Mid-term rentals explained

1. Who books mid-term stays

• Corporate and project staff: employees relocating, consultants, and people on contracts or major infrastructure projects.
• Medical stays: patients and families near major hospitals, and visiting doctors and nurses. In Brisbane think Herston, South Brisbane and Woolloongabba. In Sydney, Darlinghurst and Camperdown.
• Insurance claims: families whose home is unliveable after a fire, flood or storm, housed by their insurer for weeks or months.
• People between homes: waiting on a settlement, a build or a renovation, or new to the city and looking around before they rent or buy.
• Academics, students and remote workers in town for a semester or a season.

These guests want a quiet, fully furnished home with good Wi-Fi, a proper workspace, a laundry and, ideally, parking. That makes them easier on a property than holiday groups.

2. How it compares

	Short stays	Mid-term	Long-term lease
Typical stay	1–14 nights	1–6 months	6–12 months+
Income	Highest per night, most variable	Above a lease, steadier than short stays	Lowest, most predictable
Turnovers and cleaning	Many	Few	Rare
Furnished?	Yes	Yes	Usually not
Your own use	Easy between bookings	Between stays	Not during the lease
Sydney 180-night cap	Counts	Doesn't count if 21+ nights	Doesn't apply
Brisbane transitory rates	Applies	Not if all stays are 42+ days	Doesn't apply

In our Airbnb vs long-term rent worked example, a Sydney inner-east 2-bed earned the most from a mix of short stays and 21-night-plus mid-term stays.

3. The legal line: when a stay becomes a tenancy

This is where mid-term letting gets technical, and where owners most often get caught out.

Queensland: the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 doesn't apply to occupancy for holiday purposes. However, a right to occupy for six weeks or longer is presumed not to be for holiday purposes. In practice, a furnished stay of six weeks or more can be treated as a residential tenancy, with the rules on agreements, bonds, entry and ending a tenancy. Since 6 June 2024, if you take a bond, the Act's bond rules apply even where the arrangement is otherwise exempt.

NSW: short-term rental accommodation arrangements of three months or less are excluded from the Residential Tenancies Act 2010. A stay of up to three months can therefore stay inside the STRA framework (registered, with the Code of Conduct applying). Anything longer is a residential tenancy and needs a proper tenancy agreement.

The right paperwork depends on the length and purpose of each stay. A licensed agent who manages both short stays and tenancies will set this up correctly. That is one reason mid-term letting suits an agency licensed for both.

4. Sydney: how mid-term works around the 180-night cap

In Greater Sydney, a non-hosted home can take up to 180 nights of short stays a year. Stays of 21 consecutive nights or more don't count towards the cap, although the property must still be registered on the STRA Register. So a typical Sydney plan is short stays in peak months and 21-night-plus mid-term stays for the rest of the year. See our Sydney short-stay rules.

5. Brisbane: the rates advantage

Brisbane City Council's higher transitory accommodation rates apply where a home is let for stays of under 42 consecutive days and offered that way for more than 60 days a year. A property let only for stays of 42 days or more sits outside that definition. Remember the Queensland six-week tenancy presumption above, though: at that length, tenancy rules may apply. Our Brisbane short-stay rules cover the rates categories.

6. Where mid-term guests come from

• Airbnb monthly stays. Airbnb lets guests search for stays of 28 nights or more, with weekly and monthly discounts.
• Specialist platforms such as Staylonger, which focuses on furnished mid-term rentals in Australia.
• Corporate housing and relocation agencies placing staff for employers.
• Insurance housing providers placing families after a claim.
• Direct relationships with local employers, hospitals and universities, and repeat guests.

7. Which properties suit mid-term

• Apartments and townhouses within easy reach of the CBD, major hospitals, universities or large project sites.
• One to three bedrooms, quiet buildings, with a real desk, fast Wi-Fi, a full kitchen and laundry, and parking if possible.
• Buildings where short stays are restricted (some Sydney strata schemes) but longer furnished stays are workable. Always check the by-laws.

8. Insurance and contracts

Mid-term stays can fall between short-stay and long-term insurance policies, so tell your insurer how the property is let and confirm the policy covers stays of that length. Use an agreement that suits the length of stay: a short-stay licence agreement for shorter stays, or a proper tenancy agreement where tenancy law applies. See our short-stay insurance guide.

Common questions

What is a mid-term rental?

A furnished property let for roughly one to six months, usually to corporate, medical, insurance-claim or relocating guests. It sits between a holiday let and a standard long-term lease.

Is a mid-term rental a tenancy in Queensland?

It can be. The Queensland Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act doesn't apply to holiday lettings, but a right to occupy for six weeks or longer is presumed not to be for holiday purposes. Longer furnished stays can therefore be residential tenancies. If a bond is taken, the Act's bond rules apply regardless.

Is a mid-term rental a tenancy in NSW?

In NSW, short-term rental accommodation arrangements of three months or less are excluded from the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 and stay within the STRA framework. Arrangements longer than three months are residential tenancies.

Do mid-term stays count towards Sydney's 180-night cap?

Not if they are 21 consecutive nights or more. Stays of 21 nights or longer don't count towards the 180-night limit on non-hosted short-term rentals in Greater Sydney, although the property must still be registered.

Does a mid-term rental earn more than a long-term lease?

Usually, for a well-located furnished property, because guests pay for furniture, flexibility and included bills. It typically earns less per night than short stays, but with far fewer turnovers and steadier occupancy.

Related: Airbnb vs long-term rent · Sydney short-stay rules · Brisbane short-stay rules · Short-stay insurance. General information only, not legal advice.

Last checked: 9 November 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so confirm the details for your own property with the council, your body corporate or strata manager, and your accountant.