Temporary Housing · Thailand

Temporary housing in Bangkok, for the weeks between arrival and a lease

You land before the home exists. The lease is being negotiated, the container is at sea, term has started, and the family needs an address tonight. Asia Relocation Thailand finds the serviced apartment that fits, books it in your name, and keeps it flexible until the permanent one is ready.

Ask for temporary housing → What the service covers
In Thailand since 2011 Six cities, from Bangkok to Samui English, French and Thai
3kinds of stay
2011housing arrivals in Thailand since
6cities where we book
1consultant, booking to check-out

Temporary housing is the part of a relocation that gets booked last and matters first. A family that lands into a good serviced apartment in the right district spends its first weeks looking at permanent homes calmly. A family that lands into a hotel spends them exhausted and signs the wrong lease to get out.

The choice is not about the residence alone. It is about where the permanent home will probably be, where the school is, and how the arriving parent gets to work from the first Monday. A temporary address on the wrong side of Bangkok's traffic turns the permanent search into a series of long afternoons.

Asia Relocation Thailand has booked arrivals into serviced apartments and extended-stay residences since 2011, in Bangkok and five other cities, with units never offered to the public. The same consultant handles the residence, the deposit and the check-in, and stays on the file until the permanent keys exist.

The perimeter

Booked by us, and what belongs to the permanent home

The temporary address and the permanent one are two searches with two logics. Keeping them distinct stops the first from being rushed and the second from being skipped.

Carried by the service

  • A brief taken seriously: party size, arrival date, the district the permanent home will likely be in, and what the household cannot do without.
  • A curated portfolio of serviced apartments, extended-stay hotels and short lets, including units held off the open market.
  • Viewings accompanied, in person or by video with our consultant in the flat, with the neighbourhood explained rather than pictured.
  • The paperwork: booking, deposit, the residence's documentation and the check-in inventory, in your name or your company's.
  • The first week: utilities, internet, the introduction to the residence's management, and the extension when the lease runs late.

Every inclusion of the residence is confirmed in writing before you commit.

A different service

  • The permanent home. Owner's document pack, deposit, the lease read line by line: that is home search in Thailand, usually run from the temporary address.
  • The school that fixes the district. If children are arriving, school search often decides where the temporary flat should be.
  • The furniture that has not arrived. A serviced apartment is furnished; the household goods in transit go into storage in Thailand until the permanent home takes them.
  • The visa the residence asks about. Longer stays raise the question: visa and immigration in Thailand.

All of these run on one file, with one consultant, when the household arrives as a whole.

Types of stay

Three kinds of temporary roof, and what each is good at

Same booking, same paperwork. What changes is how much of a home the residence is.

Serviced apartment

A furnished flat in a residence with reception, cleaning and often a pool and gym, the standard answer in Sukhumvit, Silom and Sathorn. The choice for a stay of several weeks where the household needs to function, not merely sleep.

Most bookings

Extended-stay hotel

Hotel services with a kitchenette and a rate built for weeks rather than nights. For an uncertain arrival date, or a single executive who wants nothing to manage while the office is set up.

Uncertain dates

Short-term rental

A private condominium or house let for a fixed period. More space and more of a home, the option families choose in Ekkamai or Nichada Thani when school has started, with fewer services and a landlord rather than a reception.

Families

Coastal and upcountry stays

Villas in Phuket and Samui, boutique residences in Chiang Mai, seaside apartments in Hua Hin and Pattaya. The same service outside the capital, in a market that moves with the season.

Outside Bangkok
How it works

Booked before the flight, extended if the lease is late

  1. The brief

    Who is arriving, when, for roughly how long, and where the permanent home is likely to be. Without that last answer the stay ends up on the wrong side of the city.

  2. The portfolio

    A short set of residences that match the criteria, the budget and the timeline, drawn from serviced apartments, extended-stay hotels and short lets, including units not advertised.

  3. The viewings

    On a video call with our consultant standing in the flat, or in person if you are already here. The neighbourhood, the commute and the residence's rules are explained, not left to the listing.

  4. The booking

    Terms negotiated with the provider for a short stay, documentation and deposit handled, the check-in inventory done with you so the check-out is not a negotiation.

