Housing for locum tenens physicians, CRNAs, NPs and PAs

Locum assignments can last a few days or several months. Once a hotel stops making sense, a furnished rental near the hospital gives you a kitchen, a quiet bedroom and somewhere to leave your things between stretches. Renters use Med Pro Housing for free.

When a rental makes more sense than a hotel

Many locum agencies arrange lodging as part of the assignment, often a hotel. For a few nights that's fine. For a block of several weeks, or recurring coverage where you return to the same hospital every month, a furnished rental usually works better: a full kitchen, laundry, a bedroom you can darken after a night of call, and the same bed each time you come back.

If your agency offers a housing allowance, or lets you choose your own lodging, ask what the limit is and whether they pay the host directly or reimburse you. For recurring coverage, ask a host about keeping the place for consecutive months even if you're only there part of each month. Some may prefer that to turning the home over again and again.

Search around the hospital you're covering

You can search any US city, or pick the facility from 5,384 hospitals in CMS data and set a radius from 5 to 50 miles. More than 1,300 critical access hospitals are in that data, along with VA and children's hospitals, so small-town assignments are searchable too. The map shows listings next to nearby hospitals, which helps if you cover two sites. Filter by move-in date, price, bedrooms, pets, furnished and property type, and save a search to get an email alert if nothing fits yet.

What to sort out with a host

Home call. If you take call from home, check the drive time against the hospital's response-time requirement, at night and in bad weather. Ask about cell signal and Wi-Fi too.
Minimum stay. Hosts set their own, 30 nights by default. If your assignment is shorter, put your dates in your first message so the host can say yes or no quickly.
Start dates. Licensing and hospital privileges can push a start date back. Ask how flexible the move-in date is before you pay anything.
Who pays. Med Pro Housing doesn't collect rent or deposits. Agree on terms in writing with the host, and if your agency is paying, confirm how and when the host gets paid.
Quiet. Ask about shared walls, street noise and blackout shades if you'll be sleeping during the day.

Privacy for providers

Hosts never see your email address; you talk through in-app messages. You won't see a home's exact street address until you arrange it with the host, which protects the host's privacy as well. Any message asking for payment by wire, gift card, crypto or similar is flagged with a scam warning, and you can report or block a host. You can verify your professional license, and hosts then see a verified badge on your inquiries.

Taxes and allowances

Many locum physicians work as independent contractors rather than W-2 employees, so housing costs can be handled differently than a travel nurse's stipend. Either way, the tax home and temporary-assignment rules in IRS Publication 463 decide whether lodging counts as a travel expense away from home. Our housing stipend guide explains those rules in plain terms. This is general information, not tax advice, so check your own situation with a tax professional.

Start from the hospital's name on the search page, or browse housing by state.

Common questions

Do locum tenens agencies pay for housing?

Many do, usually by booking lodging or reimbursing it as part of the assignment. Check your agreement for what's covered and whether you can choose your own furnished rental.

Can I rent for less than 30 nights?

Each host sets a minimum stay, and the default is 30 nights. If your assignment is shorter, give your dates in your first message and the host can tell you whether it works.