{
  "title": "Rent-to-Own (Rental-Purchase) Consumer Protections by State",
  "source": "https://stoprenttoownrepo.com",
  "license": "Free to use and cite with attribution to Rent-to-Own Rights (https://stoprenttoownrepo.com). Each record links to the official state statute it is based on.",
  "lastGenerated": "2026-07-05",
  "stateCount": 50,
  "states": [
    {
      "slug": "alabama",
      "name": "Alabama",
      "abbr": "AL",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Alabama Rental-Purchase Agreements Act (Ala. Code §§ 8-25-1 to 8-25-6)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=8-25-1",
      "summary": "Alabama regulates rent-to-own under its Rental-Purchase Agreements Act. An agreement can't let the store breach the peace to repossess, and it can't make you confess judgment, waive your defenses, or buy insurance from the store. If you fall behind you can reinstate within 5 days (monthly plans) or 2 days (more often), and returning the item extends that right at least 30 days. Missing payments isn't a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 5,
        "notes": "A consumer who misses a payment may reinstate the agreement without losing rights or options already acquired by acting within 5 days on a monthly plan, or 2 days if payments are made more often than monthly (Ala. Code §8-25-4). If the item is returned during that window (other than through court process), the right to reinstate is extended at least 30 more days. No one may reinstate more than 3 times per agreement, and on reinstatement the store must provide the same item or comparable substitute merchandise (§8-25-4)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Alabama is an option-to-purchase state, not a 'you own it after X%' state. A rental-purchase agreement is one that permits the consumer to become the owner of the merchandise, and the store must disclose the total number of payments and the total amount needed to acquire ownership; you do not get ownership rights unless you complete those terms (Ala. Code §§8-25-1, 8-25-2)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "The Act does not set a dollar cap on late charges or reinstatement fees; §8-25-4 expressly leaves them to the agreement. It does cap one thing: if the store sells you insurance or a waiver of liability, that charge can't exceed 15 percent of the rental payment, and it must be disclosed as optional (§8-25-3)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the store or its agent to commit a breach of the peace while repossessing the merchandise (Ala. Code §8-25-3). The same section bars making you confess judgment or waive a defense, counterclaim, or right against the store. The Act sets no separate pre-repossession notice requirement."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement runs for an initial period of four months or less and renews only with each payment (Ala. Code §8-25-1). Because nothing renews until you make the next payment, stopping payments and returning the item ends future obligations rather than triggering a lump-sum 'balance' for the full sticker price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on a rental-purchase agreement is a civil matter, not a crime. The Act's enforcement provisions are civil: a consumer harmed by a violation can recover actual damages, an additional amount, and attorney's fees (Ala. Code §8-25-6). Nothing in the Act makes a customer who misses payments a criminal.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question governed by Alabama's criminal code, not the Rental-Purchase Agreements Act. 'Theft by fraudulent leasing or rental' requires that, at the time you signed, you intended, knew, or expected that you would not perform the contract (Ala. Code §13A-8-140) — it targets fraud at the outset, not simply falling behind later. The law treats it as prima facie evidence of that intent only in narrow situations: the name or address on the contract was false or fictitious and the item isn't returned within 7 days of written demand; or the contract set a specific return place and time and, after a written demand, the item isn't returned within 48 hours; or the person abandons, hides, converts, or sells the item (§§13A-8-141, 13A-8-142). The offense has its own penalty scale set by the item's value: it is a Class A misdemeanor if the property was worth $500 or less, and a Class C felony if it was worth more than $500 (Ala. Code §13A-8-144). Returning the item, or having given accurate contract information and simply having fallen behind, is what keeps this from applying."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Ala. Code §8-25-1: Definitions (Rental-Purchase Agreements)",
          "url": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=8-25-1",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ala. Code §8-25-2: Disclosures by merchant to consumer",
          "url": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=8-25-2",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ala. Code §8-25-3: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=8-25-3",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ala. Code §8-25-4: Reinstatement of agreement after failure to make timely payment",
          "url": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=8-25-4",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ala. Code §8-25-6: Damages and fees recoverable for violations of chapter",
          "url": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=8-25-6",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ala. Code §13A-8-140: Elements of offense of theft by fraudulent leasing or rental",
          "url": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=13A-8-140",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ala. Code §13A-8-141: Prima facie evidence of fraudulent leasing or rental",
          "url": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=13A-8-141",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ala. Code §13A-8-142: Written demand for return of leased property; form of notice",
          "url": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=13A-8-142",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ala. Code §13A-8-144: Penalties (theft by fraudulent leasing or rental)",
          "url": "https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=13A-8-144",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "alaska",
      "name": "Alaska",
      "abbr": "AK",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Alaska Lease-Purchases of Personal Property Act (Alaska Stat. §§ 45.35.010–45.35.099)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#45.35.010",
      "summary": "Alaska's lease-purchase law bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, caps the late fee at $5, and forbids an agreement from claiming your Permanent Fund Dividend. You can reinstate after a missed payment, and your reinstatement window grows once you've paid two-thirds or more. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you miss a payment and the store ends the agreement, you can reinstate by paying the past-due scheduled payments, the next scheduled payment, the reasonable costs of pickup and redelivery (if the store picked the item up), and any late fee, all before the end of the grace period (2 days if you pay more often than monthly, 5 days if monthly or less) (Alaska Stat. §45.35.050). If you returned the item during that window, you get longer: 21 days after returning it if you'd paid less than two-thirds toward ownership, or 45 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more. Reinstating doesn't cost you any rights or options, and the store must give you back the same item or a comparable one."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You own the property once you've made the full total of payments necessary to acquire ownership, which the store must disclose up front (Alaska Stat. §§45.35.010, 45.35.099). The agreement has to permit you to become the owner, and you're never obligated to keep leasing beyond the current period."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "A store may not charge more than $5 for each late payment, and it can't count any time the item was repossessed or voluntarily surrendered when deciding whether a payment is late (Alaska Stat. §45.35.030). To reinstate, you pay the past-due and next scheduled payments, pickup and redelivery costs if applicable, and any late fee. There is no separate reinstatement fee on top (§45.35.050)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement may not authorize the store, or anyone acting for it, to enter your premises or to commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the property (Alaska Stat. §45.35.040). The same section bars a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, an assignment of your Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend, and any waiver of your claims or defenses."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a lease-purchase agreement renews one period at a time and never obligates you to keep leasing beyond the current period (Alaska Stat. §45.35.099), you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on a lease-purchase agreement is a civil matter, not a crime. Alaska's lease-purchase law is built around consumer protection: it sets disclosure duties, caps charges, bars harsh contract terms, and protects your reinstatement and return rights. None of it makes missing a payment a criminal offense for the customer.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": null,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question, and Alaska has no specific statute that makes it a crime to hold onto rented household goods. Its one failure-to-return offense, vehicle theft in the second degree, covers a propelled vehicle kept past the return time set in a written agreement (Alaska Stat. §11.46.365); it does not reach furniture, appliances, or electronics. For ordinary goods, only the general theft law could ever apply (Alaska Stat. §11.46.100), and that turns on proof that you intended to permanently deprive the store of the item. Being behind, or simply not returning it, is not by itself that proof. If you decide to walk away, returning the item is the clean step."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Alaska Stat. §45.35.040: Prohibited provisions (breach of the peace; premises)",
