Short term lets: your questions answered
How long you can stay, what deposit is involved, which bills are inside the price, and how cancellation and notice work on a short let with no tenancy.
Length of stay
Most of our homes take bookings from a few nights upwards, and a week to a month is the most common short term let we take. A handful of homes set a longer minimum at busy times of year, and we will tell you the minimum for each home when we send availability for your dates.
There is no fixed maximum. Guests regularly stay two, three or six months and some stay a year, rolling the booking forward. Anything past 28 nights is priced monthly rather than nightly, which brings the effective nightly figure down sharply.
A short term let with us is a booking of a furnished home for a set period, not an assured shorthold tenancy. There is no referencing and no six-month minimum term; a refundable security deposit applies — the booking simply ends on the date agreed.
Usually yes. Tell us as early as you can and we will hold the extra dates at the same rate. If that home is already booked after your dates, we move you to another home nearby on the same terms.
Deposits and payment
Yes. A refundable security deposit is required for all bookings and is not a tenancy deposit under a deposit protection scheme. The amount is confirmed before you pay anything, and it is returned after checkout subject to the terms.
No tenancy referencing and no credit checks. We ask for standard photo ID and, for company bookings, the name of the business being invoiced.
Payment is by bank transfer or card. Short stays are usually paid in full before arrival; monthly bookings are typically paid month by month in advance. We confirm the exact schedule in writing with the booking.
Yes. We invoice companies directly with itemised receipts suitable for expenses, and we can work to agreed payment terms for repeat corporate bookings.
Bills and what's included
Yes. Gas, electricity, water, council tax and fast broadband are all inside the quoted price. Nothing is put into your name and there are no meter readings or account transfers at either end of the stay.
Homes are fully furnished and ready to live in: beds made up with bedding and towels, a full kitchen with cookware, crockery and appliances, a washing machine, a TV with Wi-Fi and, at most homes, driveway or allocated parking.
The home is professionally cleaned and linen changed before you arrive, and that is inside the price. On longer stays we arrange a mid-stay clean and fresh linen; how often depends on the length of the booking and is agreed up front.
The figure we quote is what you pay for the dates booked — bills, council tax, Wi-Fi and the arrival clean are all in it. The only additional items would be things you ask for, such as extra cleans, parking for a second vehicle where it is chargeable, or damage beyond fair wear and tear.
Cancellation and notice
Yes. Cancellation terms are set out in writing when you book and depend on how far ahead of arrival you cancel and how long the stay is. Cancel well before arrival and there is normally nothing to pay beyond any non-refundable holding amount; cancel close to arrival and some or all of the first period may be charged.
Because there is no tenancy, you are not tied into a notice period at the end of the dates you booked — the stay simply ends. If you are on a rolling monthly booking and want to leave earlier than planned, we ask for notice before the next month starts so the home can be re-let.
Only in the rare case where a home becomes unusable, for example a maintenance problem. If that happens we move you to another home of the same standard nearby, or refund in full if nothing suits.
Tell us as soon as you know. Moving dates is usually possible at no charge if the home is free, and if it is not we look at the other homes we manage in the same area.
Real photography from short-stay homes we manage — furnished, cleaned and ready the day you arrive.