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Here are our top 6 tips for earning money from your home, including how much you can earn and who to contact today.
Could you earn extra money by renting out a room to a lodger? Under the Government’s Rent a Room scheme, you can earn up to £7,500 tax-free each year from letting out furnished accommodation in your only or main home. This is halved to £3,750 if you share the income with someone else.
To achieve the best price, the room you offer would ideally have an en-suite bathroom. But before you start counting the potential cash, you’ll need to consider the practicalities of having someone else living in your home such as using the kitchen.
It’s worth noting that you won’t be eligible for the Rent a Room scheme if your home is converted into separate flats that you rent out. Find more about the Rent a Room scheme and what to consider.
SpareRoom and Airbnb are two of the biggest websites that homeowners use to rent out their spare rooms, whether it’s for a short or long-term let. The site MondaytoFriday allows you to rent out a spare bedroom during the working week, leaving it free for you at the weekend.
Another option when it comes to how to make money from your home would be to host an international student. However, whether or not this is an option would depend on your location.
This will vary by location, the local market and how desirable your property is. However, according to Spareroom.com’s figures for 2026 Q3, the average advertised room rent in the UK was £769 a month, up 1% annually, including bills. However, this figure covers rooms in house shares generally, rather than lodgers alone.
But these are only averages. Look at local data on spare room websites to get your price right. Read our full guide on renting out a room in your house for more information. Also, before listing, check your mortgage conditions, your lease if it’s a leasehold property and insurance policy.
If you don’t have a spare room to rent out or you prefer not to, you can still make cash by letting out your home when you’re away on holiday.
With Airbnb it’s easy to list your property. Not only will you be able to earn money while you’re away but it also means you don’t have to leave your house unoccupied while you’re away.
Also, think about whether there any popular events in your local area. You could vacate your home and rent it out to festival goers or people who are in town for big sports events.
But you should be aware that when you let out your home through sites like Airbnb there are risks such as property damage or theft. So make sure you read Airbnb’s page of considerations.
The amount you could earn depends on your location, property, dates and demand. If you have a large house in an area popular with tourists, you might be able to get as much as £1,000 a week or more. But to get a realistic idea, compare similar local listings and deduct platform fees, cleaning costs and other expenses when estimating your earnings.
Also, as well as checking your mortgage and lease conditions, and your insurance, you should also check any local short-let rules that apply in your area. For more information on what you should consider read our full guide on renting out your home as a holiday let.
If you’re not keen on renting your property out, you could earn some extra money from renting out your parking space, using sites like JustPark.
For example, do you live near a station or in a city? Then you could rent your drive to commuters. If you’re not using the spaces then it really is money for nothing. Or if you live near a sports ground, you could rent out space during events.
This will vary depending on location, but if you rent out your drive to commuters for three days a week at £6 per day you could earn over £70 a month, before any booking fees.
Make sure you tell your home insurer and if you rent out your driveway you may be liable for accidents or injuries on your property so make sure you have cover for that too.
Before listing, check you have the right to rent out the space, including any restrictions in your lease. In England, you usually won’t need planning permission to rent out an existing driveway or parking space.
However, existing planning conditions may restrict this, and permission may be needed if renting it out significantly changes its use. If you’re unsure, check with your local council.
If you’re considering how to make money from your home, another option is to rent out any spare storage space you have like a garage, loft or a spare room. The appeal for people looking to store their belongings is that this can be much cheaper than commercial storage prices.
There are websites like Stashbee, where you can advertise your space, although you’ll pay a fee on bookings.
Always read the T&Cs before committing and tell your home insurer you’re planning to list your storage space to check you’ll be covered. It’s also important to make sure you’re happy with what’s going to be stored and don’t agree to store valuables.
This will depend on the type of space you’re offering, the location and the size. As a guide, Stashbee lists an average garage rental price of £133 a month. How much you receive will depend on how much you charge and the fees deducted. If you’re looking for easy ways of how to make money at home this could be the answer.
Depending on the type of home you have you might be able to earn a considerable sum by renting it out for filming and photoshoots.
Glamorous properties are obviously popular but all sorts of quirky and original sets are needed in films so it’s worth giving it a go.
So how do you start? You should register with companies like Locations Direct and Shoot Factory to get your property seen. Be prepared to have a film crew take over your home for a few days – they may want to repaint, reorganise and cause general havoc. But the fee will take the inconvenience into account so you could be grateful for it in the long run.
Shootfactory’s published guidance suggests £400-£600 a day for editorial photography and £1,000-£1,500 for film and TV productions. Fees vary by property and project, plus you’ll need to pay commission too.
This will obviously be a seasonal option, but if you have a garden you could earn money by hiring it out as a micro-campsite. So if you’re looking at how to make money from your home and you fancy trying this, list it online using a website such as www.campspace.com. You upload photos of your space and details of facilities like if there’s a loo campers can use. However, make sure you read all the FAQs.
You don’t need a huge garden although the bigger it is and the better the location the easier you may find it to rent out.
Check comparable local pitches to estimate what you could charge. Earnings depend on your location, facilities, bookings and any platform fees.
Before accepting bookings, check with your council whether you need planning permission or a campsite licence. Exemptions and requirements depend on where you live and how the site operates. Make sure you tell your home insurer too.
Before you start counting the cash it’s important to consider whether you’ll need to pay tax on your earnings. Depending on the income and your circumstances, the £1,000 property allowance may cover some earnings from your home or land. This is separate from Rent a Room relief, and you cannot claim both on the same income. Check HMRC’s rules before assuming your earnings are tax-free. It can also be a good idea to get independent tax advice.
You don’t have to make life’s big financial decisions alone. Get the right IFA for you today with our partners at Unbiased.
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