          "url": "https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#45.35.040",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Alaska Stat. §45.35.050: Reinstatement of contract by consumer; repossession",
          "url": "https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#45.35.050",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Alaska Stat. §45.35.030: Late fees",
          "url": "https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#45.35.030",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Alaska Stat. §11.46.100: Theft defined",
          "url": "https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#11.46.100",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        },
        {
          "title": "Alaska Stat. §11.46.365: Vehicle theft in the second degree",
          "url": "https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#11.46.365",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "arizona",
      "name": "Arizona",
      "abbr": "AZ",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Arizona Rental-Purchase Agreements law (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 44-6801 to 44-6809)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/44/06801.htm",
      "summary": "Arizona bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, caps the reinstatement fee at $5, blocks surprise balloon payments, and limits how a store can contact you about collection. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "You can reinstate after a missed payment without losing rights you'd earned. A reinstatement fee can't be charged until a payment is late more than 7 days (monthly agreements) or 2 days (more frequent), and only one reinstatement fee may be charged per payment (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §44-6805)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Arizona blocks surprise costs at the end: a store can't require an extra payment beyond your regular payments to acquire ownership, or require payments totaling more than the amount disclosed to own the item (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §44-6805)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A reinstatement fee can't exceed $5, can't be charged until a payment is more than 7 days late (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent), and only one may be charged per delinquent payment (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §44-6805)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the store to enter your premises without permission or commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the property, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your defenses (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §44-6805). Arizona also limits abusive collection practices (§44-6806)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Arizona also limits how a store can contact you to collect, barring harassment and deceptive collection practices (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §44-6806), so a threat to have you arrested over a missed payment is not something the law backs up.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Arizona makes it a crime to fail, without good cause, to return rented or leased property (Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-1806). Because a rent-to-own agreement has no fixed return date, the store first has to give clear written notice that the item must be returned within 72 hours of a missed payment; only then can a failure to return it be charged. For ordinary goods like furniture, appliances, or electronics, that offense is a class 1 misdemeanor, with a felony reserved for a motor vehicle. The law has built-in defenses, such as having been physically incapacitated and unable to ask the store for permission to keep the item, or the item's own condition, through no fault of yours, making it impossible to return in time. It targets holding onto the item after proper notice, not falling behind, so returning the item, or responding to the notice, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Ariz. Rev. Stat. §44-6804: Disclosures",
          "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/44/06804.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ariz. Rev. Stat. §44-6805: Prohibited terms; practices",
          "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/44/06805.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ariz. Rev. Stat. §44-6806: Collection practices",
          "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/44/06806.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-1806: Unlawful failure to return rented or leased property",
          "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/13/01806.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "arkansas",
      "name": "Arkansas",
      "abbr": "AR",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Arkansas Rental-Purchase Agreements law (Ark. Code Ann. §§ 4-92-101–4-92-108)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/",
      "summary": "Arkansas regulates rent-to-own under its Rental-Purchase Agreements law. Your agreement can't make you confess judgment, give up defenses, or let the store breach the peace to repossess. If you fall behind you have a short reinstatement window to catch up or return the item and keep the rights you earned, and you're never obligated to keep going or to buy. Missing payments isn't a crime, though keeping the item after a proper certified-mail demand is a separate theft question.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 5,
        "notes": "A consumer who misses a payment may reinstate the agreement without losing rights or options already acquired by paying all rent and other charges due, or returning the merchandise, within 5 business days of the last scheduled payment if you pay monthly (2 business days if you pay more often than monthly) (Ark. Code Ann. §4-92-106(a)). If you return the item during that window (other than through court process), the right to reinstate is extended at least 30 days from the return (§4-92-106(d)). The store can still try to repossess during the reinstatement period, but that doesn't end your right to reinstate (§4-92-106(c)). You can reinstate up to 3 times per agreement (§4-92-106(e))."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Arkansas is an option-to-purchase state, not a 'you automatically own it after paying X%' state. A rental-purchase agreement is a true lease; title stays with the lessor until it's transferred to you (§4-92-104). The agreement lets you become the owner but never obligates you to buy or to keep leasing after the initial period (§4-92-102(7)). Your agreement must disclose the total number of payments and total amount needed to acquire ownership (§4-92-105(b)(3))."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "The Rental-Purchase Agreements law does not set a dollar cap on late charges or reinstatement fees; it expressly says nothing in the reinstatement section prevents the lessor from charging accrued late charges or reinstatement fees (§4-92-106(b)). The agreement must disclose the amount and purpose of any charge or fee beyond the regular rental payment (§4-92-105(b)(4))."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the store (or its agent) to breach the peace while repossessing the merchandise, can't require a confession of judgment, and can't make you waive a defense, counterclaim, or right you have against the store (Ark. Code Ann. §4-92-105(a)). The law doesn't spell out a home-entry procedure, but because breaking the peace to repossess can't be authorized, a store can't force its way in or provoke a confrontation to take the item."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": null,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one payment at a time and never obligates you to continue or to purchase (§§4-92-102(7), 4-92-104), you can return the item and stop the future payments; you aren't locked into the full 'price.' The law doesn't create a separate early-termination penalty. Amounts you already owe (past-due rent and disclosed charges) still stand, and returning the item is what stops the agreement from renewing again."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. A store that violates the Rental-Purchase Agreements law owes the consumer actual damages, 25% of the total amount required to obtain ownership (not less than $100 or more than $1,000), plus attorney's fees up to 15% of the recovery and court costs, and a violation is an unfair or deceptive act under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Ark. Code Ann. §4-92-103). Those penalties run against lessors who break the rules, not customers who miss payments.