How to make £15 – £150 a week from your unused parking space

How to make money from your parking space

How to make money from your parking spaceThat little stretch of tarmac outside your house could be a hidden goldmine. If you have a parking space, garage or plot of land that you’re not using here’s a simple way to turn it into ‘hands free’ money-maker.

Now I absolutely LOVE these types of home business opportunities because they can bring a real benefit to all parties involved.

Drivers who don’t want to take out a second mortgage to leave their car in an NCP carpark can get a much better deal, while homeowners with empty parking spaces can make a short or long term income renting them.

While this isn’t a new opportunity it’s one that’s got 100 times easier thanks to a slew of clever websites popping up which help take care of the all the ‘boring’, time consuming bits.

What are the benefits of using a parking
space website to list your space?

1. Convenience – You can list your space online in minutes without leaving your house. No more posting ads in your local library window or newsagent. Some of the websites I’ve listed below will even taken care of all the paperwork and payment processing for you.

2. Coverage – Increasingly people look to the Internet to find goods and services and parking space rental fits the format perfectly. Users can quickly search by postcode, area and price a bit like they would if they were using a property website.

3. Cost – It’s not as expensive as you might think to list your space. Most of the websites I list below don’t actually take any payment until after you’ve secured a rental agreement.

5 places where you can rent out
your parking space online

Park at My House

Park At My House run a very tight ship and they’ve done so well that they now have an international presence and help people rent parking spaces in the US and Canada (as well as the UK).

They currently have a user database of more than 150,000 users with some 40,000 parking spaces in the UK alone. They offer rentals on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.

One of the main advantages is that it’s free to list your space online so there’s no financial risk involved upfront. You can set up a photo and description on your space (a bit like you would on eBay).

Park At My House handle the payment system which will solve a headache for most. They also deal with all the contracts and small print. The downside is that they do take a 15% commission… but overall this is an elegant and robust service and sometimes it’s worth paying the premium for peace of mind.

Website: Park at My House

Park Let

Park Let have been going since 2004 and now major players in the UK. They may not be the juggernaut that Park at My House is just yet… but they do have 20,000 spaces in their books and have a very impressive online presence (which is the most important thing if you want people to find your space).

They offer a similar deal to Park at My House and take a 15% commission on successfully rented spaces. It’s free to list your space and they handle payments for you (by direct debit) and sort out all the paperwork and contracts so now headaches there.

I really like the forward thinking approach of these guys. They also work hard to market your space and regularly send out emails to registered users on their database who are waiting to rent a space.

Website: Park Let

Your Parking Space

I felt like I needed to have a quick lie down after navigating the homepage (the graphics are a wee bit hectic and old fashioned) BUT Your Parking Space are a strong contender with over 10,000 spaces in the UK.

They claim to be the UK’s ‘leading parking space marketplace’. I’m not sure that’s true given the competition but they do offer a different pricing structure which may appeal.

Instead of taking commission they charge a one-off fee of £15 to advertise your space for the year. I think that’s excellent value when you consider some of the others want 15% of your ongoing profits. If Your Parking Space haven’t been able to rent your space within 45 days you can ask them for a refund on your £15.

The downside on this site is that you’re responsible for sorting out all the paperwork and contracts and collecting the money from renters. Some people will prefer that level of control but it will require you to be a lot more organised and vigilant.

Website: Your Parking Space

Parking Space Rentals

These guys could do with a bit of a website makeover but they must be doing something right because they’re about to launch in Australia (they’re currently UK only).

Like Your Parking Space they charge a fixed fee, although it is considerably dearer with a £24 ‘one off fee’ for Bronze Membership, £12 per month for Silver Membership and £18 per month for Gold Membership.

The higher you go up the membership chain the more they manage things and automate the service for you. So for example Silver and Gold Members get use of their payment systems and contracts.

Certainly worth looking at if you don’t want to get tied into paying out a percentage of your profits but like the idea of automating payments.

Website: Parking Space Rentals

Park on My Drive

Park on My Drive offer a cheap n’ cheerful service where you can list your space for just £5 via your very own ‘Calendar Page’ which is also subject to a further £5 annual fee.

So in effect it’s a £5 one off fee, followed by a recurring £5 yearly fee.

It’s worth pointing out that your £10 won’t be charged until you get your first booking so they’re a good guarantee in place.

The obvious benefit is that these guys offer one of the cheapest services available… the downside is that you have to sort out all the paperwork and take payments. They also don’t have quite the user database and online coverage that their competitors have which is worth bearing in mind.

Website: Park on My Drive

Based in London?

There are a few sites dedicated to renting spaces in the capital. On the whole these are pretty lo-fi affairs and most of their revenue comes from advertising, however they may be worth looking at if you’ve got a space in London.

Here are the 3 main ones:

247 Parking

A Parking Space

London Garages

I’ll be completely honest, if you’re based in London you may still better off using one of the services in the main list simply because they provide a more polished user interface and have more of an online presence.

A few things to bear in mind…

If you’re based in in a big city such as London you’ll be able to charge a premium for your parking space. The same goes if you live near a train station because you’ll able to attract commuters who drive to and from the station to get to work.

If your drive is covered or in a secure area that’s another sought after feature which you can charge extra for – as obviously potential renters like to feel that their car is extra safe.

I hope you found this article useful. If you’ve had experience renting out your parking space or would like to add to the debate please scroll down and leave a comment below.

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