'I make an extra £8,000 each year by renting out my driveway

Joe has three spare car parking spaces at his home in Brighton which he rents out to everyone and anyone for a fraction of the price compared to the cities public car parks

Renting out the spare car parking spaces on his driveway makes full-time carer Joe Gorham an extra £8,000 a year.

The 54-year-old has been based in central Brighton for nearly 30 years and has been renting out three spare car parking spots since 2018.

He rents them to a range of punters from tourists, to student nurses, and people attending hospital appointments.

Joe told The Mirror he came across the concept of renting out a driveway several years ago, he and his partner were avid cruise-goers and would often be forced to spend around £200 per week parking their car in Southampton whilst they were away.

This all changed when a friend told him about the site YourParkingSpace, which is a platform which lets people advertise their spare spaces.

Joe decided to try it and managed to cut his Southampton parking costs to £40 a week.

Joe, who is a full-time carer for his partner, then had an idea and later decided to swap sides and take the plunge to rent out three of the four spare spaces on his drive after having to drop down to one car.

He said: "I started doing it because we had the spaces spare and we also had some issues with the house that needed to be sorted, we had to get a new roof because of a leak, and we also had to get the windows and the garage doors sorted too.

"It was initially for this but with all the price hikes going on it's really helped us keep going."

To sign up, Joe had to take a photograph of his parking spaces, explain a little about the space such as transport links and local amenities, add a price and then "you're off!"

His first booking came within two days and it has stayed "pretty consistent" since.

Joe added: "Where we are in Brighton is a huge draw for people because we are a ten-minute walk from the beachfront and so close to hotels, the city centre, the railway station, and the hospital.

"I've also got an electric power charger too."

Joe initially started with a price of £8 for 24-hour parking rights in his spaces and he now charges £12.50 for people to park their cars for the day.

He added: "If you parked on Brighton Seafront, you are only allowed to park for 11 hours and that will cost you £33, if you go to the NCP carpark it will cost you £48 for the day."

"The pay and display on our street costs you around £16 to park for four hours - so my spaces are pretty cheap in comparison."

Joe usually goes out to meet the drivers using his space to say hello and often helps with directions and recommendations of what they can do and where they can go in Brighton.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Joe and his neighbours offered their car parking spaces for free for NHS staff having to work - Joe continues to let cancer patients going for treatment at the hospital park for free.

He said: "It's so expensive to park at the hospital and it's the least I can do to help."

Joe also explained that it isn't always "smooth sailing" as sometimes Joe has had random strangers who haven't booked through YourParkingSpace park on his driveway and leave their car.

He said: "When they do this, you can't really do much about it, I can't clamp their car and I've got no way of contacting them either.

"Sometimes I've had to back out on bookings because the random car is there.

"If this happens I tell people I'm sorry and to claim the money back because there is nothing I can do when this happens. But this is really a once-in-a-blue-moon situation and has only happened a handful of times over the last few years."

Joe plans to keep renting out his driveway for the foreseeable as the money he has made provides him and his partner with a "safety net" that they can fall back on when they need to.

He said: "I've got the spaces and they'll be sat there empty if I don't do anything with them and it does really help me and my partner, so as long as I can I will utilise it.

"The money which comes on the first of every month is enough to cover our daily needs, but it also gives us extra too in case we need it."

Joe also noted that he does have to pay tax on all the extra income he makes on renting out his space - so this is something you need to consider when signing up to for the service.

Any profits over £1,000 will have to be declared to HMRC.

If you are advertising your parking space through YourParkingSpace.com, the company will also add a 20% uplift to your set price - this 20% extra is paid by the driver and goes to YourParkingSpace.com.

Joe added: "If you can do it, I would really recommend it as with everything that's going on, it can give you that little bit of leeway with money.

"If you are going on holiday this year and you're car parking space will be free, you can probably make £200 or £300 by renting it out so it's definitely worth it, it's really a good little earner."