Green shoots of recovery have begun to appear in the housing market. The British Bankers’ Association revealed this week that mortgage approvals in August rose 81 per cent from the previous year to levels not seen since before the worst of the credit crisis.

These figures came hot on the heels of data from the Department for Communities and Local Government suggesting that property values rose by 1.4 per cent in July and 2.8 per cent over the second quarter of the year.

Despite the reported rise in house prices, Rightmove, the property website, says that fewer homeowners are putting their properties on the market, as they wait for a better price.

If you are waiting to sell, or have no intention of moving, you can still make a profit. Your home offers some easy ways to boost your income — provided that you are willing to put up with a little intrusion. Here Times Money rounds up four of the options, all of which are feasible for a regular-sized family home.

Rent a room

Under the Government’s Rent a Room scheme, you can make up to £4,250 a year tax-free by letting a furnished room, or rooms, in your home. For a couple sharing income, the allowance is £2,225 each.

The going rate for a room depends on its location, whether there is an en suite bathroom and extras such as meals and laundry — from £60 to £120 a week, including bills, is typical. You can rent out rooms even if you are only a tenant, provided that your lease allows it. You should also check that your mortgage lender and home insurer will allow you to take lodgers.

Steven Hilton, of the National Landlords Association (NLA), says that a written agreement between landlord and lodger, known as a lodger’s licence, is “a must”. Templates are available from the NLA or retailers, such as WH Smith. These set out the rent, rules and notice terms. He adds that it is important to follow up references and to make background checks — the NLA offers an online “tenant check” service from £6.

You can advertise for lodgers free at websites such as Gumtree.com or, for a small fee, in newspaper classifieds.

Foreign students

Hosting foreign students who are in Britain for short language courses is a good way to take advantage of your Rent a Room allowance without a commitment to a long occupancy.

Saint George International (SGI), the language school, pays host families in London from £108 a week for bed and breakfast in London Underground zones 4 and 5, to £202 a week for bed, breakfast and an evening meal in zones 1 and 2 — with extra for en suite rooms. Most students stay for four to six weeks.

Joanna Wagner, of SGI, says: “You have to offer more than just a room. Host families are expected to talk to the students, ask them about their day. On the other hand, students must stick to house rules and can’t just roll in at 4am.”

Linda De Rose, of Harrow, northwest London, hosts students from SGI, among other schools. She says: “Income from students put both our children through university without debt. We started hosting in 1989 and have never had problems — though you sometimes have to live with someone you don’t get on with.”

Hosts enter a written agreement with the language school and are typically paid in arrears. The website Idiom.co.uk has contact details of language schools across the country.

Bed & breakfast

Running a B&B can be much more lucrative than taking in lodgers, but it involves more work and completing a tax return — although, as a selfemployed business owner, you can claim a number of tax breaks.

David Weston, of the B&B Association, says that many people start a B&B with one to three bedrooms and that the latter can pull in about £35,000 a year, most of which is profit. He adds that it is possible for a couple in full or part-time work to run a business on this scale — especially when working from home is an option.

The law may require premises with four or more guest bedrooms to be reclassified as a hotel, which has tax implications and will hit resale value.

Mr Weston says: “It is easiest to fill rooms in popular destinations, such as Bath, even though there will be competition. Spots close to airports are also very good.”

He adds that it is crucial to draw up, and stick to, a business plan and budget, and to check fire regulations before starting up. There is information online at bandbassociation.org.

Film and TV locations

You can make between £300 and £2,500 a day, before agency fees of about 15 per cent, by letting production companies use your property.

Kell Gatherer, of Location Works, the location management company, says that there is plenty of demand for homes with good parking in range of production hubs such as London and Bristol. He adds that properties with lots of space for crews to move about in are most suitable and that Footballers’ Wives-style “aspirational” homes and those with “faded grandeur” are especially popular. Homeowners can register free at LocationWorks.com.

Mr Gatherer says: “The most important thing is that people send us great photographs. We give guidelines online, but a disturbing percentage of people do not follow them.”

Lizzie Johnson’s Edwardian semi in Wandsworth, southwest London, has been used for ten shoots since she registered two years ago. She says: “We have had Jamie Oliver, Antony Worrall Thompson and Gloria Hunniford here. Production companies like our galley kitchen, which is spacious and easy to film in. The money is useful for things like holidays and also covers sponsorship of two girls in Ethiopia.”

The joys of fee parking

If you have an unused garage or drive or other off-street parking, you can rent it to motorists for handy pocket money. It is free to advertise your space at websites such as yourparkingspace.co.uk or Gumtree.com, where prices of about £10 to £60 a week tend to undercut car park fees significantly. A perk of renting to a commuter is that your home is more likely to appear to be occupied during the day.