Could you be making extra cash from your parking space?

Glance out your front window and you could be looking at a big money-making asset and not even realise it.

In today’s clogged up towns and cities, parking space is precious. Not only are public car parks expensive, but in busy places it can be difficult to find any free spaces at all.

That’s why if you live in more popular areas, you could have a real money-making opportunity on your doorstep.

By renting out your spare space you could earn some extra cash for life’s luxuries or to make it easier to set money aside for younger generations.

Driveway rental is proving a particularly popular income-generator amongst the over-50s. According to one driveway renting website YourParkingSpace, almost a third [32%] of its private space owners are aged 50 or over.

The site’s chief executive Brannan Coady told us “Over 50s have a natural advantage to making more money from our service – they tend to own larger properties with more parking spaces than younger homeowners.

“They also tend to own their homes for longer periods of time, meaning they are more easily able to generate repeat bookings from loyal drivers.”

So you’re in good company – and it’s a surprisingly simple process to start renting out the front of your house.

‘I like sharing my driveway with others’

Patrick Dunne, 62, a university estates’ manager, has rented out his driveway for the past 12 years through another parking space rental site, JustPark.

Living a 15-minute walk from Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace’s south London football ground, he mainly rents the two spare spaces on his driveway on match days to fans or those working at the ground.

He charges a competitive £6 per three-hour parking session, doing it as much for the satisfaction he gets from providing the service as the money it earns him, which is around £300 a year. He also rents out the electric vehicle charger on his drive.

Patrick says: “I like being able to share my driveway with others. The people who park here are generally very nice and stop to have a chat. People book in advance, so I can make sure I have enough space for my own car too. In many ways, it’s a no brainer."

“It’s incredibly simple and there’s very little admin for me at all. I’ve never worried about my safety or had any damage to my property.”

How driveway rental works

JustPark is the biggest of the pre-bookable parking apps with more than 200,000 spaces available in the UK. Other sites which connect drivers and driveway owners include Parklet and Park On My Drive.

Most of the sites work by allowing motorists to enter a desired parking location into the website or app and view potential spaces. The price is displayed together with a description of the space so they can check that it's suitable for them. They then book on the app and a notification is sent through to the owner of the space.

The cost of parking on private residential driveways can be cheaper than pay-and-display car parks, or offer space where there is no other parking.

Spaces are also often in quiet, private spots, away from other traffic and drivers won’t get a ticket if they’re a few minutes late, which is a huge incentive to those constantly trying to vye for a spot in a car park or have more fluid plans.

Popular spots

In terms of actual earnings, it’s important to know that these will vary. You’re obviously likely to earn more if you live near a city centre, railway station, sports ground, hospital or popular attraction. But if you live somewhere quiet, or where cheap parking is in plentiful supply, you're unlikely to get many takers.

London is the most popular area, but JustPark says that parking spaces are also in demand in towns and cities including Manchester, Brighton, Oxford, and many more – it's worth checking the apps to see whether there’s demand in your area, especially if you notice your road is sometimes a little busier at times.

How much can you earn?

JustPark ‘hosts’ make an average of around £320 a year by renting out their parking space, though some make as much as £4,000. Like most of the sites, it has a tool where you can check average charges in your area.

Reena Sewraz, Money Editor at Which? says; “Anyone who's ever driven around for hours trying to find parking will appreciate the appeal of having a reserved spot on someone else's drive.

“The price you can set will vary depending on where you live. If you charged £2 an hour, you could earn more than £900 by renting out your driveway for two full days on 30 weekends."

“The website Park On My Drive charges a £15 fixed fee each year, and lets you take payment directly from drivers, in cash or via bank transfer, for example."

“Just Park processes payments and takes a 3% commission of anything you make.”

In terms of tax, it’s worth remembering that you can make up to £1,000 a year from renting your parking space before you need to declare it for tax purposes.

Thinking about renting your driveway? Here’s what you need to know:

Although it’s pretty easy to rent out your drive and there’s good money to be made, you will need to consider what it will take to get started, and how it might impact your life once up and running.

It’s important to have an agreement between the owner of the space and the motorist parking there to spell out that you’re not responsible for the vehicle or its contents while it's parked on your drive. A good parking rental website should have a legal agreement available that's designed to protect both parties. Both drivers and space owners will then need to enter into when they sign up for the service. It will be available to download and it’s wise to read it through before you commit.
The government has stated that you do not need planning permission in England to rent out a parking space, but some councils have deemed it a 'change of use' to your property and ask for planning application fees. If this happens to you, then you can argue your case – but be aware you’ll have to prove that renting out your driveway won’t cause a disturbance for your neighbours, for instance.
It’s therefore sensible to check that your neighbours are OK with the arrangement, especially if you share a driveway with them.
You can’t rent out a space controlled by a council parking permit.
Renting out a space shouldn’t affect your home insurance, but it’s worth checking with your insurer before you go ahead. Graeme Trudgill, chief executive of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, says: “It would be wise to let your home insurer know exactly what you are providing, and how often, so that they can decide whether this increases the insurance risk and impacts your level of cover. “Not only might they consider that there is an increased risk of damage to or theft from your property they might also think that the liability risk (the risk of injury or property damage to someone else arising as a result of being on your property) might increase.”
If you are a leaseholder on your property, there are likely to be restrictions and you should check with your landlord before renting out any space.
Common sense also applies. By allowing a stranger to come and go on your land there are some risks – especially if you live alone.
You also need to bear in mind where you're going to park your own car if you're giving up some space to others, and you should weigh up any risks to your own safety and privacy.
Parking website and apps are relatively easy to get to grips with, but it helps to be comfortable using apps on smart phones as you may have to respond to messages and queries from drivers.

Renting out a spare parking space is unlikely to make you rich, but it may help you pay for a few extra luxuries or allow you to offer more financial support to younger generations – and that’s an opportunity that could be worth making some space for.