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Being sent on a several-month assignment in the Pyrénées-Orientales raises a very practical question: where to stay, without blowing the allowance granted by your employer and without spending three months in a hotel room. Between September and June, the coastline between Perpignan and Narbonne offers an answer that many professionals on assignment overlook — furnished seaside apartments, rented by the month, at rates that bear no relation to summer prices.
This article is aimed at employees on long assignments, contractors, posted workers and self-employed professionals looking for furnished accommodation for business travel near Perpignan: construction and civil engineering, energy and industrial maintenance, healthcare, hospitality and catering. If you are working remotely rather than on site, our guide to remote work and monthly rental at Le Barcarès covers your situation more closely.
1. The real issue: your housing allowance
Most companies grant a housing allowance of between €600 and €900 per month for an employee on a long assignment, sometimes less for postings outside major cities. That constraint shapes everything: it rules out a hotel over several months, and it makes a conventional rental difficult, since that means a one-year lease, a large deposit, an empty flat to furnish and utility contracts to set up.
A civil engineer on assignment in the area stayed in one of the apartments under exactly those conditions: a €600 monthly allowance for accommodation. The rent including charges fitted the budget, with no upfront spending on furniture and no agency fees.
💡 What matters for a housing allowance: the rent including charges. Here, water, fibre internet and refuse collection are included in the €550 or €650 — only electricity is billed separately. No agency fees, no furniture to buy, no internet contract to set up for three months.
The nightly rate trap
A hotel room at €60 a night sounds reasonable until you multiply it by thirty: more than €1,800 a month, with no kitchen, no living space, and every meal eaten out. Over a three-month assignment, the gap with a furnished rental comfortably exceeds €3,000 — an argument that carries weight with the employee and with whoever signs off the expense claim.
2. Who stays here outside the summer
Out of season, the apartments no longer host holidaymakers but professionals on assignment. The range of guests is wider than you might expect.
Construction, civil engineering and site work
Engineers, works supervisors, site managers and technicians assigned for several months to a project in the Pyrénées-Orientales or the Aude. This is the most common profile: the assignment runs from two to six months, the employer pays a travel allowance, and the employee wants somewhere self-contained to come back to after a day on site.
Energy, wind power and industrial maintenance
The coastline between Port-la-Nouvelle and Perpignan is home to several energy sites and port facilities that regularly bring in technicians from outside the region, for maintenance or installation campaigns lasting from a few weeks to several months.
Healthcare and allied health professions
Agency nurses, locum doctors, physiotherapists and care staff on assignment in hospitals and practices around Perpignan and the coast. This group needs quiet, well-insulated accommodation, often with irregular hours — the residence is peaceful out of season and secured by magnetic badge.
Skilled hospitality and catering staff
Chefs, pastry chefs, sous-chefs and supervisory staff recruited by businesses in the area. A pastry chef working in Leucate stayed in one of the apartments — 15 minutes from work, with rent compatible with a seasonal salary, in an area where staff accommodation near the venues is scarce and expensive.
The rental starts at one month and can be extended month by month through to June. An assignment that runs six weeks over therefore means neither a move nor a new lease — a common scenario on construction projects.
3. Location: sites across the area
Le Barcarès sits on the coast, 20 minutes north of Perpignan, with quick access to the A9 motorway. For an assignment that involves daily trips to a site, it works as a practical base.
🚗 Driving times from Le Barcarès: Perpignan centre 20 min · Perpignan TGV station 20 min · Perpignan airport 20 min · Leucate / Port-Leucate 15 min · Port-la-Nouvelle approx. 30 min · Narbonne 45 min · Montpellier 1h30.
The residence has parking, which matters when you travel with a company vehicle or equipment. Out of season, parking in the resort is never an issue, unlike in July and August.
Living here out of season
Between September and June, Le Barcarès functions as an ordinary town: supermarkets, a pharmacy, GPs and essential shops stay open. Perpignan, 20 minutes away, covers everything else. It is a quiet environment — a real advantage after long days, but worth knowing if you are looking for nightlife: out of season, you will not find it here.
