How to buy out a solar lease: your options
Whether you can, what the number should be compared with, and the order to do it in.
Written by HyreSolar Research Desk Primary-source research; not legal or financial advice
The short answer
If you want to buy out a solar lease, you have three realistic options: use a purchase option your contract already contains, ask the provider for a negotiated buyout quote, or prepay the remaining payments instead of buying the equipment. Which is open to you depends entirely on your lease.
One major provider’s annual report describes the customer’s right, on selling a home, “to purchase the system or assign the Customer Agreement”, so buyout routes exist in at least some standard contracts.
We found no published source for a typical buyout price, and we do not print one. Get the figure in writing and compare it with what the same system would cost new.
Check your contract first
Find these four clauses before you call. They decide what you can ask for.
- A purchase option, and when it can be used
Some leases allow purchase only at set points (a year in the term, or at the end) and some at any time. Look under “purchase option”, “early buyout” or “sale of home”.
- How the price is set
Common wordings are a schedule in the contract, “fair market value” set by an appraiser, or the remaining payments discounted. Note which, because it decides whether you can dispute the number.
- What transfers with ownership
Once you own the system, the provider’s maintenance, monitoring and any production guarantee usually end. Check whether any warranty is assignable to you.
- Prepayment as an alternative
The Sunrun 10-K we read says a customer “may prepay all or a portion of the remaining payments”. Prepaying keeps the provider as owner; buying out makes you the owner.
Your three options, and what each costs you
| Option | What you pay | Who owns it after | Best when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract purchase option | The price formula in your contract | You | The option is open now and the formula is clear |
| Negotiated buyout | The provider’s quote; no published benchmark | You | Your contract is silent, or you are selling and the buyer will not assume the lease |
| Prepay the remaining term | Remaining payments, as the provider calculates them | The provider | You want a lower monthly figure for a buyer but do not want the upkeep |
We publish no typical buyout amount because no source we read states one. Any article that does is guessing.
How to judge the buyout price
A buyout is the purchase of a used system. The fair comparison is what a new system of the same size costs installed today.
Multiply the system size in watts by a current cost per watt and set that next to the quote, remembering that your panels are older, have degraded, and the inverter may be near the end of its life.
No 30% federal credit applies to a system a homeowner buys after 2025: Section 25D ended for expenditures after December 31, 2025.
Then compare the buyout with simply keeping the lease. The escalator calculator shows what the remaining payments add up to, including any yearly increase. If the buyout is close to the remaining payments and you lose maintenance cover by buying, keeping the lease can be the cheaper path.
Ownership has one more effect worth knowing if you plan to sell. Fannie Mae does not let leased panels count in a home’s appraised value; owned panels with clear paperwork can count.
Step by step
- 1Request the buyout figure in writing
Ask for the price, how it was calculated, how long it is valid, and what happens to warranties and monitoring.
- 2Ask for the equipment list and install date
Panel and inverter models and serial numbers let you check manufacturer warranties, which can pass to you.
- 3Price the same system new
Use a current cost per watt and at least one real quote for comparison.
- 4Confirm any filing is released at closing
If the provider recorded a fixture filing against the system, the purchase should end with it terminated. See solar UCC-1 removal.
- 5Get a bill of sale and transfer the interconnection
Your utility needs to know who owns the system now.
When to get help
If the quote is far above what a new system costs, or the provider will not explain the formula, ask for the calculation in writing and send a complaint to your state attorney general’s consumer office if it is not given.
A real estate attorney is worth involving if the buyout is part of a home sale with a closing date.
When you are ready
Ready to explore solar for your home?
If you have done your research and want to speak with a solar professional, HyreSolar can help you explore available options.
Free, with no obligation: a person at HyreSolar reads your request and gets back to you about it. Matching with solar professionals is not live yet, so this is not a quote, and nothing is shared with anyone until you agree.
Keep learningQuestions
Can I buy out my solar lease early?
Is buying out a solar lease worth it?
Do I get the federal tax credit if I buy out my lease?
Sources and retrieval dates
- Sunrun Inc., Form 10-K for fiscal 2025 (SEC EDGAR) , transfer-on-sale and prepayment terms Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-3-04, properties with solar panels , lease value excluded; senior fixture filing must be subordinated Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- UCC § 9-513, termination statement , one month after payoff, or 20 days after an authenticated demand Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- CFPB, Issue Spotlight: Solar Financing , published 7 August 2024: dealer fees, re-amortization at month 19, PPA escalators of 1 to 5% Retrieved 22 October 2026.
This page explains how solar contracts and consumer rules usually work and links the documents it relies on.
It is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice; your own contract and your state’s law decide your case.
For a dispute, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state or your state attorney general’s consumer office. HyreSolar does not install, finance, lease or sell solar.