Last updated July 2026. Written by the MatchBook team. We are 100 percent veteran owned, and we have lived through PCS and TDY moves ourselves.
Anyone in the military and their families know that moves can be frequent, stressful, and often unpredictable. When orders come through, a lot of service members default to military lodging or on-base housing for the in-between stretch, whether the move is a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) or a Temporary Duty (TDY) assignment. Others turn to short-term platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo to find something off-base, only to discover the options there are often limited, expensive, and not really built for families.
There is a better fit for these situations that a lot of military families overlook, and that is the midterm rental. Midterm or monthly rentals are stays that last from 30 days to less than a year, which happens to line up almost exactly with the gaps that PCS and TDY moves create. They have historically been hard to find or to negotiate with long-term landlords, but they are becoming much more common, and that is good news for anyone who moves for a living.
Understanding PCS and TDY moves
A PCS is a long-term relocation to a new duty station that typically lasts for years. It usually means moving an entire household, including family and pets, and once you arrive it can take weeks or months before on-base housing, an apartment, or a home purchase comes through. During that wait, a lot of families end up parked in an on-base hotel or a short-term rental with all of their belongings in tow. A midterm rental bridges that gap comfortably, at an affordable monthly rate, for the in-between period after you arrive and before you settle into something permanent.
A TDY is a shorter, more temporary move, usually running anywhere from a few weeks to several months for training, temporary work, or support at another base. Because a TDY is temporary by design, the housing needs to be flexible in length while still being more comfortable and more affordable than a hotel. Midterm rentals match that length well and offer something closer to home than a hotel room can.
Finding TDY housing and rentals
TDY housing is one of the hardest gaps to fill, because a temporary duty assignment is often too short for a standard year-long lease and too long to spend comfortably in a hotel. Searching for military TDY housing or TDY rentals usually surfaces either pricey extended-stay hotels or listings that will not rent for just a few weeks or months. Midterm rentals sit right in that gap. A furnished TDY rental comes with flexible terms that match an assignment of a few weeks up to several months, at a monthly rate that tends to fit your per diem or BAH better than nightly lodging does. Whether you are reporting to a base for training, temporary work, or short-term support, a furnished TDY rental gives you a real place to live, with a kitchen and separate space, instead of a single hotel room.
Where on-base lodging falls short
On-base lodging serves a purpose, but it was never designed for longer family stays, and that shows up in a few predictable ways. Base lodging fills quickly during peak PCS season, so finding a room that fits your timeline can be difficult in the first place. When you do get one, the space is often tight, with no yard and restrictions that make it hard on children or pets. Extended hotel stays add up fast and rarely feel like home during what is already a stressful stretch. And the location is not always convenient to the daily things a family needs, like schools and groceries. None of these are dealbreakers on their own, but together they explain why so many families start looking off-base.
Why midterm rentals fit military life
Midterm rentals answer most of those problems directly. The lease terms are flexible, so a month-to-month or custom length can be matched to a PCS wait or a TDY assignment without locking you into a year-long lease when orders might change again. Furnished options let you arrive and settle in immediately without unpacking a whole household or buying furniture for a temporary stay, and unfurnished options are there for families who would rather bring their own things.
The cost tends to work well with a military budget too. Because Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is set according to local housing costs, a monthly rental often fits comfortably within it, and it usually beats the value of an extended hotel stay. On top of that, many midterm rentals come with multiple bedrooms, a real kitchen, and outdoor space, which makes them far more workable for families and pets than a single lodging room, and gives everyone a bit more stability during the transition.
How MatchBook supports military families
MatchBook is 100 percent veteran owned, and our founding team is made up entirely of veterans who have been through PCS and TDY moves themselves. That experience shaped the platform in a few concrete ways.
You can search by the things that actually matter for a military move, including different lease lengths, furnished or unfurnished listings, pet-friendly filters, and proximity to a base, a school, or wherever you need to be. The entire renting process happens on the platform, so it is quick to find and secure a booking that matches a PCS or TDY timeline without chasing paperwork across different tools. You can book properties near a base while still living out in the community, and every listing is vetted, so the options you are looking at are secure and trustworthy.
Making your next move a little easier
PCS and TDY moves will always come with some amount of stress, but housing does not have to be the hardest part. When flexible options like midterm rentals are on the table, service members can find the comfort, affordability, and adaptability that match the fast pace and unpredictability of military life. If you have a move coming up and you are looking for your next monthly stay, you can browse military-friendly midterm rentals on MatchBook and take one thing off the list.