4. Rates, invoicing and conditions
Two apartments are available for monthly rental, from September to June, with a one-month minimum.
Charges included (water, fibre, refuse)
Deposit: €550
Electricity billed to the tenant
Charges included (water, fibre, refuse)
Deposit: €650
Electricity billed to the tenant
Invoicing in your company's name
An invoice in your employer's name can be issued on request, allowing the company to pay directly or the cost to be reimbursed through an expense claim. Simply provide the company's billing details when booking. For employees paying upfront, a personal invoice serves as a receipt.
Documents required
- Proof of tenant's liability insurance — usually included in home insurance for your main residence
- Signed rental agreement — sent by email before you move in
- First bank transfer — first month's rent plus deposit, before the keys are handed over
- Beyond 3 months — proof of income (payslips) and employment contract, or a letter of assignment from your employer
5. Long assignment: apartment or hotel?
For a night or two, the hotel wins. Over several months, the comparison shifts sharply.
| Monthly apartment | Hotel | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | €550–650 incl. charges | €1,500–2,000 |
| Kitchen | Fully equipped, cook in | Restaurant or room service |
| Living space | Living room + dining area | Bedroom |
| Internet | Fibre included | Shared wifi |
| Laundry | Launderette 2 min away by car | Paid service |
| Commitment | 1 month minimum, renewable | None |
The hotel keeps one clear advantage: flexibility. If the assignment could end from one week to the next, committing to a month is a genuine constraint. That said, as soon as the expected duration runs beyond a few weeks, the difference in cost becomes hard to ignore.
6. What the accommodation actually includes
Accommodation for an assignment has to work from the very first evening. Both apartments are fully furnished and equipped:
- Complete kitchen — hob, fridge, crockery and utensils: enough to cook every day rather than eat out
- High-speed fibre included — working from the moment you arrive, with no activation delay and no contract to sign
- Secure residence — magnetic badge access and cameras
- Parking — useful for a company vehicle
- Renovated and well insulated — double glazing and electric heating suited to the region's mild winters
Bed linen is not provided — bring your own or rent it on site for €20. And there is no washing machine in the apartments: the nearest launderette is a 2-minute drive away. Worth planning for on an assignment lasting several months.
7. How to book for an assignment
Booking is direct, with no intermediary and no platform commission. The simplest approach is a message describing the assignment: provisional dates, expected duration, and whether the invoice should be issued in your company's name. You will get a reply within 24 hours.
For assignments with an uncertain end date — common on construction projects — the rental is extended month by month through to June, with no new contract each time.
On assignment in the Pyrénées-Orientales?
Furnished accommodation, fibre included, company invoicing available — reply within 24 hours.
See monthly rental conditions →8. Frequently asked questions
A furnished apartment costs €550 per month (Lakeside) or €650 per month (Marina View), including charges — water, fibre internet and refuse collection. These amounts fit within the usual €600 to €700 monthly housing allowances granted to employees on assignment, whereas an equivalent hotel often exceeds €1,500 per month.
Yes. An invoice in your employer's name can be issued on request, so the company can pay directly or the cost can be reimbursed through an expense claim. Simply provide the company's billing details when booking.
The minimum is one month, from September to June, and the rental can be extended month by month with no new contract. For assignments longer than 3 months, additional documents are required: payslips and employment contract, or a letter of assignment from your employer.
Le Barcarès is 20 min from Perpignan and its TGV station, a few minutes from the A9 motorway, 15 min from Leucate and Port-Leucate, around 30 min from Port-la-Nouvelle and 45 min from Narbonne. The residence has parking, useful for a company vehicle.
The apartments have hosted a range of guests: a civil engineer on assignment with a €600 monthly housing allowance, a pastry chef working in Leucate, and freelance therapists working online. The main sectors are construction, energy, healthcare and hospitality.
Yes: complete kitchen, high-speed fibre included, badge-secured residence and parking. Two things to note: bed linen is not provided (available to rent on site for €20) and there is no washing machine in the apartments — the nearest launderette is a 2-minute drive away.