  5. The first week, and the extension

    Utilities and internet working, the management introduced, and the booking extended if the permanent lease slips, which we plan for.

Who it's for

Four arrivals that need a roof before a home

Transferees on a short assignment

A posting measured in months rather than years, where a furnished residence is the whole housing solution and a permanent lease would never make sense.

Expatriates waiting for the permanent home

The commonest case: the home search is running, the container is at sea, and the household needs a base in the right district.

Families arriving before term does

School has started and the lease has not. The flat is chosen for the school run first, with the bedrooms and the playground that make it a home for the weeks it lasts.

Couples and HR teams testing the ground

Individuals exploring Thailand before committing to a lease, and HR departments who need an address for an arriving employee and an invoice that fits their process.

Coverage

Bangkok's districts, and five other cities

Residences in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Samui, checked in by our own consultants.

In Bangkok the district is the choice that matters. Sukhumvit, Silom and Sathorn for the executive serviced residences near the business districts; Thonglor and Ari for a quieter street with the same connections; Ekkamai and Nichada Thani in Nonthaburi when a family needs space and international schools within a short drive.

Outside the capital the market changes character. Chiang Mai offers boutique residences and serviced apartments to international standards. Phuket and Samui run on villas and resort-style apartments whose availability follows the season. Pattaya has a large stock of expatriate-friendly short stays, and Hua Hin's boutique residences are where retirees often spend their first months before renting for good.

FAQ

What arrivals ask about a temporary stay in Thailand

What is included in a temporary rental in Bangkok?
A furnished apartment with the essentials working from the first night: Wi-Fi, air conditioning, a kitchen with appliances, and usually a cleaning service. Many residences add a pool, a gym and round-the-clock security. What is not included, such as utilities above an allowance, is written into the booking so there is no surprise at check-out.
How long can we stay?
As long as the gap lasts. Providers in Bangkok and Chiang Mai offer terms from a short stay to several months, and the right length is set by the permanent lease, not by the residence. We book with the flexibility to extend, because a home search rarely finishes on the date planned.
Which parts of Bangkok work best for a short stay?
Sukhumvit, Silom, Thonglor and Ari, for the connections, the restaurants and the proximity to the business districts. For families, Nichada Thani in Nonthaburi and Ekkamai are the addresses with space, schools nearby and other expatriate households around. Where you will eventually live should steer the choice, and we ask that first.
Is temporary housing suitable for a family?
Yes, provided it is chosen as a family home and not as a hotel room with a kitchen. Serviced residences offer multiple bedrooms, playgrounds and proximity to international schools, and we shortlist those specifically when children are arriving, especially if term starts before the permanent lease does.
What does temporary housing cost in Thailand?
It depends on the city, the district, the size and the services included, and Bangkok spans a wide range on those alone. Coastal cities move with the season. We give the figures in writing for the residences on your shortlist, with what each one includes, so that two options are compared on the same basis.
Who signs, and who pays the deposit?
The booking is in your name or your company's, and the documentation, the deposit and the check-in inventory are handled by us. When a company is paying, we set the paperwork up so that the invoice goes where HR needs it to.
Can you arrange it before we land?
Yes, and that is the usual case. Viewings are done on a video call with our consultant in the residence, the booking is confirmed before the flight, and the keys are ready on arrival. Many clients then view permanent homes from the temporary one, which is the sequence we recommend.
What if the permanent lease is delayed?
We extend. Bookings are placed with providers who allow it, and we tell them early when a home search is running long. A delay on the permanent side is common enough that we plan for it rather than treat it as an exception.
Not what you were looking for?

The page after this one

You want the permanent home, not a stay

Owner's document pack, deposit, and a lease read clause by clause before it is signed: the search that usually starts from the temporary address.

Home search in Thailand →

The whole relocation service

Housing, schooling, orientation and settling-in for Thailand, and how a temporary stay fits into the sequence.

Relocation services in Thailand →

Give us the arrival date and we hold a residence before you fly

Viewed for you on a call, booked in your name, extended if the lease is late. One consultant, booking to check-out.

Ask for temporary housing →
Temporary housing What's included
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