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It really depends too much on your region and your expenses, I've got friends who are landlords and things have gotten tight with inflation and the new rules. You really gotta do the math carefully before you jump in, it's not as straightforward as it used to be.
It's clear that it's not like it used to be.
I see it from a distance but even in the building guys are complaining about rising charges and tenants struggling to pay.
If you really want to go for it you gotta really do your numbers tight, like get a complete inspection of the property, look at realistic returns, not what the agencies are selling you.
And honestly it might be more worth your while to put your money somewhere else in 2026, really depends on what you're trying to do.
It's true that it's gotten more complicated than it used to be. Personally I have a small rental property in Burgundy and honestly with the insulation standards they want to impose everywhere and the costs climbing up, the profit margin is shrinking quite a bit. You've gotta really check your ROI before taking the plunge in 2026, especially if you actually want to live off it.
The thing is, you can't really compare it with how it was before, there are way too many variables that have changed! Personally I come across people who still make good money off it but those are the ones who have cash saved up to absorb the hard hits, otherwise you're burnt out the second something breaks down or a tenant doesn't pay for three months!
Gross yields have tanked, you can't really deny it - we went from a time when 5-6% was normal to stuff closer to 3-4% now. After that, you've gotta subtract the costs, taxes, maintenance... anyway it's gotten tight.
I have a friend who rents out a small studio not far from me and he showed me his accounts last year. Between property taxes going up, maintenance costing more than it used to, and then he had to do energy efficiency upgrades - not mandatory for him yet but he knew it was coming. In the end he was getting like 2% net after everything came out. For him it stayed interesting because he'd bought his place ages ago, so the capital gains were there. But if you're buying now at current prices to invest your money, you really gotta find a good deal or a cheaper area.
Honestly it depends so much on what you're buying, where, and at what price. A small rental in an area where there's demand and where you find a property that's not too pricey, yeah that's still profitable. But you gotta do the math seriously, plan for problems, and not just look at the monthly rent on paper. A lot of people jump in without having a real emergency fund for the months when the rental brings in nothing, and that's where it gets complicated.
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