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Arkansas has a theft-of-leased-property crime outside the rental-purchase law (Ark. Code Ann. §5-36-115). It requires acting purposely, with a purpose to defraud, or by false pretense — not merely being behind. It is only prima facie evidence of that intent if you fail to return the item, or make an arrangement acceptable to the lessor to return it, within 5 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and state/federal holidays) after proper notice following expiration of the agreement (§5-36-115(c)(1)). Proper notice means a written demand mailed by certified or registered mail to the address you gave (§5-36-115(d)). It's an affirmative defense that you gave your accurate name and address, that your failure to return was lawful, that you didn't personally receive the notice, or that you returned the item within 48 hours of the start of prosecution with any overdue charges and damages (§5-36-115(e)). Charges scale with value: a Class A misdemeanor at $1,000 or less, a Class D felony above $1,000 up to $5,000, a Class C felony above $5,000 up to $25,000, and a Class B felony at $25,000 or more (§5-36-115(g)). This targets refusing to return the item after a proper demand, not being behind and trying to catch up."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Ark. Code Ann. §4-92-102: Definitions (rental-purchase agreement)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ark. Code Ann. §4-92-103: Liability of lessor (civil remedies)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ark. Code Ann. §4-92-104: Agreement — Nature (true lease; title)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ark. Code Ann. §4-92-105: Agreement — Provisions prohibited and required",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ark. Code Ann. §4-92-106: Agreement — Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ark. Code Ann. §5-36-115: Theft of leased, rented, or entrusted personal property",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/arcode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "california",
      "name": "California",
      "abbr": "CA",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "California Karnette Rental-Purchase Act (Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1812.620–1812.650)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&division=3.&title=2.96.&part=4.",
      "summary": "California's Karnette Rental-Purchase Act gives renters some of the country's strongest protections. The state charges no reinstatement fee, and if you return the item, you get a full year to reinstate. A store can't breach the peace or come into your home without your permission. Late fees are capped, and falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 365,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned. While you still have the item, you can cure by the end of the 7th day after the due date (weekly payments) or the 10th day (longer intervals). If you return the item, you have up to one year after the due date to reinstate (Cal. Civ. Code §1812.631). California allows no reinstatement fee (§1812.624)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "California sets the early-purchase price by formula: in the first few months, the cash price plus any past-due fees minus everything you've already paid; after that, the cash price times (payments remaining ÷ total payments) (Cal. Civ. Code §1812.632)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "California charges no reinstatement fee. A late fee can't exceed the lesser of 5% of the payment or $5 (a $2 minimum may apply), and a security deposit can't exceed one month's rent (Cal. Civ. Code §§1812.624, 1812.626, 1812.625)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the store to commit a breach of the peace when repossessing, or to enter your home without your consent at the time of entry (Cal. Civ. Code §1812.624)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "California bars any fee for terminating or rescinding the agreement (Cal. Civ. Code §1812.624). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. The Karnette Act's only criminal penalty is a misdemeanor for a business that willfully violates it (Cal. Civ. Code §1812.647), and that applies to stores, not to a customer who falls behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. California's theft law lets a court rebuttably presume an intent to commit theft by fraud if a person who leased or rented property fails to return it after the owner makes a written demand by certified or registered mail (Cal. Penal Code §484). For a commonly used household item the window is 20 days after that demand (10 days for property worth more than $1,000 that is not a household item), and the demand has to be made within 30 days after the agreement expires. The presumption can be rebutted, and it targets holding onto the item rather than being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Cal. Civ. Code §1812.624: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1812.624",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Cal. Civ. Code §1812.631: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1812.631",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Cal. Civ. Code §1812.632: Acquisition of ownership and early purchase",
          "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1812.632",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Cal. Civ. Code §1812.647: Willful violation; misdemeanor",
          "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1812.647",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Cal. Civ. Code §1812.626: Late charge limit",
          "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1812.626",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Cal. Civ. Code §1812.625: Security deposit limit",
          "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV&sectionNum=1812.625",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Cal. Penal Code §484: Theft (failure to return leased or rented property)",
          "url": "https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN&sectionNum=484.",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "colorado",
      "name": "Colorado",
      "abbr": "CO",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Colorado Rental Purchase Agreement Act (C.R.S. §§ 5-10-101 to 5-10-1001)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-05.pdf",
      "summary": "Colorado's Rental Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from unlawfully entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, caps the reinstatement fee at $5 and other charges tightly, and gives you reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid more than 60% toward ownership. You can return the item or buy it early at any time, and missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 60,
        "notes": "If you fall behind you have the right to reinstate the original agreement without losing any rights or options you'd earned, as long as you promptly surrendered the property when the store asked for it and not more than 60 days have passed since you returned it. That window stretches to 120 days if you'd already made more than 60% of the total payments needed to own the item (C.R.S. §5-10-701). To reinstate you pay a reinstatement fee (the accrued missed payments and late charges plus no more than $5) and a delivery charge if redelivery is needed. The store must give you back the same item or an equivalent substitute."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You can acquire ownership at any time after your first lease payment, on the terms set in your agreement (C.R.S. §5-10-501). A store can't make you pay more than the cost to acquire ownership, or tack on a separate balloon payment to own it (§5-10-503)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "Colorado caps the charges in a rental-purchase deal: an initial nonrefundable fee of no more than $10; a delivery charge of no more than $15 (or $45 for more than five items); a pickup charge of no more than $10; and a late charge of no more than $5 (monthly) or $3 (weekly/biweekly), collected only once per payment (C.R.S. §5-10-601). A reinstatement fee adds no more than $5 on top of accrued payments and late charges (§5-10-602). No payment accrues while the item is being repaired unless you're given a loaner (§5-10-504)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental purchase agreement may not require you to authorize the store, or anyone acting for it, to enter your premises unlawfully or to commit any breach of the peace in repossessing the property (C.R.S. §5-10-502). The same section bars an agreement from requiring an assignment of your earnings, a confession of judgment, a waiver of your defenses, or a prejudgment wage garnishment. The store also can't garnish your wages before getting a judgment (§5-10-702)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "A store can't charge you a penalty for ending the agreement early or returning the item, and it can't make you buy insurance from it (C.R.S. §5-10-504). Because the agreement renews one term at a time, returning the item stops future payments rather than holding you to a full price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime for the customer. The Act's misdemeanor penalty, a fine of up to $500, applies to a store that willfully and intentionally violates the law, and such violations are also deceptive trade practices (C.R.S. §5-10-901). A customer harmed by a violation can recover the greater of $250 or 25% of the total cost to acquire ownership, plus costs and attorney's fees (§5-10-902).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Colorado's general theft law makes it a crime to knowingly retain leased property more than 72 hours after the agreed time of return in a lease agreement (C.R.S. §18-4-401). For a rent-to-own customer, that return time is set once the agreement ends or the store sets a date to get the item back, and how serious any charge would be depends on the item's value. It targets holding onto the item past the return time, not being behind, so returning the item promptly once the agreement ends is what keeps you clear of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "C.R.S. §5-10-502: Prohibited provisions (breach of the peace)",
