Rent out your car parking space for cash

Got a parking space but don’t have a car? You might not be as cool as this dog, but you could be sitting on a goldmine. Well, relatively.

doginacarDo you live in the city centre, near a lot of businesses, commuter links or even the local football ground? Chances are someone is willing to fork out to park in your drive.

It might sound a bit ridonkulous, but depending on where you live you could snag a tidy £200 a month, sometimes more if you live in central London.

Yep, you heard right – £200 a month for doing pretty much nothing. Here’s our whistle-stop guide to everything you need to know when starting your parking space empire…

On this page:

How much could you earn?

How do you sell sell a space?

Where should you advertise?

How to find out the value of your space

catwitallthedollarDepending on where you live, the amount you can charge for your space will vary dramatically. And when we say vary, we mean £50-£500 style vary.

Of course, being students we’d suggest that even the lower end of the scale is a well needed cash bomb. Seriously, think of the gin.

To get a rough idea of how much you might expect to earn, this pricing guide tool on Park Let is a godsend for long term rentals. If you’re thinking more in terms of days then check out the similar estimator at Just Park.

Don’t take it as gospel though; waving around an expected fee like an excited chicken won’t make people pay it. Think of the value as a guide to see if it’s worth your time.

How do you sell a space?

howtotrainyourdragonBefore you go all out and let that space roam free, there are a couple of important things to tick off your checklist.

Although legal stuff can sound proper fiddly, we promise it’s not that hard and it is super necessary. Plus, once you’ve read through all of these you’ll be a parking space guru anyway!

You need a proper contract: Yes we know, it’s just a drive, but legally you’re seen as a landlord with tenants (and responsibilities). At least you can put it on your LinkedIn, eh? The main thing is to make sure you clearly state you’re not responsible for the vehicle or its contents. No one wants to fork out for a new Jag they won’t even own. Some sites will help you out with this, or you can find templates online.

You must consult your landlord: If you’re also renting, you need to make sure you’re actually allowed to rent it out, as you are technically sub-letting, which could be a breach of contract. Either way, get written consent from your landlord or agent.checklist-panda-hi

You can’t rent out space in the road: There’s a massive difference between renting out a private driveway or garage and the road outside your house, even if you’ve got a spot on it. To put it bluntly, the first one’s legal, the second one isn’t.

You may have to pay tax on the income: Just like any other dollar that comes your way, the income will be taxable if it takes you over your yearly tax free limit. It isn’t hard to pay or work it out if this applies to you, honest. You can find all the info on the HMRC tax allowance page.

Where should you advertise?

These days we’re all fully fledged citizens of the online world and there are a wide range of sites to help you market your prized piece of tarmac. Or bricks. We’re not judging.

We’ve only mentioned sites that are free to list on but be aware of their other charges, such as commission once the space is rented.

Here’s a few of the best and most popular that’ll help your space get advertised to the maximum number of potential buyers:

JustPark (formerly Parkatmyhouse)

aldqUo-KA big player in the parking world, JustPark is one of the best options for people wanting to earn some money with minimum hassle.

They’ll sort out all the contracts for you, and their payment scheme means you don’t even need to bill the tenant. They collect payments and PayPal them to you ‘automagically’.

There’s no listing fee, but they do add 10-20% to your asking price and take this extra as their payment.

You can also transfer your money directly to your Paypal or bank account, but there is a charge of 50p if the amount is less than £25.

Check out JustPark »

Park Let

parkletAnother solid contender, Park Let is perfect for people who are looking to rent out their car parking space for a considerable period of time.

They’re super keen to make the process as smooth as possible and will draw up necessary contracts and collect monthly rent.

The only downside is they have some pretty hefty fees. You’ll pay 20% commission (+ VAT), as well as a £25 (+ VAT) admin fee when they find you a tenant.

Check out Park Let »

Park on My Drive

parkondriveThe name says it all with this one, and although they offer a pretty basic service, it does the job amply.

Again, we’ll warn you before you click the website does look a bit time-warpy, but we promise it’s legit and it does work.

Plus, the pro here is that you only get charged a yearly fee of £10 per space you rent, so depending on the amount of rentals you’re doing and the price they’re up for, this could turn out to be an excellent deal.

Check out Park on My Drive »

Gumtree

8c95813de78da676a67a69cf713652ccChances are you’ve probably already heard of Gumtree; the magical, mystical place where you can find everything from jobs to plant pots. Perhaps unsurprisingly, you can also list parking spaces too.

The massive bonus with Gumtree is it is 100% free. There’s no commission to pay and no pesky listing fees (unless you feature your ad of course).

The obvious downside to this, however, is that you’ll have to sort out contracts and payments by yourself, which can be a bit of a hassle.

Check out Gumtree »

Offline options

no internetScrap what we first said – not everything needs to be done online.

You can get just as much success by placing an advert in the local paper or supermarket for a week, or even flyering neighbours with cars (target ones parked slightly awkwardly and without a drive).

Once again though, you will have to sort out all your own contracts and payments.

Have you had success with renting out a space? Let us know how you got on and share your top tips. Pretty please.