The 7 best ways to find a short-term rental while you renovate your NYC apartment

Renovating your New York City apartment involves more than finding a reputable contractor and choosing your finishes and appliances. It also typically requires you to relocate, at least while the bulk of the work is being done—and your kitchen and bathroom are off-limits. 

But short-term rentals are often difficult to find and typically cost 20 to 30 percent more than standard long-term leases.

The reason? The higher turnover, which is expensive for landlords. Plus, they prefer longer-term tenants. (Note: Apartments in NYC can not be rented for fewer than 30-days unless the owner or leaseholder remains on the premises.) And New Yorkers seeking short-term stays are competing with visitors, for example business travelers whose stays are paid for by their companies.

[Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article was published in January 2024. We are presenting it again with new information for January 2026.]

You’ll find the most listings for short-term rentals in spring, but that’s also when asking rents are the highest, said Philip Horigan, founder of Leasebreak, a short-term rental listing site. Rents for summer start dates are also notoriously high due to the seasonal influx of interns.

Typically, NYC rental buildings don’t allow short-term stays. While some landlords will rent furnished apartments directly to renters on a short-term basis, most require a one-year minimum. Most co-ops frown on short-term stays, and some condo buildings prohibit them.

However, you don’t need to depend on the flexibility of landlords or co-op and condo buildings to find a short-term rental.

Pioneering hosting platforms like Blueground have proliferated over the past decade, giving New Yorkers seeking short-term rentals more options today than ever before. Corporate housing is another option (with you covering the cost).

Whichever route you take, it pays to be strategic about timing your renovation. Co-living companies and even traditional landlords may offer concessions or allow shorter terms during the winter, when they may want to fill up unoccupied units. If your short-term lease ends in the spring or summer, landlords are better able to find a new tenant—and charge that person more. 

For that reason, Horigan offers this pro tip: If you see a listing for a 12-month unfurnished rental in the winter, ask if the landlord would be willing to do a shorter-term sublet until summer—since you'll be helping them get back on the more lucrative cycle of finding long-term renters in summer. 

Keep the above in mind, and use these seven methods to find the best short-term rental while you renovate your NYC apartment.

1) Explore your neighborhood

It helps to rent in your immediate neighborhood so you can stick to your regular routine—like walking your kids to school or visiting the dog park—and avoid having to figure out where to shop for food and other essentials. Just as importantly, it will be that much easier to monitor the renovation work to ensure it is proceeding at an appropriate pace. 

Use your local knowledge of where the big rental buildings are, and stop by to ask the doorman or concierge about any current or upcoming vacancies (they always know). If you play your cards right, they might be able to connect you with the landlord or tenant before a unit is officially on the market; just be transparent about looking for something other than a standard annual lease. 

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This five-bedroom, three-bath duplex with private outdoor space at 108 Calyer St. in Greenpoint is available for $7,950 per month.
 

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Living New York/StreetEasy

2) Search for apartments online

Like regular rentals, many short-term rentals are posted on the usual listing websites, though you may need to do a little sleuthing to find them. 

On StreetEasy, for example, you can use the advanced search to filter for furnished apartments, which are more likely to allow short-term rentals. You can also enter "short term" in the keyword search. A recent search of Manhattan listings identified 57 furnished apartments, mostly in Midtown, ranging in price from $2,400 per month for a studio in Murray Hill all the way up to a whopping $165,000 for a two-bedroom duplex in Lenox Hill. In Brooklyn, the same search turned up 22 listings starting at $2,750 for a studio in Fort Greene; the most expensive was a three-bedroom condo in Greenpoint for $17,250. 

NYHabitat lets you search its no-fee apartment database for short-term rentals, with plenty of listings (more than 1,700 at last check) across Manhattan and Brooklyn—97 of which were available for the month of March. It offers "vacation rentals" for one night to one month, "furnished rentals" for one or more months, corporate housing, and even apartment shares, bed-and-breakfast options, and student housing services. The site has also added a "ratings and reviews" feature, though a quick survey didn't turn up any comments for the active listings. 

