‘Disownership’ – the hottest new trend you’ve probably never heard of. Yet there’s a good chance you’re already doing it. As the name suggests, disownership – renting, leasing or borrowing items instead of owning them – allows Americans to spend less but still have a valuable experience, and often times gain access to services they wouldn’t have been able to afford previously.
According to a new study released today by Sunrun, 4 out of 10 Americans are planning to ‘disown’ this summer – that’s nearly 92 million Americans! 
Given the season, it wasn’t a surprise that vacation homes were the #1 item people plan to disown (15%) as they plan to get away from it all. Cars (14%) came in at #2 followed closely by household tools, such as lawnmowers, leaf blowers and carpentry tools (13%).
Over half of American families (52%) say they’ll disown this summer because it makes vacationing easier and more affordable. Older Americans tended to divide equally between convenience and saving money as their reason to disown, while younger people were more likely to disown to minimize wastefulness and to conserve the environment. A previous survey by Sunrun actually found that 83% of Americans would disown traditionally-owned items if they could do so easily. And the growing numbers suggest that’s exactly what’s happening.
The new research highlights that the trend is likely to grow, as the more people disown, the more they say they’ll do it again. Over a quarter of Americans (26%) will disown this summer because they’ve had a successful experience as a renter/borrower/seller/provider in the past. Forbes estimates that this trend is growing more than 25% per year and is about to hit the $3.5 billion mark. “As more Americans realize they have disownership options,” says Sunrun co-Founder and co-CEO Lynn Jurich, “the trend can only grow.”
The Internet, smartphones and social media have enabled whole new levels of disownership. For example, you can search online for the closest neighbor with a power tool that you can borrow via Yerdle.com. Or browse individual homes and apartments to rent at your next exotic holiday destination though Airbnb.com. Smartphone apps can automatically direct the nearest cab to you with a push of a button through Uber, or give you access to rental cars by the hour via Zipcar.
And of course there’s our personal favorite: Solar service – also known as “third-party owned solar” –which allows families to power their homes with solar without the high upfront costs of buying, installing and owning panels. At Sunrun, we help Americans across the country easily install a solar system on their roof, while we insure, monitor and maintain it so homeowners don’t have to worry.
As Americans get smarter about doing more with less we can be sure the disownership trend will continue to grow.
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