This year has brought with it many changes, not least of which is the fact we’ve become more acquainted with the homes we live in.
Whether we’ve been forced to adapt every nook and cranny into work stations or spent months on furlough renovating neglected rooms, we’re now much more aware of the space around us…but are you aware of your home’s earning potential?
As lockdown measures ease, the majority of UK workers hope their employer will continue to allow some working from home, while others fear redundancies as unemployment rises. So, now presents the perfect time – and we have more of it than ever before – to consider how you can turn your home into a cash-generating side hustle.
Here are 6 ways you could earn a supplementary wage or even replace income from your home.
- Rent out rooms
If you are lucky enough to have a spare room in your home and you don’t mind sharing it with strangers – even if it’s just now and again – you could consider renting out a room.
You don’t have to take in a full-time lodger (although you can earn up to £7,500 per year tax free if you do) and could consider more temporary lets, like hosting summer students, letting rooms via AirBnB or even starting your own bed and breakfast. The latter two will require some business planning but could earn you hundreds of pounds per night.
- Rent out space
Got a garage or shed but aren’t much of a hoarder? Have space on your driveway for an extra car and live in a prime location?
Why not rent out your unused space with sites like Stashbee and JustPark? There are plenty of people who need storage, or who aren’t willing to pay extortionate parking prices at train stations, for example. Depending on where you live, you could earn between £40 and £350 per month or even more if you’re in a city.
Believe it or not, you could even rent out your kitchen for caterers, magazines or start-ups – perfect for anyone who has a sizeable and envious cooking space but only uses the microwave!
- Rent out personal items
While not strictly your home, the explosion of the sharing economy means you could rent out almost anything to anyone, including personal items you keep at home. Called peer-to-peer lending, this could include your car, a touring caravan, games consoles and even DJ decks.
It doesn’t have to be a classic or sports car either, although they will of course earn you a premium. If you work from home or even use public transport to commute, you could rent out your everyday car for around £700 per month. And if your caravan or campervan sits on your driveway for most of the year, advertise it for rent on sites like Camplify, Gumtree or again, AirBnB.
Finally, if you ever invested in high-end technical equipment or instruments for your latest hobby, but it all sits in the garage under a thick layer of dust, services such as Fat Llama and Borrow-it say these items are in high demand on their rental sites.
- Make your home a movie star
No matter what shape or size your property, there’s likely a TV show or film that would consider using it as a filming or photoshoot location.
The more glamorous the better in terms of earning potential, but Broadchurch and Gavin and Stacy weren’t filmed in countryside mansions or Caribbean holiday homes, were they?
So whether you think your home has character and quirkiness, an air of luxury about it or it’s simply an average property that you’re willing to let cast and crews intrude for a few days, see if you can pimp out your entire home by contacting broadcasters’ location departments or registering your home on Amazing Space.
- Produce your own
The combination of panic buying, hours of queuing at the supermarket and supply chains suffering severe delays led to many people growing their own fruit and vegetables during lockdown. Many budding gardeners have now turned green-fingered grocers, with excess food in abundance.
If this is you, why not consider selling your produce via a roadside stall, on local online community groups or even at nearby markets and independent stores?
Another way you can earn money from producing your own is through energy. By getting solar panels installed, you could not only reduce your energy bills but sell surplus energy back to the National Grid. There’s even a Government scheme that pays you for the energy you produce.
- Bring your work home
If you’re already a business owner who has been forced to work from home, you could think about converting some space in your home and ditching your premises costs entirely. Could you convert your garage into a beauty salon or dog grooming parlour? You may have started a new business from home during lockdown – can you continue running that from home to keep overheads trim?
If none of that applies to you and you’re set to return to the office soon, your home could be rented out as office space. There will be plenty of small businesses looking to cut costs and your property could make for an attractive alternative.
Before you start…
When earning any money from your property or land, or starting a business from home, you must seek professional advice. It’s highly likely you will need to declare any income to HMRC and you may also be required to inform your landlord, home insurance provider, mortgage provider and local authority, as well as potentially take out additional business and liability cover.