RentHop also lets you search for sublets/lease breaks, furnished apartments, and even short-term rentals in popular neighborhoods across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. A recent search turned up 54 of the latter. Tip: Ticking the "furnished" box under "more filters" will screen out viable options, so just check "short-term allowed" instead.

Or you can head straight to Leasebreak. “One great way to get a short-term rental is to take over the remaining months on someone's lease with the landlord's approval,” Horigan said.

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This site goes beyond leasebreaks to include short-term rentals, sublets, and rooms for rent. 

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Leasebreak

Changes to the rent laws in 2019 make it slightly easier for renters to terminate a lease early if necessary. Landlords have a "duty to mitigate," which means they are required to try to re-rent the apartment rather than taking you to court for unpaid rent. And as leasebreaks become more accepted and common, there will be more shorter-term lease opportunities for renters to take over the remaining months of someone's lease—often at a much lower rent than the market rate, Horigan said.

Leasebreak has grown to include other legal short-term options such as furnished month-to-month rentals, unfurnished sublets direct from a tenant for a specific time frame, and rooms for share. 

"We are known as a 'short-term marketplace'— with thousands of leasebreaks all in one place. We also have sublets, rooms for rent, and companies like Blueground and Furnished Quarters, which specialize in short-term rentals, list with us directly," Horigan said. Those and other firms are discussed below.

When possible, seek a short-term lease with an option to extend if the renovation takes longer than planned—it inevitably will. Find out in advance how much notice you need to give and whether that is negotiable. It’s safe to say you’ll need to let them know at least 30 days in advance of the extension.

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Churchill Living offers this furnished one bedroom at the full-service Sky in Midtown tower starting at $209 per night. 

3) Move into corporate housing

As the epicenter of so many industries, NYC has long been flush with corporate housing providers that help companies find short-term accommodations for their executives and employees. More recently, these established companies have been rebranding themselves as suppliers of long-term stays for students, international travelers, and families.

The move-in-ready apartments are equally ideal for New Yorkers in the middle of a renovation who do not want to take on yet more decorating decisions. Those that come with utilities and wifi baked into the rent alleviate the chore of setting those up. 

Prices are still steeper than unfurnished rentals, but if a fitness center, children’s playroom, rooftop lounge, and other such amenities are important to you, these mostly Manhattan properties might be your best bet. Be sure to factor in a 30-day minimum stay.

Most of companies require you to submit an inquiry form to see actual pricing and availability. For example, Weichert Corporate Housing (formerly Premier Furnished Apartments) prides itself on providing "handpicked" units at five Manhattan buildings, mostly in Midtown. You click on the property to request a quote. 

Churchill Living has 10 properties in Manhattan (and one each in the Bronx and White Plains); starting prices range from $199 to $419 a night, with a couple of higher-priced outliers at $828 and $1,149.

Furnished Quarters has extensive, higher-end listings in Manhattan and six properties in Brooklyn—all with onsite 24/7 guest services. Pricing available only upon request.  

Executive Plaza in Midtown West is another spot for furnished monthly rentals with studios starting at $159 a night, one bedrooms at $189, and two bedrooms with two baths at $309. 

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AKA offers suites with a separate living area, such as this one at the NoMad location. 

4) Think like a tourist

There are a growing number of extended-stay options based on a hospitality model, so you can pick the one that best fits your budget. You may even be able to negotiate a lower rate, especially during the off-season. 

AKA has extended-stay properties in four Manhattan neighborhoods—Central Park, Times Square, Sutton Place, and Nomad. It offers a hotel-like experience, with free wifi, housekeeping, coffee and tea service, and access to gyms, lounges, a screening room, and a business center. Rooms range from studios to penthouse suites, all with gourmet kitchens. Prices are available when you select your dates and reserve online. For example, nightly rates for the month of March 2006 range from $290 for accessible rooms with a queen bed to $490 for the "Empire State Room" with a terrace. 

