A month is not a number. Count the nights.
A month-long rental can mean 28 nights or 31, and it is not the same thing as a month-to-month lease. Below: how to count, what to ask before you treat a place as home for that long, and the public rules where a month becomes a number. Each rule is local or platform-specific — there is no single national rule — and none of them is Stead's policy.
The same month, three different lengths.
Check in on the first, check out on the first of the next month, and the calendar decides how many nights you get.
1 February to 1 March
28 nights
29 in a leap year
1 April to 1 May
30 nights
April, June, September, November
1 July to 1 August
31 nights
the other seven months
Where a month becomes a number.
Each applies only where it says it does. Read the source for the full text; it is the authority, not this summary.
On Airbnb, a monthly stay starts at 28 nights
Airbnb applies the long-term cancellation policy to reservations of 28 nights or more. If a monthly stay is shortened to 27 nights or less, the guest is responsible for the following 30 days of payment from the day of the change, or until the end of the reservation if fewer than 30 days remain.
What it means for a month: There, a February month and a July month are both monthly stays, and shortening one is not a clean refund. This is Airbnb's rule, not Stead's.
Source: Airbnb Help Center, article 50
Florida's lodging law says 30 days or 1 calendar month, whichever is less
Florida Statutes section 509.013 (2025) defines a transient public lodging establishment by rentals of less than 30 consecutive days. One exclusion covers certain condominium units and one- to four-family dwellings rented for periods of at least 30 days or 1 calendar month, whichever is less, and not advertised as regularly rented for less than 1 calendar month.
What it means for a month: Even inside one statute, a month and 30 days are two different measures. The exclusion has other conditions, so read the section for your case.
In New York City, the line for a whole home is 30 days
New York City's Office of Special Enforcement says you cannot rent out an entire apartment or home to visitors for less than 30 days, even if you own or live in the building.
What it means for a month: A February check-in to a March checkout is under 30 days. If you are looking at a whole place in New York City, count the nights before you count on it.
Source: NYC Office of Special Enforcement, Information for Hosts
A month-long stay is not a month-to-month lease.
A month-long stay has a checkout date: it ends when the dates end. A month-to-month lease has no end date: it rolls over each month until someone gives notice. A monthly price does not tell you which one you have. The dates in writing do.
In California, monthly rent with no set term is presumed to be monthly
Civil Code section 1944 says a hiring of lodgings or a dwelling house for an unspecified term is presumed to last as long as the period the rent is estimated by, so a monthly rate is presumed to be for one month. Section 1946 says a hiring for a term not specified is renewed unless a party gives written notice, and a month-to-month tenancy can be ended by at least 30 days' written notice.
What it means for a month: An arrangement with a monthly price and no end date can carry notice rules that a fixed-date stay does not. Whether that chapter covers a furnished stay depends on the stay and the place.
Sources: California Civil Code § 1944 · California Civil Code § 1946
In Florida, rent paid monthly with no duration is month to month
Florida Statutes section 83.46 (2025) says that if a rental agreement has no provision on duration, the duration is set by the rent period, so rent payable monthly makes the tenancy month to month. Section 83.57 lets either party end a month-to-month tenancy with not less than 30 days' written notice before the end of a monthly period. Section 83.42 says that part of the law does not apply to transient occupancy in a hotel, condominium, motel, roominghouse or similar public lodging.
What it means for a month: Which side of that line a stay falls on turns on the facts. If it matters to you, ask a lawyer before you sign.
Sources: Florida Statutes § 83.46 (2025) · Florida Statutes § 83.57 (2025) · Florida Statutes § 83.42 (2025)
Six questions before you treat a place as home.
01
What are the exact dates?
Get a check-in date and a checkout date, in writing. Count the nights between them yourself. That number, not the word month, is what every rule below reads.
02
What does leaving early cost?
Ask before you pay. Month-long stays often run on their own cancellation terms, and they are rarely the same as a weekend's.
03
Can I stay longer?
Ask whether the dates after your checkout are free, and what an extension would cost. A month often turns into six weeks.
04
What comes with the price?
Utilities, internet, laundry, cleaning, parking. For a weekend you can shrug these off; for a month you are living with them.
05
Can I get mail and packages?
A month is long enough to need a delivery. Ask whether the host allows it and where it would go.
06
Who fixes things, and how fast?
Ask who to call when the heat, the water or the Wi-Fi stops, and how long a repair usually takes.
A plain-language summary of public sources, checked on 30 September 2026. Not legal or tax advice. Rules change; the linked source is the one that counts. Deposits and occupancy taxes are covered in our briefing on monthly furnished rentals.
Dates first, then every line of the price.
Each home has its own minimum stay, based on the host's preferences and reviewed eligibility. You see that minimum, the exact nights and every line of the price before you pay.
Homes are not bookable yet. Guest bookings are off while we prepare the platform. Availability will follow ready homes, without a city launch calendar. A long stay doesn't settle the rules above for you: they still depend on the place and the exact dates.
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