Join the sharing economy and put your house to work

When Tony Waddington bought a new Land Rover in 2020, he was disappointed to discover that it would not fit into the garage. Waddington was not about to move house simply to accommodate his car, but was frustrated that the garage space was going to waste.
Then a friend suggested that he could rent out the garage in the sought-after area of Notting Hill, London — and four years on he has made nearly £10,000. He registered with the booking site Stashbee and has had six long-term bookings, making £354 a month.
Like many other homeowners dealing with a cost-of-living crisis, high mortgage rates and crippling energy bills, Waddington, 81, has found a way to put his property to work — and has joined the “sharing economy” while he is at it. The concept of monetising skills or belongings has been around for years, but the rise of sites such as eBay, Etsy and Airbnb, where you can sell or rent out clothes, equipment or accommodation, has made it all easier to track. The German data platform Statista expects the sharing economy to be worth $600 billion (£452 billion) globally in 2027 — up from almost $150 billion this year. This took into account worldwide revenue from asset-sharing sites such as Airbnb and JustPark, as well as sites that make it easier to make a living while self-employed, such as Fiverr, Uber and JustEat.
“Airbnb blazed a trail for the way the sharing economy has worked, and our business follows the same model,” said David Mantle, the co-founder of Stashbee.Those wishing to rent out space — whether it is a parking spot, a garage, storage space or a spare room — register on the site and provide photographs. Stashbee provides telephone and online support, a contract template and carries out identity checks on renters in return for a 5 per cent fee.
Stashbee sets a minimum booking of 30 days for storage and Waddington’s latest clients have kept their Mini in his garage for more than a year.
“It runs very smoothly — other than handing over the keys to new tenants, I rarely have to do anything,” Waddington said.
Other apps that let you rent out a garage include Parklet, which charges commission of 20 to 30 per cent depending on the length of the booking. You could also advertise locally, which would mean you wouldn’t have to pay commission. The website JustPark allows you to hire out a parking space and takes 3 per cent of your charges.
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If you are considering renting out storage space at your home, check with your insurer that you will be properly covered and, if you have a mortgage, with your lender that you are not breaking the terms of your loan. Most will allow you to rent out some space, provided it is not the predominant use of your home. Some may have a limit on how many days you can rent for in a year. It’s a good idea to get the requirements in writing.
“The basic terms and conditions on your mortgage will usually stipulate that the property will be used for residential use only. However, in terms of storing something, as long as the property remains correctly insured it’s unlikely to cause a problem. Give your lender a call to double-check before going ahead,” said David Hollingworth from the broker London and Country Mortgages.
Suzanne Celensu looks after the family home in Yorkshire for her mother, Zoe Spink, 72, who lives in France. The house, which has a large pool, has been in the family since 1983 and was rented out until recently, but the pool was closed off and had fallen into disrepair.
The family considered having the pool taken out because of the cost of repairs and maintenance, “but it was put in by my father, Akin, who died in 2015, so it has huge sentimental value”, Celensu, 39, said.
After talking to neighbours, she realised that she could offset the pool costs by hiring it out. “There are lots of reasons people might want a private pool — perhaps because of modesty, religion or disability. One lady swims regularly with her daughter, who feels too nervous when others are around,” she said.
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In June Celensu signed up to the app Swimple, which connects swimmers with available pools. Nic Crum from the site said that anyone hiring out a pool has to meet strict insurance and health and safety requirements, and that Swimple offers resources for owners including “risk assessment templates, signage design templates, links to the RLSS [Royal Life Saving Society] courses and much more that we also refer them to, to ensure the pool owners have all the information they need to rent out their pool safely”.
Owners should check the Health and Safety Executive rules on swimming pool management and contact their local council about the right permissions. Celensu gets users to sign a disclaimer before using the pool to avoid any legal liability in the event of an accident, as recommended by Swimple.
So far there has been plenty of interest, including a swimming school that hires the pool for ten hours a week. Celansu has made about £300 a month from the pool so far, charging £30 an hour. If fully booked, she could make £1,500 a month.
Her costs include maintenance of about £300 a month and public liability insurance of £120 a month.
