A Sunrun solar lease is usually a long-term agreement, not a month-to-month service that can be cancelled by closing an online account or stopping automatic payments.
That does not mean every Colorado homeowner has the same options. The correct path depends on the actual Sunrun agreement, when and where it was signed, whether installation has occurred, what the salesperson represented, how the system has performed, whether the home is being sold, and what outcome the homeowner needs.
The direct answer: You may be able to cancel, terminate, buy out, prepay, transfer, dispute, or otherwise resolve a Sunrun solar lease. Sunrun does not publish one universal cancellation process that applies to every agreement, and the specific contract controls.
Do not assume that sending Sunrun an email, deleting the Sunrun app, cancelling automatic payments, or telling a sales representative that you no longer want solar will terminate the written lease.
Sunrun’s online account terms specifically distinguish between closing an online account and terminating a written solar lease or power purchase agreement. The written agreement must be reviewed and addressed directly.
Start with the broader 2026 guide to getting out of a solar contract in Colorado when you need to understand the larger cancellation, financing, installation, and evidence issues.
Can You Cancel a Sunrun Solar Lease in Colorado?
Possibly, but there is no single answer that applies to every Sunrun customer.
A homeowner’s potential options may include:
- Using an open cancellation period
- Following a pre-installation termination provision
- Requesting cancellation after a material project change
- Negotiating a termination or settlement
- Purchasing the solar system when the agreement permits it
- Prepaying the remaining service obligation
- Transferring the agreement during a home sale
- Enforcing service, maintenance, or performance obligations
- Disputing misleading sales representations or unauthorized signatures
- Using an end-of-term purchase, renewal, or removal option
These are not interchangeable. For example, purchasing the system does not necessarily erase amounts already due. Transferring the agreement does not necessarily change its payment terms. A production refund does not necessarily terminate the lease.
The first objective is to identify the agreement and the result you are actually seeking.
Make Sure You Have a Sunrun Lease, Not a PPA or Purchase
Homeowners sometimes call every Sunrun agreement a lease, but Sunrun has used several different contract structures.
| Agreement | Who Generally Owns the System? | How the Customer Generally Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly solar lease | Sunrun or an affiliated system owner | A scheduled monthly lease payment |
| Prepaid solar lease | Sunrun or an affiliated system owner | A substantial payment made in advance |
| Power purchase agreement | Sunrun or an affiliated system owner | A contractual rate for the electricity produced |
| Prepaid PPA | Sunrun or an affiliated system owner | Service or energy payments made substantially in advance |
| Cash or financed purchase | The homeowner, subject to any financing interest | Cash or payments to a separate lender |
Sunrun’s current public materials describe a lease as a plan where Sunrun owns and maintains the system while the customer pays a predictable monthly amount. A PPA generally charges the homeowner based on the electricity generated.
Sunrun reported in its 2025 annual filing that its customer agreements typically have initial terms of 20 or 25 years. A 2025 independent engineer’s report also identified newer Sunrun agreement structures called SHIFT, Flex, and Storage Add-on, with specific terms varying by location and system.
The contract title alone may not tell the entire story. Review the payment schedule, ownership language, system description, service obligations, transfer provisions, purchase options, and exhibits.
Find the Complete Sunrun Agreement
Do not rely on a proposal, one-page summary, screenshot, or payment statement as the complete agreement.
Sunrun states that customers can generally locate their agreement through the Sunrun app or website under:
Account → Contracts & Docs
If the agreement is not available there, Sunrun directs customers to contact Customer Engagement. Sunrun currently lists 855-478-6786 for existing customers.
Request the complete package, including:
- The signed lease or PPA
- Every exhibit and addendum
- The payment schedule
- The annual escalation provision
- The system description and design
- The estimated production schedule
- The performance guarantee
- The warranty and maintenance terms
- The cancellation notice and instructions
- The transfer provisions
- The purchase or buyout provisions
- The end-of-term options
- The electronic-signature audit certificate
- Any battery or storage addendum
- Any later modification or transfer document
If Vivint Solar originally sold or installed the system, also collect the original Vivint documents and every later Sunrun communication. Sunrun acquired Vivint Solar, but the terms of an older Vivint agreement may differ from a newer Sunrun contract.
Review Every Possible Cancellation Period
The agreement may contain its own right to cancel, and another consumer-protection rule may apply depending on how, when, and where the transaction occurred.
