How do I lease my furnished home to a company for its employees?
Sign the lease with the company as the tenant, name the people who may live in the home, and say what happens when one employee leaves and another arrives. Ask for a company contact, a billing contact and, if you want extra protection, a guarantor or a larger deposit within your state's limit. Keep the rent, the deposit and the occupants separate in your records.
Why a company might rent your home
Employers sometimes place staff in a furnished home for a project, a transfer or training. The company signs and pays, and the person who lives there is the employee. For you the draw is rent from a business for a set period. The trade is a lease with more moving parts: the tenant and the occupant are different parties.
Who signs and who lives there
- The tenant is the company. Use its full legal name and ask for the signer's title and authority to sign.
- The occupants are named. List each person who may live in the home, and say whether the company can swap them out.
- Replacement is allowed only with written notice. Ask for the new person's name before move-in. If you screen occupants, apply the same criteria to every one.
- Cap the number of occupants and say who may be a guest.
- Each occupant signs the house rules and the inventory, even if they are not on the lease as a tenant.
If you do screen individual occupants, use written criteria and apply them the same way every time. Federal fair housing law covers housing decisions, and HUD publishes an overview. A company's request to place only certain kinds of people is not a reason to treat applicants differently.
Terms that matter with a business tenant
| Term | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Billing contact and invoice details | Rent and any charges go to the company's accounts payable, so your payment instructions must match what their system needs |
| Who pays utilities, cleaning and damage | Say whether the company or the occupant is responsible, and who pays for damage |
| Early ending and replacement | Projects end early or change. Set notice and any fee |
| Deposit | Within your state's limit, held as your state requires, refunded to the tenant |
| Guarantor, if used | Adds protection when the company is small or new |
Example a made-up company leases a furnished two-bedroom for 6 months at a made-up $2,400 a month and names two employees. In month 3, one employee is replaced. The lease says the company gives 10 days notice and the replacement signs the house rules and joins the inventory. The owner keeps the occupant list current.
Records and income
The IRS treats rent you receive before the period it covers as advance rent included in income in the year received, so note which months each payment covers. A security deposit you plan to return is not income when you receive it, but any part you keep is. Furniture and appliances you provide are 5-year property for depreciation, per Publication 946 and Publication 527. Ask a tax preparer about your situation.
This is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Your state, your city, your policy and your own documents decide what applies, so confirm with the source and a licensed professional.
How DoorKeeping handles it
DoorKeeping handles the lease: an e-signed lease with the company's signer, the dates, the rent deposits matched to the lease from your bank feed, late fees within your state caps, work orders and email to your contacts. Each property has its own books. DoorKeeping never holds your money and sends a payment only when you approve it.
Sources
- HUD, Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act, read Oct 31, 2026
- IRS Publication 527, Residential Rental Property, read Oct 31, 2026
- IRS Publication 946, How To Depreciate Property, read Oct 31, 2026
Questions
- Should the employee or the company sign the lease?
- Most owners have the company sign as tenant and list the employees as occupants. That puts the rent obligation on the company.
- Can the company swap occupants during the lease?
- Only if the lease allows it. Write the notice period and ask for the new person's name before they move in.
- Do I need a larger deposit from a company?
- You can ask for a deposit within your state's limit. A guarantor is another option. Check your state statute.