          "url": "https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-05.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "C.R.S. §§5-10-601, 5-10-602: Limitations on charges; reinstatement fees",
          "url": "https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-05.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "C.R.S. §§5-10-701, 5-10-901, 5-10-902: Reinstatement; unlawful acts; remedies",
          "url": "https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-05.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "C.R.S. §18-4-401: Theft (retaining leased property after the return time)",
          "url": "https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2024-title-18.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "connecticut",
      "name": "Connecticut",
      "abbr": "CT",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Connecticut Consumer Rent-to-Own Agreements law (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-240 to 42-253)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_743i.htm",
      "summary": "Connecticut's rent-to-own law is detailed and consumer-friendly. The time you have to get the item back grows as you pay more, from 30 to 90 to 180 days. The reinstatement fee is capped at $5, a store can't enter your home or breach the peace to repossess, and you own the item once your payments reach half the cash price. Missing payments isn't a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 30,
        "notes": "Your reinstatement window depends on how far you'd gotten when you fell behind: 30 days if you'd paid less than 1/3 of the total, 90 days if you'd paid 1/3 to less than 2/3, and 180 days if you'd paid 2/3 or more (Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-246). The reinstatement fee is capped at $5."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You own the item once 50% of the rental payments you've made equals the cash price, and you can buy it early at any time for the cash price minus 50% of your previous renewal payments (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§42-248, 42-249)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A late fee can't exceed the lesser of 5% of the payment or $5, an in-home collection fee can't exceed $5, and an application/processing fee can't exceed $10 (Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-243)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rent-to-own agreement can't authorize the store to unlawfully enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace when repossessing, and it can't require wage garnishment, a confession of judgment, or a waiver of your defenses (Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-242)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Connecticut bars any charge for early termination of a rent-to-own agreement or for returning an item at any point (Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-243). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Connecticut treats violations of its rent-to-own law as civil unfair or deceptive trade practices by the lessor (Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-251), not as crimes against customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": false,
          "notes": "Connecticut protects rent-to-own customers here. The state's failure-to-return offense, conversion of leased personal property, expressly does not apply to property rented or leased under the consumer rent-to-own chapter (Conn. Gen. Stat. §53a-119(13)). Lawmakers carved rent-to-own out of that crime on purpose, so keeping a rent-to-own item cannot be charged under it. Returning the item is still the clean way to end the matter if you decide to walk away."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-242: Prohibited provisions (entry, breach of peace)",
          "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_743i.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-243: Permitted fees and caps",
          "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_743i.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Conn. Gen. Stat. §42-246: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_743i.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Conn. Gen. Stat. §§42-248, 42-249: Acquisition of ownership; early purchase",
          "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_743i.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Conn. Gen. Stat. §53a-119: Larceny; conversion of leased property (excludes rent-to-own)",
          "url": "https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_952.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "delaware",
      "name": "Delaware",
      "abbr": "DE",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Delaware Lease-Purchase Agreement Act (6 Del. C. §§ 7601–7616)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c076/",
      "summary": "Delaware's Lease-Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from breaching the peace to repossess, caps the reinstatement fee at $5 and the late fee at the greater of 10% or $3, and gives you up to 180 days to reinstate once you've paid more than 60%. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you return the item, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned within 60 days if you'd paid less than 60% toward ownership, or at least 180 days if you'd paid more than 60%. The reinstatement fee is capped at $5 (6 Del. C. §7607)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": 60,
        "effect": "Paying more than 60% toward ownership extends your reinstatement window after returning the item to at least 180 days, instead of 60. You can also buy the item early for 55% of the difference between the total needed to own it and what you've already paid (6 Del. C. §§7607, 7609)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A reinstatement fee can't exceed $5 (§7607), and a late charge can't exceed the greater of 10% of the delinquent payment or $3, charged only after a payment is more than 2 business days late (6 Del. C. §7608)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement can't authorize a breach of the peace in the repossession of property, and it can't require a separate payment beyond your lease payments to acquire ownership (6 Del. C. §7608)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a lease-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Delaware's Act does make a willful violation a misdemeanor (6 Del. C. §7615), but that targets a lessor who knowingly breaks the law, not a customer who falls behind. Consumers also have a civil remedy of at least $300 or 25% of the payments to own it.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Delaware has a theft-of-rented-property crime (11 Del. C. §849): a court may presume an intent to commit theft if a renter fails to return the property within 10 days after the owner sends proper written notice by certified or registered mail once the rental period has ended (the presumption also applies if the renter gave false identification). It is a class A misdemeanor, or a class G felony if the property is worth $1,500 or more. It targets holding onto the item and ignoring a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "6 Del. C. §7607: Lessee's reinstatement rights",
          "url": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c076/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "6 Del. C. §7608: Prohibited provisions; fee caps",
          "url": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c076/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "6 Del. C. §7615: Penalties",
          "url": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title6/c076/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "11 Del. C. §849: Theft of rented property",
          "url": "https://delcode.delaware.gov/title11/c005/sc03/index.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "florida",
      "name": "Florida",
      "abbr": "FL",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Florida Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (Fla. Stat. §§ 559.9231–559.9241)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/Chapter559",
      "summary": "Florida regulates rent-to-own under its Rental-Purchase Agreement Act. You can reinstate within 60 days of falling behind for a fee of no more than $5, a store can't enter your home or breach the peace to repossess, and you can return the item and owe nothing more. Missing payments isn't a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 60,