Read the Sunrun Cancellation Provision First
Locate language titled or referring to:
- Right to Cancel
- Notice of Cancellation
- Rescission
- Termination
- Customer Default
- Conditions to Installation
- Project Changes
- System Design Approval
- Cancellation Fee
Determine:
- The exact deadline
- Whether it uses business days or calendar days
- When the period began
- The required notice method
- The address or email that must receive notice
- Whether a separate cancellation form must be used
- Whether both homeowners must sign
- Whether Sunrun claims any fee or nonrefundable amount
Colorado Agreements Signed on or After July 1, 2026
Colorado’s new residential energy-system law applies disclosure and agreement requirements to covered purchases, leases, and PPAs entered into on or after July 1, 2026.
The law requires covered agreements to contain specified information, including payment terms and contact information, and requires solar sales companies to retain signed agreements for at least four years.
However, the law’s specific minimum three-business-day cancellation right is expressly described for a sale of a system. It should not be automatically represented as a universal statutory cancellation right for every Sunrun lease or PPA.
The date, contract structure, required disclosures, welcome call, and actual agreement should be reviewed before drawing a conclusion.
Read the official Colorado residential energy-system consumer-protection law.
The Federal Cooling-Off Rule
The Federal Trade Commission’s Cooling-Off Rule may provide three business days to cancel certain transactions made in the consumer’s home or at another qualifying temporary location.
The rule contains conditions and exclusions. Do not assume that it automatically covers or excludes a Sunrun lease based only on the contract label.
Relevant facts can include:
- Where the agreement was presented and signed
- Whether the transaction occurred during an in-home sales visit
- Whether part or all of the process occurred online or by telephone
- Which documents and cancellation forms were provided
- How the seller described the right to cancel
Review the FTC Cooling-Off Rule guidance.
How to Send a Cancellation Notice
When a cancellation period remains open, follow the agreement instructions exactly.
- Use the required cancellation form when one was provided.
- Identify the homeowners, property, contract number, and signing date.
- State clearly that you are cancelling the identified agreement.
- Send it through every required delivery method.
- Keep certified-mail receipts, delivery confirmations, screenshots, and email records.
- Request written confirmation that the agreement and project have been cancelled.
- Continue monitoring billing, permits, installation scheduling, and account activity.
A telephone call can supplement written notice, but it should not replace the contractually required method.
Cancelling Before Sunrun Installs the System
The period before installation is often the most important time to act. The project may still be moving through site review, design, permitting, equipment allocation, utility applications, and scheduling.
Sunrun’s current FAQ states that a customer who has not yet reached installation and is reconsidering the agreement should contact the Sales Consultant or Installation Customer Experience representative. Sunrun also says that the agreement type cannot be changed after the panels have been installed.
That does not, by itself, guarantee cancellation. It does mean the homeowner should act before installation rather than assuming the project can be unwound just as easily afterward.
Ask These Questions Immediately
- Has Sunrun approved the final system design?
- Have all homeowners approved that design?
- Has a permit been submitted or issued?
- Has the utility application been submitted?
- Has equipment been ordered or delivered?
- Has installation been scheduled?
- Has a subcontractor been assigned?
- Has the agreement been materially changed?
- Is Sunrun claiming a cancellation fee?
- What contract section supports that fee?
Material Changes to the Project
Compare the final design and payment terms with what was originally presented. Material changes may involve:
- The number or type of panels
- The battery configuration
- The estimated production
- The monthly payment
- The annual escalation rate
- The equipment location
- Roof or electrical work
- Tree removal or structural requirements
- The project timeline
A change does not automatically create a cancellation right. It may, however, activate a contract provision, require additional approval, or strengthen a request for cancellation or renegotiation.
What Changes After the Sunrun System Is Installed?
Once the system is installed, Sunrun generally continues to own the equipment under a lease or PPA. Sunrun’s current public materials also state that it maintains leased systems during the agreement.
Installation introduces additional questions:
- Has the system passed local inspection?
- Has the utility granted permission to operate?
- Has billing started?
- Was the installed system the one the homeowner approved?
- Is the roof damaged?
- Is the system operating?
- Has Sunrun performed requested maintenance?
- Does the production match the agreement?
- Is a battery functioning as represented?
- What does the agreement require if the lease is terminated?
Do not remove, disconnect, relocate, or alter Sunrun-owned equipment without first reviewing the contract and obtaining appropriate written authorization.
