Housing has always been one of the most expensive and operationally complex components of a long-term assignment.
AIRINC’s 2026 Policy & Practice Benchmark: Long-Term Assignments updates our 2022 findings and highlights where organizations are refining their programs and where core structures remain steady.
Below are key insights from the 2026 data compared with 2022 with a focus on host housing support.
Host housing support refers to the housing assistance companies provide employees during an international assignment.
Depending on policy design, this may include:
Housing support is often one of the largest assignment costs alongside tax equalization, particularly in high-cost locations.
Taxes and Host Housing are known for being the most expensive elements of a traditional tax equalised expat package. Companies may opt for a different policy of course but under a home-based equalized policy, once the route is determined there is not much one can do when it comes to tax.
Things are different for housing. As companies are refining their policies to meet the employee needs and business imperatives it is expected to see market practices evolving over time.
Housing policies can be adjusted to reflect:
assignment purpose
employee seniority
family size
local market conditions
overall program philosophy
This makes housing one of the most actively reviewed areas of long-term assignment policy today.
The main evolution we have observed in our 2026 LTA survey is the drastic increase of companies determining host housing based on job grades.
From 35% to 49% of respondents reporting to adjust the budget based on the employee seniority, there at clearly indicates a trend towards more granularity and seniority recognition. This is not necessarily more expensive, it is just about utilizing a given budget in a way that is aligned to the value of the assignment.
When it comes to housing subsidy level (AIRINC offers 'Expat', 'Mobility', and 'Agility' levels), although more companies report using a mix of options depending on policies, there is an increase in both the mid and high-level options, to the detriment of the lower option. This however needs to be considered in a context where a long-term balance sheet package is more and more used for the strategic assignments only. Many of the assignments who used to be on a tax-equalization policy with lower housing subsidy are now likely falling under a local or local plus package where lower housing subsidy is implied.
Less and less companies are asking the employee to contribute to the host housing cost (the home housing norm). In our 2022 survey 61% of the participants confirmed they were not retaining a housing norm. This percentage increased to 80% in 2025, confirming a trend that has been observed for many years.
The fundamentals of host housing support have not disappeared. Companies still recognize that appropriate housing support remains critical to assignment success.
What is changing is how organizations approach policy design. The 2026 survey suggests mobility teams are becoming more intentional about how housing support is structured, differentiated, and governed.
For mobility leaders, the challenge is no longer simply providing housing support. It is designing housing frameworks that balance:
competitiveness
cost management
employee experience
and internal consistency
As organizations continue refining their mobility programs, housing will likely remain one of the most strategically important areas of policy design.
Host housing support refers to the accommodation assistance companies provide employees during international assignments.
Many organizations provide housing allowances or company-arranged housing for employees on long-term assignments.
A housing norm is an employee contribution based on estimated home-country housing costs.
Organizations are refining housing policies to balance cost control, employee experience, and assignment competitiveness.