30 Ways to Live Rent Free

We’ve shared lots of unique ideas for living rent free below, but not all are a walk in the park. Some of the ideas are reminders that jobs with free housing are still quite common. For example, you can live rent free as a nanny, a caretaker, a property manager, in exchange for a special skill set you have, as a home health worker, and quite a few other ways. Jobs with free housing can be part-time or full-time and usually also come with a salary or monthly stipend. Don’t want to work at all? Then look through our list for a better fit for that goal. If you don’t see anything that you like, maybe Jobs for Couples would have ideas more up your alley.

We’ve included some Google and/or craigslist search terms that may help you find a particular kind of rent free living when there is less likelihood that kind will be published on large, well-known sites. Upfront costs indicated for some types of free rent lodging refer to the purchase of a particular type of housing, or a fee to join a website to find listings, not costs related to taxes, travel, or other expenses.

Storage Facility Resident Manager

Many storage facilities have a small manager’s apartment included with the salary offered. Typically some weekends and holidays are required as well as regular facility hours. With the advent of automation these roles are diminishing but still commonly found at smaller and older facilities. Duties usually include collecting rent, showing options to new renters, cleaning vacated units, maintaining the appearance of the facility and lots of little administrative tasks and reporting.

Long-Term House Sitting

Elder Care Support

Consider a job in senior care carefully; once you sign up it is extremely disruptive for all involved if you quickly move on because things didn’t work out. Many of these jobs require training, but don’t give up, there are lots that don’t. Sometimes a family member or the client themselves is simply looking for a bit of camaraderie and help with day to day housekeeping, driving, and meal planning.

Recreational Vehicle

Owning an RV outright can be an easy way to rid yourself of a monthly rental or real estate loan payment for housing. Living in a motor home can be as stationary or mobile as you’d like it to be. Some people stay all year in one place, while others follow the weather. Finding free places to park long-term can be challenging but we personally know several who do it successfully. Often RVers use their flexible housing to follow seasonal jobs around the country, some of which offer free parking of their recreational vehicle as part of the package. Others want their spot to be totally free and free of most work and park their RV with friendly hosts across the country. Whether you choose a traditional park, a job that comes with parking, or “boondock” on free to access spots is up to you.

University Resident Adviser or Assistant

Resident advisers are frequently required to offer academic counseling as well. This is a good gig for a graduate student or alumnus who already knows the ins and outs of a particular education setting.

Organic Farm Worker

Usually part time days in exchange for room and board, and farm experience are the norm. Some farms, by nature of actually employing people instead of doing a lodging or experience swap, also pay minimum wage or greater.

Houseboat and Floating Home Living

Houseboats are often much cheaper than houses if you know how to look for one, and are willing to buy used. Once you pay off your houseboat you are essentially rent free, and we include it here as a free rent option because it’s doable for most income levels. Many of the places you can anchor a houseboat charge lot rent;  which would go against the goal of being completely rent free but it’s usually so low compared to actual rent you might decide to opt for that solution. The upside to paying lot rent is that it typically includes some services and amenities you won’t have on your own. If you decide you want totally free living, it will be a lot more difficult, but start researching free places to dock your houseboat anyway, and go from there. Working part-time at a marina that has houseboat docking is a good place to start.

Boarding and Rooming Houses

Au Pair or Nanny

Property Caretaker

Caretaking can be a lot of fun, but is a bit more demanding than house sitting. Like house sitting, travel is usually required to whatever destination someone needs a lodger to look after their property and or business interest. Most of the really long term assignments seem to be in Europe and South America. Gap time is something to have a plan for…jobs don’t always neatly overlap. The most desirable positions for our purposes would be long-term with private housing provided so there is no moving out when the owner visits. Caretakers are sometimes just a physical presence to keep a property looking lived in, but more frequently are doing lots of chores and tasks; taking care of pets, buildings, and grounds. Examine caretaking opportunities carefully and don’t sign up for something you know you won’t do well. Your reputation and success on the assignment is what will get you the next gig, or a nice long extension from an owner that likes having you around. Some caretaking opportunities expand into small house or RV parking access, especially when the owners have lots of land and a consistent need for support doing chores and improvements. Most caretaking jobs are found on websites exclusively for house sitting and caretaking opportunities.

Resort Hotel Manager or Hospitality Manager

The resort managers we’ve interviewed, or known personally, say privacy is the number one thing lacking in their day to day life but the off season makes up for it with a much slower pace and lots more time for personal pursuits. Typically included in day to day operations are inspecting rooms and grounds, helping people check in and check out and resolving resident safety or maintenance concerns. There is paperwork with every job, so expect some of that as well. The more high-end your resort, the more pressing guest services will be, while more affordable properties frequently expect the manager to do more hands on maintenance and maybe even grounds keeping themselves or with a very small crew.

