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By Emma Lunn
With the cost of street parking and private car parks on the increase, more and more homeowners are turning their driveway, garage or parking space into a source of extra income. A number of specialised websites make this easy to do. Sites such as parkatmyhouse.com, peasy.com, youcanpark.com, parklet.co.uk and yourparkingspace.co.uk all match people who own a parking space with people who need a space to park their car. There's also a section on listings website gumtree.com especially for parking spaces. And if you live in a city, a local car club may be on the look-out for a space near you. Rental periods can be as little as a couple of hours useful, for example, if you wanted to park somewhere while you went to a football match or visited someone in hospital or daily, for commuting purposes, or 24/7 365 days a year if you need somewhere to store your car. How much can you earn? How much your parking space can earn you depends on where it is and how in demand it is. If your street has controlled or residents-only parking and you have a private off road space you'll be quids in but if like me -- it's easy to park outside your house you won't find many takers for your private car park round the back. Commuters make up a large proportion of renters and spaces just outside the London congestion zone, in city centres or near transport links are in big demand. If the space has CCTV or lighting or is behind locked gates or underground, all the better. A quick search on parkatmyhouse.com shows that a secure underground parking space five minutes from Regents Park station in London's West End can be rented out for an impressive £150 a week that's £7,800 a year. Even if you don't live somewhere central, there's money to be made if you live near a station. A space two minutes walk from Streatham Hill station in South London is advertised on parkatmyhouse.com at £5 a day while a private parking bay five minutes from Colchester station in Essex is going for £18 a week. Generally the sites put people with spaces and people needing spaces in touch with one another and it's then up to then to thrash out the details and sort out the money. They make their money by charging people who place adverts or charging them to read responses to their ads. However some, such as parklet.co.uk, offer contracts for downloading and charge a percentage of the rent agreed as commission. Pros Obviously the main advantage to renting out your parking space or garage is the extra income it will generate. £5 a day might not sound much but if someone rents your space five days a week for 48 weeks a year, that's an extra £1,200 in your pocket. A car on your drive is also useful in terms of home security as it will give any potential burglars the impression that you are at home when, in reality, you might actually be at work or on holiday. If you're the one who needs a space to park in going private has a number of advantages, especially if you're commuting to work. Parking at Chelmsford station in Essex, for example, will set you back £86.60 a month and you'll face a daily battle for one of the car park's 150 spaces. However a quick search on yourparkingspace.co.uk comes up with a space 10 minutes walk from the station for just £10 a week and you won't have to worry that someone else will nick it before you get there. Cons The main disadvantage of renting out your parking space is, of course, that it is no longer yours to use whenever you want and you and your visitors will have to park elsewhere. Also, any income generated could be taxable, depending on your circumstances. The space also has to be yours to let in the first place; it is unlikely the council will allow you to let a permit-only residents' space and private tenants won't be allowed to sub-let any part of a property without the landlord's permission. 
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