Rentals and assets side hustle ideas

Earning from something you own: renting property, rooms, equipment, vehicles, parking, vending machines, domains.

Startup costUnder $100$100 to $1k$1k to $10kOver $10k
TimeHands-offA few hours a weekPart-timeNear full-time
WhereOnlineIn personOnline and in person
Earns fromAdsAffiliateSubscriptionsOne-time salesService feesRentMarketplace cutSponsors and donations
CodingNo coding neededNeeds coding

36 ideas

  • Event venue in a converted church
    Renting out a former church space in a strip mall for parties and events, run alongside a full-time job. Renting the space to churches covers the monthly rent.
    Rentals and assets
    The Koerner Office, 2026
  • Automated utility trailer rentals
    Renting out utility trailers with an almost fully automated booking process, alongside a full-time job. Customers come from Google and Facebook Marketplace.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10k
    The Koerner Office, 2026
  • Kids party equipment rentals
    Renting kid-sized tables and chairs, ball pits, bounce houses and party stations for children's events. It started from a basement and an Instagram page and runs alongside a full-time job.
    Rentals and assetsPart-time
    Side Hustle Nation, 2026
  • Rent out tables at local comic conventions
    Rents out tables to vendors at local comic conventions.
    Rentals and assets
    Hacker News, 2026
  • ATM placement business
    Buying ATMs and placing them in local businesses, earning income from transaction fees with about an hour of work a week. The hardest step is finding and pitching good locations.
    Rentals and assetsHands-off
    Side Hustle Nation, 2026
  • Imported perfume vending machines
    The operator imports vending machines that dispense perfume and places them in venues. Sales come from customers buying from the machines. The owner dropped it as too much hassle.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10k
    The Koerner Office, 2025
  • RV and mobile home park ownership
    The operator holds stakes in RV and mobile home parks and collects rent from the lot and site tenants. Parks can also be bought and resold.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10k
    Diary of a CEO, 2025
  • Portfolio of rental properties
    Owns a number of rental properties across the US that produce monthly income after mortgages and expenses.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10k
    Hacker News, 2022
  • Buy and sell expiring domain names
    Takes preorders for expiring domains and tries to catch them when they drop, and also holds a portfolio of domains for later development.
    Rentals and assets
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Rental units plus property management app
    Rents out a couple of cheap units and built an app to manage rental administration, contracts and invoices, with the aim to offer it to others.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10k
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Own a pawn shop run by a manager
    Owns a pawn shop that someone else manages day to day.
    Over $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Rent out a residential unit
    Earns semi-passive rental income from one property unit and plans to buy more.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Buy and rent out property
    Owns rental property, which needs little ongoing effort once it is running.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Airbnb host in spare bedrooms
    Rents out spare bedrooms to short-term guests through Airbnb.
    Rentals and assets
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Low-maintenance rental property
    Owns a small rental property that covers its mortgage plus a little extra each month.
    Over $10k
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Rent out inherited houses with a manager
    Rents out inherited properties, uses a management company for maintenance and screens tenants personally. Income is monthly rent.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2019
  • Student apartments managed by a rental agency
    Owns apartments rented to students and managed entirely by an agency that finds tenants and handles upkeep, paying a fixed guaranteed income.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Rent out a downstairs apartment
    Rents out the downstairs unit of a multifamily house bought with an owner-occupant loan, collecting monthly rent with little work.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2018
  • Rent out VR headsets through a website
    Bought a VR headset and set up a site where people could rent it. Ranked well on Google for rental searches, then shut it down.
    Rentals and assets
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Buy and lease commercial real estate
    Bought a commercial property with a fixed rate mortgage and leases it out. Takes little time each month and pays rental income after tax.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Buy and sell premium domain names
    Holds a portfolio of valuable domain names and sells them, using brokers to handle the deals. Income comes from large one-off sales.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Rent out unfurnished apartments bought off-plan
    Bought several apartments in a new building while it was still under construction at a good price, then rented them out unfurnished to tenants.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Automated nightly vacation rental property
    Rents a property out by the night and has automated guest notifications, door code programming and cleaner scheduling to keep the work low.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2016
  • Cheap rental properties with property manager
    Owns several low-priced rental homes, using a property manager to keep it hands-off.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Peer rental of own motorcycle
    Put an idle motorcycle up for rent on a quickly built site, earning from renters.
    Rentals and assets
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Rent a house to family
    Owns a house rented to family members, who pay reliably.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Rent out a house with a tenant in place
    Bought a house with an existing tenant and collects rent with very little work.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Rent out homes you have lived in
    Rents out spare rooms and then whole properties previously lived in, so rent covers the mortgages.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10k
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Vacation rental property in Hawaii
    Bought a vacation rental that earns nightly rental income.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10k
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Buy and sell domain names
    Sells domain names from a small portfolio.
    Rentals and assetsHands-off
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Cryptocurrency mining rig
    Runs hardware that mines cryptocurrencies.
    Rentals and assets$1k to $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Rent a spare room on Airbnb
    Rents out a spare room for up to a week each month, needing little work beyond laundry.
    Rentals and assetsUnder $100Hands-off
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Rent out short-sale condos with a property manager
    Bought discounted condos, fixed them up and rents them out through a property manager, keeping most of the rent after fees and taxes.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10kHands-off
    Hacker News, 2014
  • Leased trailer sub-rental business
    The operator leases large trailers and sub-rents them to customers who need storage or transport space, earning the difference. It was run mostly from a phone.
    Rentals and assets$1k to $10k
    The Koerner Office
  • Vending machines in a single venue
    The operator places vending machines at one high-traffic location, in this case a hockey rink, and keeps the sales. Costs are stock and machine purchase.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10k
    The Koerner Office
  • Washer and dryer rental
    The operator rents washers and dryers to tenants and finds customers through Facebook Marketplace. Income is monthly rental fees.
    Rentals and assetsOver $10k
    The Koerner Office