A man who rents out his parking space says the side hustle has made him £7k - and pays for holidays to Italy or Spain multiple times a year. Alessandro Rossi, 35, started renting out two unused parking spaces at his home six years ago - as a way to earn some extra cash.
Since advertising the spaces for £100 each a month, Alessandro has been able to visit family in Italy multiple times a year and jet to Spain on holiday too. He says he's even made friends with some of the parking space users along the way too.
The passive income has made him an estimated £7k so far - with Alessandro having to do nothing more than list the space online. Alessandro, who works in a bank, said: "I started renting out my parking space about six years ago. When I bought the flat it came with two parking spaces that I didn't need because I've never had a car and I still don't.
"For me it was just a really good opportunity to get some money. To be honest, having that income from the parking space has been really useful.
"I use it to pay the service charge for the block of flats, and then I can use that money for something else. It's the kind of money that pays for a few extra little trips during the year.
"My family is from Italy so I can go back there relatively often - the last time was over Christmas. My partner's family is from Spain as well, so renting the space means we can go back and see both of our families more often."
Alessandro uses YourParkingSpace to rent out his space - which is in a gated car park below his flat. He rents it out monthly, and says he's had about six people hiring the space over the years as people usually rent it for long periods of time.
Alessandro says his space users vary from neighbours in need of an extra space to people commuting from afar into the area - and he has even made some friends through the process. He said: "Interestingly it's been a nice opportunity to get to know my neighbours.
"I've been renting it out to a doctor who lives in the next block and now we're friends. I was also renting it out to an owner of a small chain of restaurants that I really liked - we got talking and he gave me some vouchers.
"Initially I was mostly renting out to residents in the area, but I was soon surprised to see how many people wanted a parking space to commute into from far away, and then walked to work from there. It's really low maintenance and minimal admin for the amount I can earn.
"I charge £100 but other people in the area charge far more than that for spaces that aren't even in a gated car park. The cost of living has never been more of an issue in London, and the extra money can make a huge difference.
"If you're lucky enough to own something you can rent out then I'd absolutely recommend doing this."
