You could be earning an extra £4000 just by renting out stuff you already own, like tents, cameras, bikes and designer clothing, according to new research from Confused.com.
The study established what kinds of things we have in our homes that can be rented out and then analysed listings on rental platforms Fat Llama and Hurr Collective to find out the average rental costs for different items.
Much of what we own is often confined to storage for most of the year, but if you have a designer dress, you could actually be renting it out for £255 a time on average. Drones can be rented out for £141; a laptop would rent out at around £100 and a bike could bring in almost £90 when rented out.
For anyone looking for savvy ways to reduce their spending, renting rather than buying is also a great way to reduce costs too – you can rent a designer bag for just £17.50 and if you’re thinking of going camping, a tent and a sleeping bag can be rented for less than £30.
How Much You Could Make from The Things You Own
In total, the research team identified 23 household items that are currently being rented out across the rental marketplaces, and if you’re lucky enough to own all 23 items, you could earn £2,024.50 on average in rental income if you rented everything out once.
On average, the research found that consumers owned two or three types of each item, so your earnings could increase to £4,235 if you have the average number of each of the items.
Average rental costs:
| Rank | Item | Average number of item(s) owned by consumers | Average rental cost for one item | Total possible revenue based on average no. owned |
| 1 | Designer dress | 2 | £255.50 | £511 |
| 2 | Marquee | 2 | £252.50 | £505 |
| 3 | Speaker system | 2 | £201 | £402 |
| 4 | Campervan | 3 | £187.50 | £563 |
| 5 | Drone | 2 | £141 | £282 |
| 6 | Designer suit | 2 | £140 | £280 |
| 7 | Projector | 2 | £114 | £228 |
| 8 | Laptop | 2 | £101 | £202 |
| 9 | Camera | 2 | £88.50 | £177 |
| 10 | Bike | 2 | £88.50 | £177 |
| 11 | Amplifier | 2 | £81 | £162 |
| 12 | Camera lens | 2 | £58.50 | £117 |
| 13 | DJ deck | 2 | £52.50 | £105 |
| 14 | Guitar | 2 | £51.50 | £103 |
| 15 | Electric keyboard (musical) | 2 | £51 | £102 |
| 16 | Microphone | 2 | £36 | £72 |
| 17 | Electric scooter | 2 | £32.50 | £65 |
| 18 | Tent | 2 | £20 | £40 |
| 19 | Designer bag | 2 | £17.50 | £35 |
| 20 | Sewing machine | 1 | £16 | £16 |
| 21 | Drum pad | 2 | £15.50 | £31 |
| 22 | Marquee heater | 3 | £14.50 | £44 |
| 23 | Sleeping bag | 2 | £8.50 | £17 |
Highest Value Items to Rent Out
Designer dresses command a healthy rental cost of £255.50, which is the highest of all items in the research. Designer suits ranked in 6th position with an average rental cost of £140, and with a designer bag renting for an average of £17.50 per item, those with a penchant for luxury brands have the potential to be earning hundreds of pounds per rental.
Over half of the items were tech equipment, with speaker systems ranking in third position (£201 per item) and drones in fifth position (£141 per item). Projectors (£114), laptops (£101) and cameras (£88.50) also featured in the top ten most profitable household items.
When it comes to transport and travel, bikes ranked as the 10th most profitable item, renting out on average for £88.50 per bike, and scooters ranked in 17th position with an average rental cost of £32.50.
The Most Commonly Owned Household Items (that can be rented out)
The research revealed 61% of us have at least one laptop at home, 45% own a camera and 30% had at least one sleeping bag in our homes.
According to the study, over a third of consumers (31%) have at least one bike in their homes – the equivalent of 21 million bikes just in the UK.
Other common things that people owned that are easily rented out include designer bags (16% of people have one at home), a tent (16%), a designer suit (8%) and a drone (6%).
The most commonly owned items that can generate rental income:
| 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% |
| 21 | DJ deck | 3.19% |
| 22 | Marquee | 2.84% |
| 23 | Marquee heater | 2.34% |
Jessica Willock, home insurance expert at Confused.com comments:
“People around the globe are becoming more savvy 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 prevents the amount 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 contents insurance, so check your policy to make sure you can rent out your items worry-free.”
To see the full research, visit https://www.confused.com/home-insurance/renting-household-items.