Unapproved work could create disputes over ownership, property damage, insurance, warranties, permits, utility approval, or contract default.
Can You Buy Out or Purchase a Sunrun Lease?
Possibly. The actual agreement determines when a purchase is permitted, how the price is calculated, and whether the purchase ends all future service payments.
Sunrun’s current public FAQ states that at the end of a lease term, the customer generally has three options:
- Purchase the system at fair market value
- Renew the lease annually
- Request removal of the system
Sunrun’s annual filing also states that customers selling a home may have the right to purchase the system or assign the agreement to the buyer, subject to the agreement and buyer requirements.
These public descriptions do not establish that every customer has an unrestricted purchase right at any point during the term.
Request a Written Quote
Ask Sunrun for a written explanation of every currently available option:
- Purchase price
- Fair market value purchase
- Early buyout
- Prepayment of remaining service
- Contract termination amount
- Transfer to another homeowner
- System removal
Request the calculation behind every quoted amount. Determine whether the quote:
- Transfers system ownership
- Eliminates all future monthly payments
- Includes taxes or administrative charges
- Ends Sunrun’s maintenance obligations
- Changes equipment warranties
- Includes a UCC termination or other filing update
- Includes battery equipment
- Expires before a stated date
A buyout quote can be substantial. Do not sign or pay it without confirming what rights, obligations, warranties, and ownership are actually changing.
Selling a Colorado Home With a Sunrun Lease
A home sale is one of the most common reasons homeowners look for a way out of a Sunrun agreement.
Sunrun currently describes several potential home-sale paths:
- Transfer the lease or PPA to the buyer
- Purchase the solar system
- Prepay some or all remaining service payments
- Use another agreement-specific solution
Sunrun’s current transfer process asks for buyer and escrow information, digital signatures, and a soft credit check for the new homeowner. Sunrun states that if a buyer does not want the service agreement, the seller may be able to prepay the remaining service and include that cost in the home transaction.
Start Before Listing or Accepting an Offer
Request the following as early as possible:
- A copy of the complete agreement
- The current transfer instructions
- The buyer qualification requirements
- A system purchase quote
- A remaining-service prepayment quote
- The estimated transfer timeline
- Any transfer fee
- The required title or escrow documents
- Information about any UCC or other recorded notice
Do not tell a buyer that the lease will transfer automatically. Sunrun’s own filings state that an assignment generally requires the new homeowner to satisfy applicable requirements and agree to the customer agreement.
What If the Buyer Refuses the Lease?
The seller may need to compare the financial and practical effect of:
- Purchasing the system
- Prepaying the remaining service obligation
- Negotiating the home-sale price
- Offering a buyer credit
- Finding another buyer
- Requesting another contract-specific resolution
Read Selling Your Colorado Home With a Solar Lease: What Happens When the Buyer Will Not Take It Over? for a deeper home-sale review.
Does Sunrun Put a Lien on the Home?
Sunrun states publicly that it does not place a mortgage lien on the home, but it also explains that a property may show a UCC filing or another notice connected to the solar agreement, depending on the circumstances.
Sunrun says it can temporarily remove certain filings during a transfer. The actual Colorado record, secured party, collateral description, filing type, and termination history should still be reviewed.
Read What Is a UCC-1 Solar Lien, and How Can It Block a Colorado Home Sale or Refinance?.
Can Service or Performance Problems End the Lease?
A malfunctioning or underperforming system does not automatically cancel a Sunrun lease. It may create service, maintenance, performance, warranty, billing, or dispute rights under the agreement.
Sunrun’s current materials state that maintenance is included with leases and PPAs. Sunrun also says that leased systems include performance protections, although the exact guarantee varies by agreement.
A 2025 independent engineer’s report reviewing Sunrun agreement types found that performance-guarantee percentages and calculations can vary. Some agreements may provide a refund when production falls below the contractual guarantee, often according to a contract-specific measurement schedule.
A performance payment is not the same as terminating the lease. Review what the agreement requires Sunrun to do when:
- The system stops producing
- An inverter fails
- A battery malfunctions
- The roof leaks near an installation point
- The system produces below the guarantee
- Monitoring is unavailable
- Sunrun does not respond to a repair request
- The utility has not granted permission to operate
Build a Service Record
Save:
- Monitoring screenshots
- Monthly and annual production reports
- Utility bills
- Error messages
- Photographs and videos
- Support ticket numbers
- Technician reports
- Scheduled and missed appointments
- Emails and chat transcripts
- Warranty and performance calculations
Compare the system’s actual production with the production schedule and guarantee contained in the agreement.