        "notes": "Florida gives you the right to get the item back and pick up where you left off, without losing rights or options you'd already earned, if you pay what you owe (unpaid payments, any late charges, a reinstatement fee of no more than $5, and a redelivery charge if needed) within 60 days after the end of the last rental period you paid on time (Fla. Stat. §559.9235)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Florida is an option-to-purchase state: you own the item once you pay all the sums needed to acquire it, or by using the early-purchase price formula your agreement must disclose. Once you do, the lessor must give you documents confirming ownership (§§559.9233, 559.9236)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A late charge for a missed renewal payment is also capped at $5 and may be collected only once per payment (§559.9237). A $5 charge applies only to a second or later account-history request within a 12-month period (§559.9236)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement cannot give the store the right to unlawfully enter your home or to breach the peace when repossessing, and it cannot make you waive defenses, confess judgment, or allow wage garnishment (Fla. Stat. §559.9234)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Florida bars any penalty for ending the agreement early or for returning the item at any time, apart from amounts you already owe (§559.9234). Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one payment at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. The only criminal penalty in Florida's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act is a second-degree misdemeanor for a business that willfully violates the Act (§559.9238). It applies to lessors, not to customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Florida has a failure-to-return-leased-property crime (Fla. Stat. §812.155): knowingly abandoning or refusing to return hired or leased property after the rental period is a second-degree misdemeanor, or a third-degree felony if the property is worth $300 or more. As a prerequisite, the agreement must contain a specific notice the renter initials, and not returning within 5 days of a certified-mail or courier demand is prima facie evidence of refusal. It targets refusing to return the item after a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Fla. Stat. §559.9231: Short title (Rental-Purchase Agreement Act)",
          "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/559.9231",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Fla. Stat. §559.9234: Prohibited rental-purchase agreement provisions",
          "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/559.9234",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Fla. Stat. §559.9235: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/559.9235",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Fla. Stat. §559.9237: Rental renewal charges; attorney's fees; court costs",
          "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/559.9237",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Fla. Stat. §559.9238: Willful violations",
          "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/559.9238",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Fla. Stat. §559.9233: Acquisition of ownership; early-purchase option",
          "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/559.9233",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Fla. Stat. §559.9236: Documents of ownership; account history",
          "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/559.9236",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Fla. Stat. §812.155: Failing to return hired or leased personal property",
          "url": "https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/812.155",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "georgia",
      "name": "Georgia",
      "abbr": "GA",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Georgia Lease-Purchase Agreement Act (O.C.G.A. §§ 10-1-680–10-1-689)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp",
      "summary": "Georgia regulates rent-to-own under its Lease-Purchase Agreement Act. If you fall behind, you can reinstate the agreement without losing what you've built up as long as you haven't missed more than three payments, and a store can't add any late fee beyond a reinstatement charge capped at $5 per missed payment. The store can't enter your home unlawfully or breach the peace to repossess, and you can return the item at any time with no early-termination penalty. Missing payments isn't a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "Georgia does not use a fixed day-count window. Instead, a lessee who has missed no more than three periodic payments has the right to reinstate the original agreement and keep any rights or options already acquired; if one payment is missed and the lessor asks for the item back, the lessee must surrender it during the missed-payment period to preserve reinstatement (O.C.G.A. §10-1-686(a)). The reinstatement charge is the outstanding missed payments plus no more than $5 per missed payment, and only one reinstatement fee may be charged per missed payment; an original-amount redelivery fee may apply if the item has to be brought back (§10-1-686(b))."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Georgia is an option-to-purchase state, not a fixed-percentage state. The agreement must disclose that the lessee may purchase the property during the lease term and at what price, formula, or method the price is determined, along with the total 'cost of lease' to acquire ownership (O.C.G.A. §10-1-682(a)(9),(10)). You acquire ownership by completing the payments needed to own the item or by exercising the disclosed early-purchase option."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5 per missed payment",
        "otherNotes": "A lessor may not impose any late-payment fee other than the reinstatement charge in §10-1-686 (§10-1-685(e)), and that charge cannot exceed $5.00 per missed payment (§10-1-686(b)). A lessor also may not require the lessee to buy insurance from the lessor, may not charge for in-home payment collection unless the lessee agreed and the amount was disclosed, and may not charge a pickup fee when the lessee returns the item (§10-1-685(a),(c),(d))."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement may not grant the lessor authority to unlawfully enter the lessee's premises or to commit any breach of the peace in repossessing goods, and it may not require wage garnishment, a confession-of-judgment power of attorney, or a waiver of the lessee's defenses or right of action (O.C.G.A. §10-1-684(1)–(4)). Collection and repossession charges are limited to those allowable under O.C.G.A. §10-1-7 and court rules (§10-1-684(5))."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "A lessor may not impose a penalty for early termination of the agreement or for the return of an item at any point (O.C.G.A. §10-1-685(b)), and an agreement may not provide that the lessee cannot return the leased property at the end of any term (§10-1-684(6)). Because a lease-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, returning the item ends future payment obligations, apart from amounts already owed."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. The only criminal penalty in Georgia's Lease-Purchase Agreement Act is a misdemeanor (fine up to $500 for a first offense) for a person who willfully and intentionally violates the Act (O.C.G.A. §10-1-687(a)); a lessee may also recover actual damages of at least $300 or 25% of the cost of the lease, plus attorneys' fees and court costs, for a violation (§10-1-687(b)). Those provisions target lessors who break the rules, not customers who miss payments.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question, governed by Georgia's criminal theft-by-conversion statute (O.C.G.A. §16-8-4), which expressly covers leased or rented personal property. If the property has a replacement-cost value over $100 and the owner mails a certified, registered, or statutory-overnight-delivery letter (return receipt requested) demanding its return, not returning it within five business days is the trigger the statute describes for a possible theft-by-conversion charge (§16-8-4(c)). Even then, the state still has to prove that the person knowingly converted the property; a dispute that is really about falling behind on what you owe is not itself this crime. Grading follows the general theft penalty statute: theft is a misdemeanor unless the value is $1,500.01 or more, which makes it a felony (O.C.G.A. §16-8-12(a)(1)). This targets refusing to return the item after a proper written demand, not simply being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "O.C.G.A. §10-1-680: Short title (Lease-purchase Agreement Act) — Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Title 10, Ch. 1, Art. 23",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "O.C.G.A. §10-1-682: Requirements for lease-purchase agreement (option to purchase; cost of lease)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "O.C.G.A. §10-1-684: Prohibited agreement provisions",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "O.C.G.A. §10-1-685: Purchase of insurance; early termination or return of items; late fees",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "O.C.G.A. §10-1-686: Right to reinstatement; fees; substitute items",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "O.C.G.A. §10-1-687: Penalties; grace period for compliance",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "O.C.G.A. §16-8-4: Theft by conversion (leased or rented personal property) — Title 16, Ch. 8, Art. 1",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "O.C.G.A. §16-8-12: Penalties for theft (grading thresholds)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/gacode/default.asp",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "hawaii",
      "name": "Hawaii",
