Householders make £15 million a year renting out driveways

British homeowners are raking in millions of pounds a year from renting out their empty driveways and parking spaces to motorists.

Last year saw a record number of homeowners sign up to a scheme that helps them make money out of unused parking areas.

According to data from parking portal YourParkingSpace, there was a 41 per cent increase in households joining, with more than 29,000 new registrations.

Road to riches

In total, the company’s members made just over £15m by charging other drivers to use their private parking space or driveway.

Most of the money was made in London, where spaces range in price from £2 per hour to more than £30 per hour but the other most popular cities in the top 10 were Manchester, York, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Reading, Liverpool and Oxford.

Harrison Woods, managing director at YourParkingSpace.co.uk, said: “Our latest research reveals a significant increase in driveway and empty parking space registrations in 2018, up by more than 40 per cent over the previous year.

“In a time of economic uncertainty, it would appear that more-and-more Brits are realising they can make a tidy sum from renting out their driveway to needy motorists.

“Particularly desirable locations include those in town and city centres, near railway stations, plus sports and music venues.”

Among the other towns and cities to see a spike in registrations in 2018 were Southampton, Coventry, Cardiff, Brighton, Croydon, Glasgow, Cambridge, Norwich, Nottingham and Crawley.

Woods added: “Even less obvious locations, such as Crawley near Gatwick Airport, can provide a goldmine of opportunity for those savvy enough.”