What If the Sunrun Sales Pitch Was Misleading?
A homeowner may have dealt directly with Sunrun or with another salesperson, dealer, installer, lead generator, or former Vivint Solar representative.
Identify who made each representation and which company employed or authorized that person.
Common disputed claims include:
- The payment would never increase
- The lease had no escalation clause
- The utility bill would disappear
- The homeowner would own the system
- The agreement was not a lease
- The contract could be cancelled at any time
- A future buyer would automatically assume it
- The system could be purchased for a small predetermined amount
- The panels would be removed whenever requested
- The salesperson represented the utility or a government program
- The homeowner was signing only for a site inspection or proposal
- The system was guaranteed to produce a specific financial savings
The written agreement remains important, but the sales process should not be ignored. Preserve the evidence showing what caused the homeowner to sign.
Read The Solar Salesperson Lied to Me: What Are My Rights in Colorado?.
Review the Payment Escalator
Some solar leases or PPAs use a fixed payment or energy rate. Others may include a scheduled annual increase.
Locate:
- The initial monthly payment or energy rate
- The annual escalation percentage
- The date each increase occurs
- The projected payment schedule
- The total estimated payments over the term
An escalation clause can create a significant long-term cost even when the first-year payment appears affordable.
Read Why Did My Solar Payment Suddenly Jump? The Escalator Clause Explained.
What Should You Do First?
1. Download the Complete Agreement
Obtain every page, exhibit, amendment, electronic-signature record, design approval, payment schedule, and transfer document.
2. Confirm the Agreement Type
Determine whether it is a monthly lease, prepaid lease, PPA, prepaid PPA, purchase, battery agreement, or combination of documents.
3. Identify the Project Stage
Document whether the project is:
- Signed but not designed
- Designed but not permitted
- Permitted but not installed
- Installed but not inspected
- Inspected but not activated
- Activated and operating
- Activated but underperforming
- Involved in a home sale
4. Write Down the Result You Need
Be specific. Are you seeking:
- Immediate cancellation
- A pre-installation release
- A written termination quote
- A system purchase
- Prepayment of the remaining service
- A transfer to a buyer
- Repair or activation
- A performance refund
- A payment correction
- A UCC filing resolution
- A response to misleading sales claims
5. Contact Sunrun in Writing
Sunrun currently directs existing customers to the Sunrun app or 855-478-6786.
After any telephone conversation, send or preserve a written summary that identifies:
- The date and time
- The representative
- The issue reported
- The documents requested
- The resolution requested
- The response deadline
- The ticket or case number
6. Request Every Available Financial Option
Do not ask only, “Can I cancel?” Request written information about:
- Cancellation
- Termination
- Purchase
- Buyout
- Prepayment
- Transfer
- Removal
- End-of-term options
7. Keep Making Required Payments Unless You Have a Documented Basis to Change Course
A dispute or review request does not automatically suspend the lease. Stopping payment can create late fees, default, collection activity, credit issues, or other contract consequences.
Read Will Getting Out of My Solar Contract Hurt My Credit? before making a payment decision based solely on general internet advice.
8. Get the Complete Situation Reviewed
Use the detailed Solar Contract Review to submit the lease, payment schedule, sales proposal, utility bills, service records, transfer documents, and other supporting evidence.
Complaint and Escalation Options
A complaint can create a formal record and sometimes encourage a response. It does not automatically cancel the Sunrun agreement.
Sunrun Customer Support
Start by requesting a written case number and clear response from Sunrun. Use the Sunrun app or the official customer-support number.
Ask that the issue be escalated when the first representative cannot provide the agreement, explain a quote, resolve a service issue, or address the requested outcome.
Colorado Attorney General
The Colorado Attorney General accepts complaints concerning product and service issues, including alleged misrepresentations, deceptive practices, incorrect billing, and failures to perform.
A strong complaint should identify:
- The companies involved
- The salesperson or representative
- The relevant dates
- The disputed statements
- The contract provisions involved
- The payments or financial harm
- The efforts already made
- The specific resolution requested
Review the Colorado Attorney General product and service complaint process.