Anyplace has furnished studios and one bedrooms in Manhattan (Chelsea, FiDi, Murray Hill, the Theater District, and Columbus Circle) with fully equipped workplaces (complete with monitor, wireless keyboard, and mouse for your laptop) and the buildings have co-working spaces, so you don't miss a beat while you decamp if you work from home full- or part-time. Other amenities include in-unit laundry and access to fitness centers, pools, and rooftop decks. Rates start at around $5,796 per month with a minimum 30-day stay. 

Blueground leans more toward residents than tourists, with hundreds of stylish spaces in desirable neighborhoods, mostly in Manhattan but with numerous options in Brooklyn (nearly 100 for a March stay) and few in Queens. Rates start at around $6,000 a month for a one bedroom. Some amenities require a fee—but if you’re not using a gym or pool, you might appreciate not having to pay for it. 

On the high end, onefinestay has monthly stays available at 16 luxury properties in NYC, ranging from $500 a night for a one-bedroom apartment at Stuyvesant Square to $3,000 for a five-bedroom townhouse on the Upper West Side. The bookings come with onefinestay’s concierge service and guest support. Guests can add additional services like housekeeping, private chefs, and in-home spa treatments as well as extend their stays and rent the home per day after the initial 30-night booking.

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Outsite's Chelsea property features private rooms, with or without a private bath, in a circa-1848 brownstone. 

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Outside

5) Apply for a co-living space

If you have kids and/or pets, proceed to #6. 

But if you fit the profile (20- or 30-something professional working in tech or creative sectors) and don’t mind sharing your temporary home with strangers, consider the city’s numerous co-living opportunities. These “adult dorms” offer a private bedroom in a stylish space, complete with access to a kitchen stocked with the basics, housecleaning, and buildings with modern perks. Most companies also create opportunities for networking and socializing through pop-up events and happy hours. 

Places like SharedEasy, which has listings in Harlem, UWS, Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Ridgewood (Queens), Outsite (Chelsea, Midtown), and Node (Bushwick) will let you stay for as little as one month; Goal House (Prospect Lefferts Gardens) requires a minimum three-month stay and has no vacancies as of this writing. 

Outpost, the New York-based coliving operator, recently merged with June Homes creating the largest co-living operator in the U.S. The combined company has 2,500 units across NYC, according to Outpost CEO Sergii Starostin.

You can expect a private bedroom to start at around $900, slightly more for one with a private bath. A few companies require an additional membership fee. Utilities are usually bundled with the price, though a security deposit may be required. 

6) Let a broker do the work

Finding a broker well-versed in short-term rentals is another option, especially if you want someone to handle the heavy lifting for you. 

There are a few agencies, such as Manhattan Management Group, that specialize in short-term furnished inventory. Most of the larger brokerages also have relocation specialists or agents with experience in short-term rentals.

“Working with a reputable broker may save you money in the end because we can negotiate on your behalf and broaden your options,” said Tracie Hamersley, a broker at Douglas Elliman. Plus, you can capitalize on their connections. “I called a property manager who had just happened to speak to a tenant who was looking to sublet her apartment, and I was able to place my client in a short-term lease. That serendipity happens all the time.” 

Hamersley also has a valuable resource in the firm’s internal bulletin board, where she can reach out to all 4,000 agents across the city to find leads on rentals that may be off-market or broker-to-broker. “I can post what I am looking for and quickly get a match,” she said.

Over the past 19 years, Michelle Sedlitz, an agent at Corcoran, has helped people rent out their furnished apartment for the summer or while out of the country for half the year, including a six-month sublet of a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath condo (with the board’s permission). “I always tell renters these furnished short-term rentals will be expensive, but every now and then I find a tenant/landlord willing to come down quite a bit on the price,” she said.

Sedlitz noted that walk-ups can be had for a discount. "Many renters are willing to forego the bells and whistles to save money on the rent."

7) Tap your social networks

Word-of-mouth recommendations are often the best way to find a temporary landing place. Ask ALL your friends, neighbors, co-workers, workout buddies, and whoever else you know if they (or someone they know) will be vacating or subletting their apartment. Post your request on social media. Be creative and persistent. You never know. 

—Earlier versions of this article contained reporting and writing by Lucy Cohen Blatter and Donna M. Airoldi.