Los Angeles Corporate Housing

‘Corporate Housing’: Los Angeles has plenty of it these days, but what is ‘Corporate Housing’?

In the broadest sense, corporate housing is a temporary housing situation that is most commonly purchased, rented, or leased by a company — though individuals certainly can take advantage of corporate housing as well. In particular, far-flung and specifically multi-national companies make good use of corporate housing.

Multi-national companies may, for example, need temporary, ready-to-live-in (i.e. furnished) apartments in Los Angeles so that their executives flying in from overseas have a place to live while they see the ground-level operations on US soil for a month or two. Because the company has a responsibility to provide them with top-level accommodations, they wouldn’t think of putting them up in a hotel — either the quality isn’t high enough or the price is too high. Corporate housing can provide the answer.

Similarly, an employee being transferred to a new area may need a place to stay for several weeks while they work, get their first paycheck, and use it to move into a new home. It may not even take that long, but one of the hallmarks of excellent corporate housing is its flexibility. Should a company lack the resources or expertise to arrange these things themselves, L.A. has an organization — the Corporate Housing Providers’ Association (CHPA) — that can help them find the short-term housing they need.

The CHPA (and, truth be told, most individual corporate housing providers) are excellent at working with companies who have bulk housing needs to reduce their overall price per unit by giving a discount based on the number of units rented. (This is a big part of why individuals rarely take advantage of corporate housing — buying in bulk is what provides most of the savings.)

Most commonly, corporate housing consists of condominiums or large apartments (which are basically identical but for a few minor legal differences anyway.) They usually come fully or sometimes partially furnished — at the minimum, they’ll come with the basic appliances you need to cook and stay clean. This makes it very easy to arrive from far away and immediately go about your business without having to spend a lot of time dealing with your housing situation — just what your business demands of you.