Disabled Person Caregiver

Long term assignments mean you need to be comfortable with the amount and quality of space you are given so that during down times your domestic surroundings meet your needs.

RV Park or Campground Manager

Park management can be really fun, give you lots of opportunities to make friends you can visit in their home towns, and be a rewarding physical experience as well. Typically you’ll be responsible for renting out spaces, keeping the common areas clean, hosting a few events, and making sure the park lives up to marketed expectations. You’ll have to make sure guests are behaving themselves as well, so be prepared for an occasional uncomfortable moment, but mostly parks are happy places. Park managers have lots of leeway on how to spend their day, jumping from task to task, or focusing on something of their own interest in off hours and when the season is slow. Many parks close for part of the year, and that’s when nice quiet days stretch out, broken by a few maintenance tasks in preparation for the park reopening. Don’t be fooled into thinking park management is easy; it all depends, and some parks are full time, year round all hands on deck hard work, so choose one that fits the amount and kind of work you’d like to do.

Cruise Ship Employee

You’re in close quarters with other staff much of your off time, and there can be quite a bit of stress and lack of privacy. Jobs are available in myriad categories including waiter and kitchen staff, maintenance workers, medical support, custodial staff, administrative, entertainers, and recreation staff. Think of the cruise ship as a small village; almost any service a guest would need for day to day living can be provided by cruise line staff. Cruise ship employee enjoy lots of upside though with free meals, bonuses, really long contracts, long breaks mid contract, and a fairly good salary. If you want to cruise to enjoy the sights, you will definitely need to find a smaller operator or maybe help out on a yacht instead. There are river cruises, ocean going cruises, and lake cruisers, decide what fits you best before you start looking. Don’t want to be too far from land? A river cruise ship may be your best bet.

Camp Counselor

Duplex or Apartment Building Ownership

This is for those who think they’d love small scale property management of their own assets in return for others paying their mortgage. You’ve heard the idea of renting a duplex and living in one half, of course, but take it up a notch and consider buying a small multi-family property. With more units there is more latitude for rates and more opportunity to cover the cost of an owners apartment. Property management when you own the building is extremely similar to being a property manager for someone else with one important difference; you get to decide almost everything. You’ll make your own rules, work your own hours, and reap all of the benefit but be aware that you are also on the hook for emergencies and repairs. Compliance with housing and accessibility laws become your responsibility as well. If you’re looking for a multi-family property keep in mind that just like homes, apartments communities are packaged to sell, and you have to be extremely diligent about doing research and working with someone who understands any and all repairs that will be needed.

Private Boarding School Staff

Living and working at a private school is worth a lot of extra research if you are considering a boarding school a possible place to call home for a few years.

Resident Apartment Community Property Manager

Being the on-site manager can be really interesting and give you a great workout for mind and body as you work with budgets and patrol the grounds for things that need fixing or attention. For free rent with the lowest possible amount of work, choose a small owner operated property with a part time schedule and a neat little apartment as part of the compensation. Choose somewhere you want to live so that your downtime is enjoyable.

Hotel Guest Safety Employee

These are great gigs. Part-time work and a small hotel apartment for your efforts. These positions also usually pay a relatively good salary. You’ll make rounds, report after hours emergencies, handle noise complaints. Many night security jobs are really acting managers, for the hours that the normal staff is off site. You’ll also work most weekends but for those with a flexible schedule, it’s a great job. You’ll meet lots of people and have the basics of your day to day life expenses covered. If you’re not a night owl, you will have trouble with the typical hours, but we have found daytime live in security jobs available too, just be creative in expanding your search with keywords.

Airbnb or Other Short-Term Lodging Owner

You’ll pay fees and taxes, but on average less than 30%. There are many sites devoted to telling you exactly how to maximize your Airbnb, Sabbatical Homes, or other short term lodging listing, we’re just reminding you it’s a possibility even if you only have a spare room. If your modest but clean and well-kept house costs you about $1100 a month in mortgage and taxes, and you rent a room for $50 a night, your net profit can pay for your mortgage. You probably won’t have zero vacancy of course, and only you know your cost and rental rate potential, so do a bit of math and see what numbers work for you. Be prepared to give up some privacy, do some extra cleaning, and put some effort into marketing your space.

Association, Government, or Corporate Field Researcher

The types of projects are simply not definable. You’ll have to do a lot of searching to work as a field researcher with housing provided, but you might find something really special that covers your expenses for at least part of the year.

Hostel Manager

Being a hostel manager is like running a very low key hotel. Lots of need for flexibility in the personal habits of others, but tons of opportunity for staying interesting places and meeting wildly diverse people. The hostel manager keeps the place clean, check people in and out, makes sure the basic rules are followed, so that super low cost lodging is still safe and comfortable. Hostels are better known in Europe but they’re in the US too, especially related to mountain biking trails, public parks, and other places where roughing it is the norm. When you’re searching keep in mind that some European countries use the term hostel to define a hotel as well, which would be a more traditional management job.

