the apartment (or have someone visit) at the times you’ll actually be working and sleeping, not just during a quiet Tuesday morning viewing.
Air Conditioning and Heating
In hot climates (Southeast Asia, Gulf, tropical Latin America), confirm that every room you’ll be using has functional air conditioning. Test it during the viewing. In cool climates (Northern Europe, high-altitude South America like Bogotá), confirm the heating system works and ask about typical winter bills.
Workspace Functionality
Sit at the desk and open your laptop. Is the desk at the right height? Is the chair usable for 6 hours of work? Is there natural light? Can you do a video call without the background being your unmade bed? These seem minor but determine whether you’ll actually be able to work productively from the apartment.
The Lease and Documentation
For stays under 3 months in most countries, a simple written agreement between you and the landlord is sufficient — it doesn’t need to be a formally registered contract. The agreement should cover: duration, monthly rate, deposit amount and return conditions, utility inclusions, what happens if you need to leave early, and any agreed additions or modifications.
For stays of 3+ months, particularly in EU countries, a more formal rental contract is advisable and in some countries required for legal occupancy. In Spain and Portugal, short-term furnished rental contracts have specific legal templates; ask a local agent or gestor for the appropriate format.
Always get the agreement in writing, however informal. “My landlord said I could have the apartment for two months at €900” is not an agreement; a message thread confirming those terms, or a signed document, is.
Related: Accommodation Hub | Airbnb vs Coliving vs Rentals | Finance Hub | Destinations Hub