Homeowners who own a driveway are earning up to £3,000 a year just by renting out their car parking space.

Those who have jumped on the trend have been able to boost their household income by more than £1,000.

That's according to the latest report by YourParkingSpace which reveals that residents in more than 25 towns and cities are breaking the £1,000 average per year threshold, as motorists look for alternative places to park their cars.

The top three earning cities for driveway rental in the last year were London, Brighton and Edinburgh, where homeowners made £2,212, £2,059 and £1,941 respectively per year on average.

These driveway incomes are actually more than the previous year despite lockdown restrictions.

Homeowners have seen an opportunity and have come up with the simple solution to help out city trippers desperately trying to park their car for a couple of hours.

But how do you rent a driveway and is it worth it?

Scroll down below as we take a look at whether the simple solution is actually worth the time.

How do you rent a driveway?

A number of apps and online services are available if you're wanting to rent out your driveway.

Driveway rental marketplaces such as YourParkingSpace or Just Park and Stashbee do just that.

They earn a commission of around 3% from customers receiving a successful driveway rental and booking on their platform.

The more popular a location, the more driveway bookings and more money can be made.

If you don't want to go down this route then advertising in your local paper may be an option or in the local newsagent or even on your front gate to bring in customers.

There are also services like Gumtree if you don't wish to go through an online agent, however you’ll have to do a lot of the legwork yourself.

How much money can you make?

Your location will be the major factor here, depending on where you live, you can earn from £40 to £350 a month.

If you live next to a busy train station, shopping centre, theatre hall or even a football stadium chances are demand for parking in that area is going to be high.

According to YourParkingSpace (which offer hourly, daily or monthly parking) driveway owners can make more than £1,000 by renting out their empty driveways as parking spaces.

Just Park says that most people letting out their driveway can expect to earn around £30 a week, and those living near a major public transport route or in a city centre could make over £3,000 a year.

Is it worth it?

Thousands of Brits are already part of the driveway apps, with many either renting out their space or looking for a cheap space to park.

Again, location here is key.

If you don't live in a busy area, or an area that you believe people will want to park in then it may not be worth the hassle, however, there are many smaller areas that can still be lucrative.

You could find that having someone else’s car in your driveway causes too much noise, dirt and nuisance in the long-term.

Although, the apps allow you to pick dates when you want to rent out your driveway - so there's no obligation to do so all the time.

What people say:

Carly Rose has used YourParkingSpace several times and was earning £40 a month.

She said: "I have rented mine on yourparkingspace and was getting paid £40 a month...deffo worth doing if you don't use it."

Stella Strike lives near a hospital so finds renting out her driveway is an easy win for extra money.

"We only have one car, unless we have family visiting, so we rent the space.

"We live near a hospital so people often use us as it is cheaper than hospital parking."

However Janet Beverley Houghton offered a warning to those who were thinking of renting out their parking space.

"You can do this but be aware," said Janet.

"If any damage happens to their car while its on your drive you could be liable.

"However people will happily pay for the use of a driveway near to schools, hospitals, town centres etc where parking is minimal or costs a premium.

"Here our hospital has a small car park (for the number of people using it) and few staff spaces on the hospital grounds.

"People close by will rent out their drives if they can cheaper than the hospital car park."

On the other hand, Sarah Kidman has paid to rent out someone's driveway before but said there was only one issue:

She said: "The only issue I found was that the person I rented it off only had a single drive so I had to wake them up a few times to let me out!"

Adela Matin said: "I haven't rented mine out but I have rented a few and I much prefer leaving my car on someone's drive."

What about insurance and tax?

Your insurance provider will need to be aware if you're planning to rent out your driveway or garage as it may affect your policy.

Money earned from renting out a parking space is treated in exactly the same way as any other rental income from property in the UK.

Any extra cash you make must be declared to the Inland Revenue on your tax return.

To find out the tax value of your rented driveway you can contact your local council who will be able to advise you.