      "abbr": "HI",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Hawaii Lease-Purchase Agreements for Personal Property law (Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 481M)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0481M/HRS_0481M-.htm",
      "summary": "Hawaii's lease-purchase law bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, caps late and reinstatement fees at $5, and gives you 30 days to reinstate after returning the item, or 60 days if you've paid more than 60%. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 30,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, surrender the item promptly when the store asks, and you can reinstate within 30 days of returning it, extended to 60 days if you'd paid more than 60% of the payments needed to own it. The reinstatement fee is capped at $5 (Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-15)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": 60,
        "effect": "Paying more than 60% toward ownership extends your reinstatement window after returning the item from 30 days to 60 days (Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-15). You can also buy the item early for past-due amounts plus the cash price times (payments remaining ÷ total payments) (§481M-6)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "Late charge capped at $5 (monthly, after 5 days) or $3 (weekly/biweekly), once per payment; reinstatement fee capped at $5; an initial fee can't exceed $10; delivery can't exceed $15 for five or fewer items; and a pickup fee can't exceed $10, with frequency limits (Haw. Rev. Stat. §§481M-7, 481M-15)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement can't authorize the lessor to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossession, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a negotiable instrument, a security interest in your other goods, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your claims or defenses (Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-4)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a lease-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Hawaii treats violations of its lease-purchase law as unfair or deceptive acts or practices (Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-9), enforced civilly with consumer remedies (§481M-10), not by charging customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Hawaii has a failure-to-return crime (Haw. Rev. Stat. §708-837.5): knowingly or intentionally not returning leased or rented personal property within 14 days after the return date stated in the contract is a petty misdemeanor, unless you give notice and the owner agrees to extend the date. It targets holding onto the item past the return date, not being behind, so returning the item, or arranging an extension, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-4: Provisions prohibited in agreements",
          "url": "https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0481M/HRS_0481M-0004.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-7: Additional charges",
          "url": "https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0481M/HRS_0481M-0007.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-15: Reinstatement of agreement and repossession",
          "url": "https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0481M/HRS_0481M-0015.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-6: Early termination; acquiring ownership",
          "url": "https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0481M/HRS_0481M-0006.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-9: Unfair or deceptive acts or practices",
          "url": "https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0481M/HRS_0481M-0009.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Haw. Rev. Stat. §481M-10: Remedies of lessee",
          "url": "https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol11_Ch0476-0490/HRS0481M/HRS_0481M-0010.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Haw. Rev. Stat. §708-837.5: Failure to return leased or rented personal property",
          "url": "https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0708/HRS_0708-0837_0005.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "idaho",
      "name": "Idaho",
      "abbr": "ID",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Idaho Lease-Purchase Agreement Act (Idaho Code §§ 28-36-101 to 28-36-111)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title28/T28CH36/",
      "summary": "Idaho's Lease-Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, gives reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds, and lets you return the item without penalty. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by paying past-due charges (and any pickup/redelivery and reinstatement/default fees in your agreement) within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent). If you returned the item on or before the renewal date and were current, you can reinstate within 21 days, or within 45 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more toward ownership (Idaho Code §28-36-107)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments; your agreement must disclose any early-purchase option and its price or formula (Idaho Code §28-36-105)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Idaho requires late, default, pickup, and reinstatement fees to be separately disclosed in the agreement (Idaho Code §28-36-105); the act doesn't set fixed dollar caps, so read your contract's fee terms closely."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement can't authorize the store to enter your premises without consent or commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the goods, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a negotiable instrument, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your claims or defenses (Idaho Code §28-36-106)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Idaho lets you terminate without penalty by voluntarily returning the property in good repair on the renewal date, along with any past-due payments (Idaho Code §28-36-105). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Idaho's act provides civil remedies: a lessor that violates it is liable to the consumer for damages (Idaho Code §28-36-111), not criminal charges against customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Idaho's theft law treats a lessee's failure to return leased personal property as prima facie evidence of theft only after the lease or rental agreement has expired and the item is then not returned within ten days and not returned within 48 hours after a written demand that is personally served or sent by registered mail to the address in the agreement (Idaho Code §§18-2403, 18-2404). How serious any charge would be depends on the item's value. It targets holding onto the item after the term ends and ignoring a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Idaho Code §28-36-106: Prohibited practices",
          "url": "https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title28/t28ch36/sect28-36-106/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Idaho Code §28-36-107: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title28/t28ch36/sect28-36-107/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Idaho Code §28-36-111: Enforcement",
          "url": "https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title28/t28ch36/sect28-36-111/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Idaho Code §28-36-105: Disclosures; termination",
          "url": "https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title28/t28ch36/sect28-36-105/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Idaho Code §18-2403: Theft",
          "url": "https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title18/t18ch24/sect18-2403/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        },
        {
          "title": "Idaho Code §18-2404: Failure to return leased property; prima facie evidence",
          "url": "https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/title18/t18ch24/sect18-2404/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "illinois",
      "name": "Illinois",
      "abbr": "IL",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Illinois Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (815 ILCS 655)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=2378&ChapterID=67",
      "summary": "Illinois caps late and reinstatement fees at $5, bars a store from breaching the peace to repossess, and gives you a longer window to get the item back once you've paid 60% or more. Missing payments isn't a crime; the Act's only criminal penalty applies to stores that break the rules.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 30,
        "notes": "If you miss a payment, you can reinstate without losing rights or options you'd earned by catching up before the later of one week or half of a regular payment period after the due date. If the item was returned, you have at least 30 days to reinstate, or at least 60 days if you'd paid 60% or more (815 ILCS 655/2)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": 60,