The Colorado Solar Resources directory lists additional complaint systems, business records, permit offices, utility resources, and UCC records.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Cancelling the online account and assuming the lease ended
- Stopping automatic payments without addressing the written agreement
- Relying only on a salesperson’s summary of the contract
- Saving only the signature page
- Confusing a lease with a PPA or solar loan
- Waiting until installation day to object
- Waiting until the week of a home closing to start a transfer
- Assuming every buyer will qualify or agree to assume the lease
- Accepting a buyout quote without understanding the calculation
- Assuming a performance refund automatically terminates the agreement
- Removing or altering Sunrun-owned equipment without authorization
- Ignoring a UCC filing or title notice
- Filing a vague complaint without documents or a requested resolution
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cancel a Sunrun lease by calling customer service?
A telephone call alone may not satisfy the written agreement’s cancellation or termination requirements. Review the contract and follow the required written notice procedure.
Can I cancel my Sunrun online account to end the lease?
No. Closing or cancelling access to an online account is different from terminating the written solar lease or PPA.
Can I cancel before Sunrun installs the panels?
Possibly. Review the cancellation period, pre-installation provisions, project status, design approval, permit activity, material changes, and any claimed cancellation fee. Act before installation when possible.
Can I cancel after Sunrun installs the panels?
Installation generally makes cancellation more complicated. Review system ownership, billing, inspection, utility activation, purchase rights, termination provisions, service obligations, and removal terms.
Can I buy my Sunrun system?
Sunrun publicly describes system-purchase options in certain circumstances, including at the end of the agreement and during some home sales. The timing, price, and availability of an earlier purchase depend on the actual contract.
How much does it cost to terminate a Sunrun lease?
There is no reliable universal amount. Request a written termination, purchase, buyout, and prepayment quote, along with the contractual calculation supporting each option.
Can I transfer the Sunrun lease when I sell my Colorado home?
Sunrun currently provides a transfer process involving the seller, buyer, and escrow company. The buyer may need to complete documents and satisfy Sunrun’s applicable requirements.
What if the buyer refuses to take over the Sunrun lease?
Sunrun states that a seller may have a prepayment option. The seller should also request a purchase quote and review the financial effect of every available option before the closing deadline.
Will Sunrun remove the panels?
Sunrun publicly describes removal as an end-of-term option. Removal during the initial contract term depends on the agreement, the reason for removal, ownership, roof work, termination rights, and any quoted cost.
Can poor production cancel the Sunrun lease?
Not automatically. The agreement may provide maintenance, repair, performance measurements, or refunds. Those remedies are not necessarily the same as termination.
What if a Vivint Solar salesperson sold the agreement?
Collect the original Vivint agreement, proposal, electronic-signature records, payment schedule, and every later Sunrun document. The older agreement may contain different terms from a current Sunrun contract.
The Bottom Line
A Sunrun solar lease is a long-term written agreement. It generally cannot be ended simply by deleting an account, stopping payments, or asking a customer-service representative to remove the panels.
That does not mean every homeowner is locked into the same outcome. A meaningful review should examine the cancellation language, project stage, payment structure, sales process, signatures, service history, performance, purchase options, home-sale provisions, filings, and evidence.
Submit the complete agreement and supporting documents through the Solar Exit Colorado Contract Review when you are ready to identify which paths the actual documents may support.
Related Colorado Solar Guides
- How to Get Out of a Solar Contract in Colorado: 2026 Complete Guide
- How to Cancel a Tesla Solar Contract in Colorado, Including SolarCity Leases
- The Solar Salesperson Lied to Me: What Are My Rights in Colorado?
- Why Did My Solar Payment Suddenly Jump? The Escalator Clause Explained
- Selling Your Colorado Home With a Solar Lease
- What Is a UCC-1 Solar Lien?
- Will Getting Out of My Solar Contract Hurt My Credit?
Official Sources Used in This Guide
- Sunrun: Solar FAQs
- Sunrun: Customer Support
- Sunrun: Solar and Battery Service Transfer
- Sunrun: What Is a Solar Lease?
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Sunrun 2025 Annual Report
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Sunrun Fleetwide Review
- Colorado General Assembly: Residential Energy-System Consumer Protections
- Federal Trade Commission: The Cooling-Off Rule
- Colorado Attorney General: Product and Service Complaints
This article provides general educational information and is not legal, tax, financial, credit, real estate, title, insurance, or technical advice. Contract rights and available options depend on the specific agreement, facts, timing, and applicable law. Solar Exit Colorado is not a law firm and is not affiliated with Sunrun.
