If you live near an airport, shopping centre or city centre, it’s worth checking how much you could earn by renting out your driveway. New research from comparison site ComparetheMarket claims you could earn as much as just over £7,000 a year.
The rising cost of living means people are looking for ways to make some money on the side, from apps that pay you to walk to selling pre-loved goods on eBay or Vinted.
Here, we explain how much you could earn by renting out your driveway, things you need to consider and the best websites to list your driveway on.
Can you really make £7,000 by renting out your driveway?
According to research by ComparetheMarket, you can make just over £7,000 a year by renting out your driveway, but that won’t be the case for everyone.
Your Parking Space lets you earn a maximum of £400 a month, so if you were to maximise your earnings every month, you would make £4,800 a year. Just Park specifies that only its “top listers” earn over £4,000 a year.
If you’d like to make more than £4,000 a year from renting out your driveway, it will mean your listing will need to earn at least £334 a month, or around £80 a week.
It is possible, but location is a huge factor that affects how much you can realistically charge people for parking on your drive. Where you are and what is nearby matters.
For example, a driveway in central London will be a lot more expensive than a listing in suburban Leeds or Manchester.
According to ComparetheMarket research, these are the UK cities where renting out your driveway would earn you the most money.
| City | Average monthly earning potential | Average yearly earning potential |
|---|---|---|
| London | £587 | £7,043 |
| Glasgow | £400 | £4,803 |
| Cardiff | £353 | £4,230 |
| Belfast | £326 | £3,909 |
| Bradford | £324 | £3,888 |
If you live in London, you could potentially make £7,000 a year, but outside London the average yearly earning drops to £4,000 or less.
You also need to consider what’s around you and if there is a demand for parking spots in your area. Other things to think about are how long you’ll rent the space for and how often, as this can influence how much you earn.
To illustrate this, we’ve picked three locations in the UK to show how driveway pricing can vary depending on the city and what’s nearby.
The costs are based on a one-week stay on Your Parking Space, and prices could vary when you check the site’s live map. The prices shown are for parking spaces closest to the destination when we searched.
| Location | Near an airport | Near a shopping centre |
|---|---|---|
| London | £125 | £33.25 |
| Birmingham | £90 | £35 |
| Manchester | £84 | £21 |
If you live near a London airport, you could charge £125 for a week’s parking. This means if you were to rent out your driveway for four weeks, you would earn around £500 a month, close to the ComparetheMarket figures.
Prices can vary depending on how much demand there is for parking spaces in your area.
For example, when we looked, parking spaces near the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham were slightly more expensive than spaces near Brent Cross shopping centre in London.
So when pricing your driveway check what other people are charging, and if you’re just starting off, try competitive pricing. Your Parking Space says drivers on their platform book parking spaces based on location, price and user reviews.
Another good tip is to check how much NCP car parks charge nearby and undercut them slightly to create a demand for your parking space.
ComparetheMarket suggests if you rent out your driveway, create a contract to make it clear that you are not responsible for any damage to the vehicle when parked on your property.
And consider adding extra security, such as CCTV cameras and lights, as this will attract drivers to your parking spot.
Popular websites for listing your driveway
If you want to see if there is a demand for parking spaces near where you live, these popular websites allow you to list your driveway for free.
Just Park
JustPark is one of the most popular and well-known listing websites for driveways. You can list for free, but it does take a commission once you rent out the space. You can download the JustPark app on Apple Store or Google Play. The site takes care of contracts, and any earnings are transferred to your bank account or PayPal account, even if the driver doesn’t turn up.
Fees - JustPark takes a 3% commission on every booking. For long-term or rolling monthly bookings that last over two months, you pay a 20% commission.
Your Parking Space
Another top lister for driveways. It doesn’t charge for listings and takes no commission, but makes money by adding 20% on top of the price you charge. For example, if you charge £50 for a parking space, the actual charge to drivers would be £60, and the site takes £10.
Fees - no fee
Park on my drive
More basic compared to the other listing websites. It is free to list but there is a yearly fee to pay. The lister provides a rental agreement and has a pre-payment system once you get a booking to make the process easier.
Fees - Park On My Drive charges £20 a year, but only once someone rents out your driveway first. So, if you don’t get a booking and decide to cancel, there’s no charge.
Other things to consider when renting out your driveway
There are a few things you need to ask yourself before renting out your driveway.
Do your earnings get taxed? Because renting your driveway is classified as ‘trading’, anything you earn up to £1,000 does not get taxed, according to HMRC. But ‘trading’ could incorporate any other income-boosting activity you’re doing, like selling online or renting out a room to a lodger. Once you make more than £1,000 in total, it does need to be declared and you will need to complete a self-assessment tax return.
Do I need to get planning permission? As long as it doesn’t disrupt neighbours or cause a nuisance, the government says you do NOT need planning permission to rent out your driveway.
Does renting out your driveway affect your home insurance? The answer could be different for every individual, so it’s always worth asking your insurer. Some insurers might consider renting out your driveway to be a ‘commercial agreement’, so if something were to happen to the car or the driver, you might not get liability cover.
Does it affect your mortgage terms? Similarly, there is no general rule here, so your best bet is to notify your lender in case it does have an impact on your mortgage terms.
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