East Londoner makes £7K renting out his parking spaces and uses it for holidays in Spain and Italy

A banker makes a killing from a low-maintenance side hustle of renting out his unused car parking spaces. 

Alessandro Rossi, 35, has been renting his two spare spaces in Dalston, east London for six years and has easily earnt £7,000 from it. 

Each space makes him £100 a month and he has to do nothing more than list the space online.

Mr Rossi saves up the extra cash for frequent trips to visit family in Italy and Spain.

‘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,’ he said. 

‘For me it was just a really good opportunity to get some money.’

Mr Rossi, who doesn’t own a car, was ‘surprised’ to discover how many people were looking for spaces to use and also just how easy it was to list them online. 

He rents it out monthly, and has had about six people hiring the space over the years as people usually rent it for long periods of time.

‘To be honest, having that income from the parking space has been really useful,’ the east Londoner said. 

Mr Rossi’s family lives in Italy and his partner is from Spain, so the extra dosh gives them both an opportunity to travel to see their families more. 

‘I use it to pay the service charge for the block of flats, and then I can use that money for something else,’ he explained. 

‘It’s the kind of money that pays for a few extra little trips during the year.’

The easy gig has also allowed Mr Rossi to make new friends with the users of his parking spaces. 

‘Interestingly it’s been a nice opportunity to get to know my neighbours,’ he said. ‘I’ve been renting it out to a doctor who lives in the next block and now we’re friends.

He continued: ‘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.’ 

Mr Rossi, keen to point out the ease of this side hustle, said: ‘It’s really low maintenance and minimal admin for the amount I can earn.’ 

‘The cost of living has never been more of an issue in London, and the extra money can make a huge difference,’ he added. 

‘If you’re lucky enough to own something you can rent out then I’d absolutely recommend doing this.’

Elsewhere in London, drivers are suffering from hefty bills on the most-fined roads in Britain. 

Mare Street in Hackney has earned the staggering title of Britain’s worst street for parking after drivers were hit with 32,347 fines over a two-year period that ended in July 2022. 

The startling figure amounts to 44 tickets every day and totals £2.26million as residents complain that parking wardens are always lurking nearby, ready to strike at 8.31am. 

The Mail has also recently investigated the enormous salaries of the bosses of private car parks in the UK. 

Seven of the top firms generated a combined turnover of more than £650million, with over £50million in profits over the past three years despite lockdowns. 

MPs have called for an inquiry into the shocking regimes that have served 30,000 motorists a day with tickets.