You could be making £4K a year renting out your driveway

Looking to supplement your income, or just curious about how much you could make by doing nothing? If you live in a house with a driveway, and you live in an area with a high demand for parking spaces (think a busy city centre or commuter hot spot), you're in luck: you could be making as much as £4,000 a year renting it out. 

Contrary to popular belief, renting out your driveway is legal, is not subject to planning permission – although some councils have been known to try to request it – and is tax-free on the first £1,000. Be aware that anything over that amount counts as income from land or property and you will need to fill in a tax return to declare it. 

• Find out how plan and design driveway for your home (then get the cost back by renting it out)

So, which are the most lucrative places in the UK for renting out your driveway? The best spot by far is Edinburgh; parking in this compact city can be a nightmare, and you can expect to charge as much as £16 per day in busy city centre areas. London is not far behind – you could be charging £12 a day in busy areas. 

The even better news is that, in many cases, you'll be reducing commuters' parking costs by renting out your driveway. For example, parking in Edinburgh city centre can cost an eye-watering £33 per day – to the point where people have started joking that it's cheaper to refuse paying and get a parking ticket. Renting out to commuters in Leeds? They could be saving more than £20* by using your driveway. It's a win-win situation.  

How to go about it? First do your research on what people are paying locally and what they're prepared to pay for a driveway in your location. Local Facebook forums are a good place to start, both in terms of research and advertising. Or simply do your research then place a sign, 'driveway for daily rent, enquire inside' on your gatepost. Sometimes, the low tech approach is best.

*data collected by AppJobs.