By the Unity Stays directors, Marcus Chong & Gadir Al-Khatib · Last updated 12 August 2026
In short: Expect a monthly rate materially below the nightly rate times thirty, a full clean before arrival and a service clean during the stay — not daily housekeeping — and confirm what inclusive bills cover before booking. The stay is a licence to occupy, not a tenancy, so settle deliveries, broadband, desk, laundry, parking and early-departure terms in writing before you arrive.
What is different from a short stay
On two nights you notice the bed and the shower. On two months you notice storage, natural light, whether the chair is comfortable to work in for eight hours, and whether you can get a delivery.
Longer stays are also priced differently. Anything beyond a couple of weeks should be quoted as a weekly or monthly rate materially below the nightly equivalent, because it costs the operator one changeover rather than ten.
If you are being quoted the nightly rate multiplied by thirty, you are being quoted wrong. Ask for a monthly rate.
Cleaning and linen on a long stay
There is no daily housekeeping in serviced accommodation, and that is part of why it costs what it does against a hotel. What you should expect is a full clean before you arrive and a service clean during the stay.
On our properties, stays of two weeks or longer include a professional weekly service clean. What that includes — and specifically whether linen and towels are changed — is worth confirming, because expectations vary between operators.
For a stay of several months, agree the pattern at the start. It is a straightforward conversation in week one and an awkward one in week nine.
The practical things worth asking before you arrive
Almost all of these are easy to answer in advance and irritating to discover on arrival.
- Can I receive deliveries and post? — including whether there is a safe place or a concierge
- Broadband speed, actually measured, if you will be working
- Is there a desk, at a real height, with a socket near it
- Laundry — a machine in the property, and whether there is anywhere to dry
- Storage — somewhere for an empty suitcase and a month of belongings
- Parking, specifically, including permits for a stay of this length
- What happens if I need to leave early, in writing
Bills, and what inclusive really means
On our properties utilities and broadband are included in the price, which is one of the practical differences from renting.
On a long winter stay some operators apply a fair-use allowance for utilities with excess charged at cost. That is reasonable, and it should be stated before you book rather than raised afterwards. If it is not mentioned, ask — it is better to know.
Council tax is not your concern on a short-stay licence, and neither is a deposit protection scheme, because this is not a tenancy. Which leads to the one genuinely important legal point.
It is a licence, not a tenancy
A serviced apartment stay is a licence to occupy rather than a tenancy. You get flexibility, a furnished and equipped property, bills included and no referencing — and you do not get security of tenure or the statutory protections that come with an assured shorthold tenancy.
For a stay of known and limited length that is usually the right trade, and it is why this works when a tenancy would not.
For a stay running well beyond a few months with exclusive occupation, it is worth both sides being clear how the arrangement is documented. A good operator will raise it rather than let it drift, and our company let guide covers the alternative structure.