        "effect": "Paying 60% or more toward ownership extends your reinstatement window after returning the item to at least 60 days, instead of 30 (815 ILCS 655/2). Illinois also bars a store from requiring any extra balloon payment at the end beyond the disclosed total."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A late charge or reinstatement fee can't exceed $5 and is allowed only after a payment is delinquent for 3 days (815 ILCS 655/2)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement may not authorize the merchant to commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the merchandise (815 ILCS 655/2)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Illinois bars a store from requiring any payment at the end of the term beyond the disclosed total (815 ILCS 655/2). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. The only criminal penalty in Illinois's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act is a petty offense, a fine of up to $500, for a merchant who violates the Act (815 ILCS 655/5); it applies to stores, not to a customer who misses payments.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a different question. Illinois's theft law lets a court infer an intent to permanently deprive the owner if a lessee fails to return leased property within 10 days after a written demand sent by registered mail to the address on the lease (720 ILCS 5/16-1), or within 24 hours if the customer gave a false name or address to get the item. How serious any charge would be depends on the value of the item. This targets holding onto the item and ignoring a proper demand, not being behind and trying to catch up; returning the item, or responding to a demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "815 ILCS 655/2: Form (reinstatement, fees, breach of peace)",
          "url": "https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=2378&ChapterID=67",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "815 ILCS 655/4: Enforcement (civil damages)",
          "url": "https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=2378&ChapterID=67",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "815 ILCS 655/5: Penalty",
          "url": "https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/ILCS/Articles?ActID=2378&ChapterID=67",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "720 ILCS 5/16-1: Theft (failure to return leased property)",
          "url": "https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/072000050k16-1.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "indiana",
      "name": "Indiana",
      "abbr": "IN",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Indiana Rental Purchase Agreements act (Ind. Code §§ 24-7-1 through 24-7-9)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://iga.in.gov/laws/2024/ic/titles/24#24-7",
      "summary": "Indiana's Rental Purchase Agreements act bars a store from unlawfully entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, caps the reinstatement fee at $5, and lets you return the item at any time without an early-termination penalty. You can reinstate after a missed payment and buy the item early at any time. Any criminal offense in the act is one a store can commit by breaking the rules, not something a customer faces for falling behind.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 120,
        "notes": "If you miss a payment you have the right to reinstate the original agreement on its original terms, without losing any rights or options you'd earned and without extra charges beyond those the law allows, as long as you surrender the property within 7 days of the store's request and reinstate within 120 days after surrendering it (Ind. Code §24-7-6-1). On reinstatement the store must give you back the same item or a comparable substitute (§24-7-6-3)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You own the property once you've made all the rental payments needed to acquire ownership, or you can use an early purchase option to acquire ownership at any time after the agreement is signed, on the terms the contract has to state (Ind. Code §24-7-4-1). A store can't make you pay more than the cost to acquire ownership stated in your agreement (§24-7-4-11)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A reinstatement fee may not exceed $5, and can only be charged once the property has been returned to the store (Ind. Code §§24-7-5-6, 24-7-6-2). To reinstate you also pay any accrued rental payments, returned-payment and delinquency charges, and redelivery charges if redelivery is needed."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental purchase agreement may not authorize the store, or anyone acting on its behalf, to unlawfully enter your premises or to commit any breach of the peace in repossessing the property (Ind. Code §24-7-4-6)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "A store may not require a penalty for ending the agreement early or for returning the item at any point, beyond the charges the law allows, and it can't make you buy insurance from the store (Ind. Code §24-7-4-12). Because the agreement renews one term at a time, returning the item stops future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime for the customer. The only criminal offenses in Indiana's act are Class C misdemeanors a store can commit, for knowingly giving false information, failing to make a required disclosure, or making an unauthorized or excessive charge (Ind. Code §§24-7-9-1 through 24-7-9-3). A customer who is harmed can also recover civil damages: the greater of actual damages, $300, or 25% of the total rental payments to acquire ownership, plus attorney's fees and court costs (§24-7-9-4).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": null,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question, and Indiana has no specific failure-to-return crime for household goods. Its general criminal-conversion law makes it a Class A misdemeanor to knowingly exert unauthorized control over someone else's property (Ind. Code §35-43-4-3), which for a rent-to-own item generally means refusing to return it after the agreement has clearly ended, not simply falling behind. The enhanced failure-to-return felony in that statute applies only to motor vehicles, and the older general failure-to-return presumption was repealed in 2019. Returning the item is the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Ind. Code §24-7-4-6: Repossession limited (no unlawful entry or breach of the peace)",
          "url": "https://iga.in.gov/ic/2024/Title_24/Article_7.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ind. Code §§24-7-6-1, 24-7-6-2, 24-7-5-6: Reinstatement; charges; reinstatement fee cap",
          "url": "https://iga.in.gov/ic/2024/Title_24/Article_7.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ind. Code §§24-7-9-1 through 24-7-9-4: Violations; civil damages",
          "url": "https://iga.in.gov/ic/2024/Title_24/Article_7.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ind. Code §35-43-4-3: Criminal conversion",
          "url": "https://iga.in.gov/ic/2024/Title_35/Article_43.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "iowa",
      "name": "Iowa",
      "abbr": "IA",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Iowa Consumer Rental Purchase law (Iowa Code §§ 537.3601–537.3622)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/iowaCode/sections?codeChapter=537",
      "summary": "Iowa's consumer rental-purchase law gives you 60 days to reinstate after returning the item, caps the reinstatement fee at $5, bars surprise balloon payments and any penalty for returning the item, and makes a willful violation a misdemeanor, for the store, not you. A customer who falls behind commits no crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 60,
        "notes": "You can reinstate the original agreement without losing rights or options you'd earned, as long as you surrender the item when the store requests it and not more than 60 days have passed since you returned it. To reinstate you pay accrued payments, delinquency charges, a reinstatement fee, and any delivery charge (Iowa Code §537.3616)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Iowa bars surprise balloon payments: you can't be required to make a payment more than twice a regular rental payment to acquire ownership, or to pay more than the disclosed cost to own the item (Iowa Code §537.3610)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A reinstatement fee can't exceed $5 above your missed payments and delinquency charges (Iowa Code §537.3613)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "As with any self-help repossession, a store generally can't break into your home or use force to take the item back. Iowa's rental-purchase law also blocks surprise balloon payments (§537.3610) and bars any penalty for returning the item (§537.3611)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Iowa bars a charge for early termination of the agreement or for returning an item at any point (Iowa Code §537.3611). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Under Iowa law, a willful and intentional violation of the rental-purchase rules is a serious misdemeanor (Iowa Code §537.3620), aimed at a store that breaks the law, not at customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Iowa's theft law counts a lessee's failure to return personal property within 72 hours after a time specified in a written lease as evidence of misappropriation, a form of theft (Iowa Code §714.1). If the lease sets no return time, the trigger is 5 days after a proper written notice sent by certified mail. How serious any charge would be depends on the item's value. It targets holding onto the item past the return time, not being behind, so returning the item, or responding to a notice, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Iowa Code §537.3610: Balloon payments prohibited",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/537.3610.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Iowa Code §537.3611: Prohibited charges",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/537.3611.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Iowa Code §537.3613: Reinstatement fees",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/537.3613.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Iowa Code §537.3616: Lessee's reinstatement rights",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/537.3616.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Iowa Code §537.3620: Willful and intentional violations",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/537.3620.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Iowa Code §714.1: Theft defined (misappropriation by lessee)",
