With sustainable shopping becoming increasingly important to consumers, lots of savvy shoppers are starting to rent rather than buy and we can see why. After all, who wants to buy a brand-new tent and sleeping bag for one weekend away for upwards of £500, when you can rent the lot for as little as £28.50?
From bikes and tents to DJ decks and designer dresses, much of what we own is often confined to storage for most of the year, only being allowed out for special occasions.
But if you rent it out, you can make money back on the initial purchase and also save on maintenance costs – from storage to contents insurance. So, if earning money from things that normally just gather dust in the loft sounds appealing, here’s how much you could make from stuff you own.
Cash in the attic
So, what type of things do most of us have lying around that people would be keen to rent?
We started by investigating how many (and what kind of) items the average household has sitting around. We spoke to thousands of consumers to find out.
Almost a third of us (31%) have at least one bike in our homes – that’s around 21 million bikes just in the UK.
61% have a laptop at home, 45% own a camera and 30% have a sleeping bag – all of which can easily be rented out when you’re not using them.
Other common things we own that are great to rent out include: designer bags (16% of us have one at home), a tent (16%), a designer dress (10%), and a designer suit (8%).
The top 20 most commonly owned household items that can be rented out:
| Rank | Item | % of people who own at least one |
|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Laptop
|
60.62
|
|
2
|
Camera
|
45.01
|
|
3
|
Bike
|
30.66
|
|
4
|
Sleeping bag
|
30.21
|
|
5
|
Speaker system
|
21.64
|
|
6
|
Sewing machine
|
19.09
|
|
7
|
Guitar
|
16.45
|
|
8
|
Designer bag
|
16.05
|
|
9
|
Tent
|
15.80
|
|
10
|
Camera lens
|
13.91
|
|
11
|
Microphone
|
12.31
|
|
12
|
Amplifier
|
10.17
|
|
13
|
Designer dress
|
9.57
|
|
14
|
Electric keyboard (musical)
|
9.32
|
|
15
|
Designer suit
|
7.78
|
|
16
|
Projector
|
6.23
|
|
17
|
Drone
|
6.08
|
|
18
|
Electric scooter
|
5.98
|
|
19
|
Drum pad
|
3.54
|
|
20
|
Campervan
|
3.29
|
What income could you generate?
To discover how much income you could be generating if you have any of these items, we headed to Fat Llama and Hurr Collective and trawled through listings for everything from amps to marquees and guitars to tents.
The highest value item to rent out is a designer dress, bringing in on average more than £255.50 a time.
If you have a marquee in your shed, you could be making £252.50 on average if you were to rent it out. The third most valuable item to rent out is a speaker system which could yield just over £200 in income.
If you have every one of the 23 items listed below, you could earn £2,024.50 on average in rental income. If you own the average number of each item, you could stand to make £4,235 just from renting out the things you already have in your home.
Potential rental income from household items you can rent out:
| Rank | Item | % of people who own at least one | Average number of item(s) owned | Average rental cost for one item (£) | Total revenue per household (based on average no. owned) (£) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Designer dress
|
10
|
2
|
255.5
|
511
|
|
2
|
Marquee
|
3
|
2
|
252.5
|
505
|
|
3
|
Speaker system
|
22
|
2
|
201
|
402
|
|
4
|
Campervan
|
3
|
3
|
187.5
|
563
|
|
5
|
Drone
|
6
|
2
|
141
|
282
|
|
6
|
Designer suit
|
8
|
2
|
140
|
280
|
|
7
|
Projector
|
6
|
2
|
114
|
228
|
|
8
|
Laptop
|
61
|
2
|
101
|
202
|
|
9
|
Camera
|
45
|
2
|
88.5
|
177
|
|
10
|
Bike
|
31
|
2
|
88.5
|
177
|
|
11
|
Amplifier
|
10
|
2
|
81
|
162
|
|
12
|
Camera lens
|
14
|
2
|
58.5
|
117
|
|
13
|
DJ deck
|
3
|
2
|
52.5
|
105
|
|
14
|
Guitar
|
16
|
2
|
51.5
|
103
|
|
15
|
Electric keyboard (musical)
|
9
|
2
|
51
|
102
|
|
16
|
Microphone
|
12
|
2
|
36
|
72
|
|
17
|
Electric scooter
|
6
|
2
|
32.5
|
65
|
|
18
|
Tent
|
16
|
2
|
20
|
40
|
|
19
|
Designer bag
|
16
|
2
|
17.5
|
35
|
|
20
|
Sewing machine
|
19
|
1
|
16
|
16
|
|
21
|
Drum pad
|
4
|
2
|
15.5
|
31
|
|
22
|
Marquee heater
|
2
|
3
|
14.5
|
44
|
|
23
|
Sleeping bag
|
30
|
2
|
8.5
|
17
|
Top tech items to rent out
More than half of the top 20 most commonly owned rentable items in households are technology-based.
A speaker system is the highest value tech item that you could rent out, commanding rental prices of more than £200 a time.
A projector will earn you £114 and laptops, the most commonly owned rentable item, bring in over £100 each when rented out.
If this has inspired you to rent out some of the tech items you own, make sure all your passwords, sensitive information, private images and important documents are wiped clean from devices before you rent them out to protect yourself from instances of fraud or theft.
Here’s how much you could earn from any tech items you have in your home:
| Rank | Item | Average rental cost for one item (£) |
|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Speaker system
|
201
|
|
2
|
Drone
|
141
|
|
3
|
Projector
|
114
|
|
4
|
Laptop
|
101
|
|
5
|
Camera
|
88.5
|
|
6
|
Amplifier
|
81
|
|
7
|
Camera lens
|
58.5
|
|
8
|
DJ deck
|
52.5
|
|
9
|
Electric keyboard (musical)
|
51
|
|
10
|
Microphone
|
36
|
|
11
|
Electric scooter
|
32.5
|
|
12
|
Drum pad
|
15.5
|
Jessica Willock, home insurance expert at Confused.com, comments: “People around the globe are becoming savvier with their money, but also more sustainable with their shopping. Renting out your household items not only reduces the carbon footprint involved with buying something brand new but also reduces the number of items ultimately ending up in landfill.
“With many of the items that are commonly owned being technology-based appliances, it’s important to remember to rent out your belongings safely - particularly in regards to items such as laptops and cameras. Ensure that any passwords, sensitive information, private images or important documents are wiped clean from your laptop or camera before sharing them with strangers to avoid any instances of fraud or theft.
“Your belongings can make you money, but can also be of financial or even sentimental significance, so make sure your home contents are fully protected and you have the right cover. It’s also important to make sure you don’t invalidate your home insurance, so check your policy to make sure you can rent out your items worry-free.”