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Rent your driveway

Catherine Deshayes

The rent-your-driveway practice, where homeowners get paid to allow commuters to park in their unused driveway, could net Belfast homeowners more than £1,000 a year...

A survey found that renting out a Belfast driveway to motorists searching for a cheaper parking space near the city centre could earn homeowners £1,232 a year.

Earlier this year, the News Letter revealed that homeowners across Northern Ireland were using websites to market their unused driveways as cheaper city or town centre parking locations.

The websites typically either charge a fee to advertise the parking space or charge a percentage of the income it generates.

A survey by one of the websites, YourParkingSpace.co.uk, analysed prices of 3,500 driveways available at 1,500 locations to rank the top 50 UK cities and towns.

Currently a Belfast parking space in a secure residential car park with remote control entry, available 24 hours a day, is being offered for £100 a month on the website.

The survey found that Belfast is the 13th most lucrative area in the UK for renting a driveway.

The website helps people in major UK cities rent their empty driveways to commuters who are looking for a cheaper place to park. Commuters can search, book and pay online.

London topped the expense table, with homeowners able to charge £3,632 a year.

The website's founder, Charles Cridland, said, "As the credit crunch has bitten, commuters are desperate to cut parking costs by renting driveways, and homeowners are very keen to make money by renting their drive out.

"As people continue to feel the pinch we expect to see even more driveways being offered to hard up commuters. It's safe and easy to do online, and a great way to make money."

Source: www.newsletter.co.uk