Pet Sitter

Pet sitters do all the tasks related to the care and feeding of someone’s pets. This can include extensive exercise, cleaning of stables or food troughs, shopping trips to buy supplies, doctor’s visits, and maybe even some training. If you apply for something other than a dog or cat sitting gig, you will be expected to have specific knowledge of the particular breed of animal you sign up for.

Work for Repairs

A friend was the live-in maintenance for a small motel on the outer banks for several years until it was sold. Most of the time was spent fishing and enjoying the coast, but for 10 or so hours a week he did painting, cleaning, and helping out wherever needed for an owner that lived in the Midwest. Rentals were handled by a management company. More hours were worked in the summer than off season because people call with small maintenance issues and there was a pool to keep clean; but it was exactly the way he wanted to keep his mind and skills sharp while spending the winter on his astronomy and reading hobbies. There are so many ways to exchange handyman skills for lodging, be creative and you will find something fun, even if temporary.

Small or Inexpensive House or Movable Tiny House

Tiny houses are big, no ironic pun intended. It seems that everyone is trying to live with less and that’s a really great trend for those who want to live rent free. With popularity comes access; and there are now lots of ways and places to live in your tiny house, especially if it is mobile. For longer term options you will probably need to buy land. If you don’t spend that much and pay it off, you will very quickly move into the realm of free rent. Small houses and cabins (or sometimes mobile homes) can require more infrastructure than tiny houses on wheels, or other movable houses like yurts, vans, or motor homes. Look for free land listings, and tiny house communities. For built houses you’ll want to own the lot or land so there is no rent, only taxes going forward, and for movable houses you need to find someone willing to have you on their land. A family member of ours moves from the free summer parking area of a state park to the farm of a friend depending on the season. Be creative, and you’ll find a good place to park your little dream. This is a huge subject and we cover it a bit more on our alternative home ideas page but you’ll need to do a lot of your own research.

Roommates House Sharing & House Hacking

In high rent cities it is very common for an owner to charge the lodgers the entire fee since they in essence have already paid down some of the mortgage with capital, locked in a rate for being a long time renter, or other advantage that still makes each lodger’s rent portion suitable for their market. If you have a four bedroom home you paid $200K for and only have a $1200 house and tax combined payment, you would simply charge $400 or more per month for each of the three rooms you rent out. Check rental rates first and make sure you are offering a competitive and fair rate for your per person fee. You will be expected to maintain your home in all the area not covered by your renter’s agreement to help out, and to provide a home like environment.

Shelter House Parent

Cleaning, caring, resolving differences, mentoring, helping residents find work, teaching day to day life skills, and more can be part of the many responsibilities. Shelters are moving away from in-residence managers and instead more and more work on an 8 hour shift basis rotation schedule. We include this job in our list because it is a the type of job that often goes unfilled, while people in need wait for just the right person to commit to spending a their time helping out.

Live Rough in a Portable Shelter

This is not for the faint of heart. If you are willing to be truly nomadic, live with very few possessions, and greet each new situation as an adventure, then you might be one of the fearless who decide to be homeless by choice. There is a lots of gear that will allow to do this comfortably, especially if you can couch surf a bit between outdoor living stints. Unless you want to be very uncomfortable, it’s recommended you choose a mild weather location or follow the weather by season. Lots of places will allow you to pitch a tent for free, and a little research into the subject will help get connected with others who live this way. You will need to consider access to restrooms, showers, food, and emergency medical services as well as personal safety while you consider locations. True homelessness is a devastating situation for many people and it is not our intention to suggest that you emulate or celebrate their sometime’s forced adherence to a live rough lifestyle but instead consider this a live outdoors intentionally opportunity for the most adventurous among us. Search the sites below, or consider the Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service which has some free or low cost camp sites as well.

NCCC

Teams live and work together, sometimes in very difficult areas of the country. You’ll be expected to be fairly fit and able to plant, weed, paint, fill sand bags, improve infrastructure, and countless other tasks for at risk environments and populations.

VISTA

Special Note About Free Rent as Part of a Payment for Services Rendered:
Be advised that in some cases the free portion of your rent can be defined as income by the IRS. But your travel and other expenses might be deductible. Only your accountant can answer correctly which types of free rent would need to be reported, and which expenses can count against it, for your particular situation. Best of luck to finding just the right idea. If you share your space with others, good insurance is also a must have so please consider the addition of an affordable but protective umbrella policy.

We have other resources related to Interesting Places to Live that are worth a browse.

Alternative Home Ideas
Alternative Housing Communities