July, 2022
With interest rates rising and the cost of living soaring, many of us are finding that we don’t have as much disposable income as we used to.
The good news is that there are a number of ways you can use your home to generate some extra cash.
One of the easiest ways to make some extra cash from your home is to rent out a spare room to a lodger.
The amount you can earn doing this depends on where you live.
To give you an idea, you can make £420 a month for a double room in Solihull, or more than £1,000 a month for one in London.
If you don’t fancy having someone in your home full time, you could target professionals who only need local accommodation from Monday to Friday.
But to appeal to this group, you would need to live in or close to a large town or city.
Specialist websites, such as SpareRoom and badi, can help to connect you with potential lodgers, while fivenights is specially for those looking for weekday lodgers.
If you just want a lodger on a short-term basis, you could consider hosting an international student.
You can earn around £20 to £30 a night doing this, but you'll have to provide meals for the student out of this money. Websites such as UK Guardians can help you to become a host.
Pros: You can raise potentially big sums. The government’s Rent a Room scheme enables you to earn £7,500 a year tax-free through renting out a room in your home.
Cons: You may not want to have a stranger living with you in your home. You will also have to share your kitchen, and bathroom if you don't have an en suite.
If you don’t want to rent out a room all the time, you could consider doing so on a part-time basis.
You could either rent out your whole home during periods when you're away, or just one room on an occasional basis.
You can advertise your home on websites such as Airbnb and Vrbo.
You're likely to be most successful if you live in a tourist area, such as a seaside resort, or in a large city, especially if it's hosting a popular event or festival.
Examples of the amount you could make ranges from £250 a night for renting out a two-bedroom apartment in Edinburgh, or £50 to £80 a night for a room in Cornwall.
Pros: You can still benefit from the Rent a Room scheme if you only let a room on a part-time basis, meaning you can earn £7,500 a year tax-free.
Cons: More work will be involved as you'll have to change beds and clean the room. And you may also have to check that your mortgage lender and local council allows you to rent out your home on this basis.
If you live close to a railway station, city centre or sports ground, you could rent out your driveway to commuters or fans.
Websites such as JustPark and YourParkingSpace can connect you with potential customers.
You could make as much as £200 a month if you're close to London, or £100 to £150 a month for regional cities.
If you live near an airport, you could consider offering a spot on your drive to people going away on holiday.
Pros: Renting out your driveway requires very little effort from you, with the websites taking care of finding customers and collecting payments.
Cons: You will need to make sure your home insurer allows it. You may also be liable for any accidents that occur on your drive.
If you have a garage, loft or even a spare room you're not using, you could consider renting out storage space.
The amount you could make ranges from £20 to £200 a month depending on the amount of space you have available.
You can advertise your space on websites such as storemates and Stashbee.
Pros: It's an easy way to make money out of space you're not using.
Cons: Storing other people’s belongings could impact your home insurance cover. You will have to give people access to your home when they want to access their belongings.
If you have a quirky or glamourous property, you could rent it out as a filming or photoshoot location.
With this one, you're more likely to be successful if your home is located close to a production company, and these tend to be around London.
If your home does get chosen, the rewards can be big.
Fees for a photographic shoot start at a few hundred pounds, while a television commercial could earn you £1,000 to £2,000.
A week’s filming could pay £10,000 or more.
If you think your home has the potential to star on the screen, you can advertise it on websites such as Lavish Locations or Shootfactory.
Pros: With fees of £1,000 to £2,000 a day, renting out your home for filming can be very lucrative, particularly if it's chosen to feature in a long-running series or sitcom.
Cons: You'll need to vacate your property while filming is happening. You'll also need to make sure you or the film crew have the right insurance cover in place. And expect a lot of disruption!
If you have a garden you might be able to make some extra cash by offering it as a camping venue.
Websites such as campspace will connect you with potential campers, and you can earn around £20 a night.
Pros: It enables you to make money from your home without having people sleeping under your roof.
Cons: You will have to let people in to use your bathroom if you don’t have facilities outside. You should also clear it with your home insurer.
Even if you don’t go down one of these routes, it's worth remembering that your home is already making money for you.
With strong house price growth, the average property has seen its value increase by more than £29,000 since the start of the pandemic.
You can use our instant online valuation tool to see how much your home is worth.
Alternatively you can call HS Homes of Solihull on 0121 430 4448 or email enquiries@hshomesofsolihull.co.uk to book a complimentary market report on your property.