While the extra money is handy, Celansu likes the fact that renting the pool does good in the local area: “Already there are three families on my lane that come and use it. It’s become a little community,” she said. “In the case of one girl with disabilities, I’m able to make things easier for her and her mother by ensuring that nobody books for half an hour each side of their slot. It makes me happy to be able to help.”
Valentine and Sophie Bryant began their conversion of a stylish camper van as a lockdown project during Covid. “My core business is signs and graphics, and in 2020 it was literally switched off,” said Valentine, 67. “I’d always wondered about converting a van and this seemed a great time to try.”
So he and his daughter Sophie, 28, from Farmborough, near Bath, bought an old delivery van from a local dealer for £8,000, stripped the interior and insulated it to create luxury holiday accommodation. “It has a super king-size bed, a hob and microwave, toilet and a full-size domestic shower,” Valentine said. “We installed a wood-burner for warmth, an electric hook-up and a solar panel.”
With the project finished in 2022, the family went on several trips to test the van and then decided to start renting it out. They bought self-drive hire insurance for £2,500 a year, which covers them and any renters in case of accidents. They also registered the caravan, named Splinter, with Quirky Campers, which advertises it and takes bookings for a 21 per cent cut of the fee.
Other websites offering this service include Camplify, which charges 10 per cent commission, and Indie Campers, where fees vary depending on factors such as your location and the size of the camper.
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Renovations on the Bryants’ van cost about £25,000, and Valentine spends about £1,500 a year on maintenance. Despite the high upfront costs, he said it has more than paid for itself.
“We make more than £15,000 a year, with some people making short three-day bookings and others longer. We don’t set a specific limit, but our longest so far was a couple who took the camper for three weeks in June. They went to Gretna Green to get married, then took a 500-mile tour of Scotland,” he said.
Renting out a vehicle comes with a degree of risk, and once or twice the van has come back with a dent. “It’s part and parcel of renting it out, and easily dealt with under the insurance,” Valentine said. Occasionally guests have failed to clean the interior properly, but he can claim to cover the costs of additional cleaning through the website. “Recently a couple left it messy and were charged an additional £100,” he said.
Patrick Dunne lives near Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace Football Club, so uses JustPark to let out his driveway on match days.
“I have one car but space for two, so thought it would be a good thing to do,” said Dunne, 62, an electrical compliance manager.
He earns about £400 a year from renting out his space and has been doing it since 2010. Although owners can set their own prices, David uses the website’s automated pricing engine. “This means that the price can change over time, depending on demand,” said Dunne. Parking in his area ranges from £6 to £35 for a four-hour slot.
“It’s not a great earner, probably because people can park on the roadside here, but it’s nice to offer somewhere safe to park,” he said.
In 14 years he has had only a couple of negative experiences, including someone who tried to “beat” the website by requesting a refund after using the space. “But most people — especially the football fans — will ring the door and have a chat,” Dunne said. “It’s a nice, friendly thing to do.”
Other apps include YourParkingSpace, which charges customers making the booking, not the owners of the parking spaces, and Park on My Drive, which charges a flat £20 fee for a year’s listing, paid once you have your first customer.
“Some insurers will cover such additional uses of your home but others will not, so it is important to check,” said Pam Quinn from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, a trade body. “Some insurers may not want to cover property that has these additional uses as they might consider it increases the risk of a claim. Others may continue to cover your property but exclude any claim relating to the service you offer and/or exclude damage to the property you are storing or allowing to be left at your property.
“If your insurer can’t offer cover there are some specialist brokers that can arrange insurance, or the platform being used might provide cover — check the terms and conditions carefully,” Quinn said. Companies to try include Pikl or Guardhog.
The trading allowance allows you to earn £1,000 a year tax-free, which includes income from renting out your home for storage or parking. Any earnings above this amount will need to be declared to HM Revenue & Customs through a self-assessment tax return.
“When declaring, it’s important to establish if this is property or trade income, as these are taxed differently,” said Leanne Gunns, a Norwich-based accountant.
“It’s also important to note that if the property or asset is owned jointly, the income will also be classed as joint. This means that if one partner is a higher earner, it is not possible to declare all the income under the other partner’s name. Hosting platforms are required to report to HMRC, so it’s important that declarations are correct.”