Renting out the drive at the front of your house can make you a mint.

Savvy householders can pocket thousands if they live near a railway station, airport or sport stadium.

Desperate commuters will pay good money for your space.

But this easy income can turn into a car crash situation.

A reader called Mike lives near a railway station where parking can be tricky for commuters.

In 2017 he was approached on his doorstep by a man who said his company worked like an estate agent for driveways.

The man explained demand was ­rocketing for driveways in the area, by Preston rail station, and his company would find the punters.

There was another advantage of ­having a car on his driveway too, putting off burglars.

Mike would not have to worry about the admin either – details such as collecting the cash.
The deal seemed perfectly legitimate - until solicitors found a long lease hidden in the small print (
Image:
Getty)

He was told they would charge £117.50 per month and Mike would receive 80% of this.

He thought this was a great idea and jumped at the chance of ­making money for ­doing nothing.

The man then produced what he said was an agency agreement, ­allowing his company to market the drive for rent. Mike signed without hesitation.

Within three weeks the ­driveway was rented out and Mike started to pocket a monthly cheque, as promised. All well and good.

Then Mike wanted to move house and put his property on the market in December. By January he already had an offer.

This is when his nightmare really started. When the solicitors began to deal with the conveyancing, it was discovered that Mike had granted the rental company a 99 year lease of the driveway.

It was listed officially against the title at the Land Registry. The sale  then fell through, leaving Mike in the ­position of having a house he possibly cannot sell.

I believe Mike can fight back here because he entered the lease on false pretences and under a ­fraudulent representation.

Any court, in my view, will ­declare the lease void. But it shows how careful you have to be when signing agreements.

Also, always make sure you ­contact your insurer to see if such agreements have an impact on your buildings or content insurance.