The metaverse platform Decentranland announced a new platform feature which allows its users who own virtual LAND to essentially become landlords. Owners can now officially rent out their property to other users on the platform for predefined periods of time.

This allows users to earn passive income off of their metaverse assets. 

Decentraland classifies LAND owners as accounts or wallet addresses which own the smart contract for LAND, whether it be “a Parcel, an Estate, or both.”

All LAND rentals are performed in (MANA), the native token of Decentraland and paid upfront in total. The platform gave examples of digital universities renting out land to build campuses or DJs renting space for a club or party.

Similar to most rental contracts of physical properties, Decentraland landlords can not sell the land, nor can they receive any purchasing bids for purchase until after the rental contract period is over.

Decentraland followers on Twitter suggested the same rental service should also be available for wearables. Overall the community response was positive.

Related: The future of smart contract adoption for enterprises

This comes as the metaverse continues to evolve and pick up more attention from both inside and outside of the Web3 industry.

The word metaverse itself was up for the Oxford dictionary’s word of the year, but ultimately came in second place.

Legacy internet giant Mozilla recently acquired Active Replica to boost its metaverse prowess and enhance its users’ digital experiences. While the metaverse and GameFi developer Animoca confirmed rumors that it will create a billion dollar metaverse fund for developers seeking to build out digital reality.

The metaverse, particularly mega-events such as festivals and fashion week, continues to be a gateway for new community members and developers into the greater world of Web3.