          "url": "https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/714.1.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "kansas",
      "name": "Kansas",
      "abbr": "KS",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Kansas Consumer Lease-Purchase Agreement Act (Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 50-680 to 50-690)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0080.html",
      "summary": "Kansas's consumer lease-purchase law bars a store from entering your premises or breaching the peace to repossess, gives reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds, and lets you return the item without penalty. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent). If the property was returned, you have at least 21 days after the return, or at least 45 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more toward ownership. You'd pay past-due charges, the reasonable costs of pickup and redelivery, and any late fee (Kan. Stat. Ann. §50-686)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments your agreement must state."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Kansas's act doesn't set a fixed reinstatement-fee dollar cap in the sections reviewed; a reinstatement requires past-due charges, the reasonable costs of pickup and redelivery, and any applicable late fee (Kan. Stat. Ann. §50-686)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement can't authorize the lessor to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the goods, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your claims or defenses (Kan. Stat. Ann. §50-685)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Kansas lets you terminate without penalty by voluntarily returning the property in good repair at the end of any lease term (Kan. Stat. Ann. §50-684). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Kansas regulates lease-purchase agreements under its consumer-protection law, enforced civilly, not by charging customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Kansas treats a lessee's failure to return rented personal property as prima facie evidence of an intent to permanently deprive the owner, the key element of theft (Kan. Stat. Ann. §21-5804). The trigger is not returning the item within 10 days of the date set in the agreement, after the owner gives written notice (presumed delivered 3 days after certified or registered mailing) to return it within 7 days. Returning the item within that 7-day window takes it out of the rule. It targets holding onto the item and ignoring a proper notice, not being behind."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Kan. Stat. Ann. §50-684: Required disclosures; termination",
          "url": "https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0084.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Kan. Stat. Ann. §50-685: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0085.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Kan. Stat. Ann. §50-686: Right to reinstate",
          "url": "https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0086.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Kan. Stat. Ann. §21-5804: Failure to return leased property; prima facie evidence of theft",
          "url": "https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch21/021_058_0004.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "kentucky",
      "name": "Kentucky",
      "abbr": "KY",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Kentucky rental-purchase agreement law (Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 367.976–367.985)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/chapter.aspx?id=39092",
      "summary": "Kentucky's rental-purchase law bars a store from unlawfully entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, and it requires every agreement to give you a reinstatement right after a missed payment, with an extra 30 days if you returned the item. You can end the agreement without penalty by returning the item at the end of any term, and violations are enforced against the store, not the customer. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "Every rental-purchase agreement must let you reinstate after a missed payment without losing any rights or options you'd earned, by paying the past-due rental charges, the reasonable costs of pickup, redelivery and any refurbishing, and any applicable late fee, within 5 days of the renewal date if you pay monthly, or 2 days if you pay more frequently (Ky. Rev. Stat. §367.980). If you returned the item during that window, the reinstatement period is extended an additional 30 days, and on reinstatement the store must give you the same property or a comparable substitute."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You don't own the property until you've made the full number and total of payments necessary to acquire ownership. The store must disclose those payment terms up front, along with a clear summary of your options to purchase (Ky. Rev. Stat. §§367.976, 367.977)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Kentucky's rental-purchase law doesn't set a fixed dollar cap on late or reinstatement fees; to reinstate you pay the past-due rental charges, the reasonable costs of pickup, redelivery and any refurbishing, plus any applicable late fee (Ky. Rev. Stat. §367.980)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement may not authorize the store, or anyone acting on its behalf, to enter your premises unlawfully or to commit any breach of the peace when repossessing the goods (Ky. Rev. Stat. §367.979). The same section bars an agreement from requiring a confession of judgment, a wage garnishment, a waiver of your defenses or counterclaims, or that you buy insurance on the merchandise from the store."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Each agreement must let you terminate without penalty by voluntarily surrendering or returning the merchandise at the end of any lease term (Ky. Rev. Stat. §367.980). Because it renews one term at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. The law's remedies run against a store that breaks the rules: a lessor who violates the disclosure, prohibited-provision, or required-provision sections is liable to the consumer for the greater of actual damages or 25% of the total payments needed to own the item (at least $100 and up to $1,000), plus costs and attorney's fees (Ky. Rev. Stat. §367.983).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": false,
          "notes": "Kentucky's failure-to-return theft statute does not reach rent-to-own. The crime of theft by failure to make a required disposition covers a lessee only when the lease has no option to purchase (Ky. Rev. Stat. §514.070); a rent-to-own agreement always includes a path to ownership, so it falls outside that statute. The rental-purchase law's own penalties run against the store, not the customer. Returning the item is still the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Ky. Rev. Stat. §367.979: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=35151",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ky. Rev. Stat. §367.980: Required provisions (reinstatement; return)",
          "url": "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=35152",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ky. Rev. Stat. §367.983: Civil remedies for consumers",
          "url": "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=35155",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ky. Rev. Stat. §514.070: Theft by failure to make required disposition (no-purchase-option leases)",
          "url": "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56114",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "louisiana",
      "name": "Louisiana",
      "abbr": "LA",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Louisiana Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (La. R.S. §§ 9:3351–9:3362)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=107534",
      "summary": "Louisiana's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, gives you reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds or more, and enforces violations as civil unfair-trade practices. Missing payments isn't a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned. While you still have the item, you can cure within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly payments) or 2 days (more frequent). If the item was returned, you have at least 21 days after the return, or at least 45 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more. Reinstatement requires past-due charges, reasonable pickup/redelivery costs, and any applicable late fee (La. R.S. §9:3357)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments. Louisiana requires fees such as late, default, pickup, and reinstatement charges to be separately disclosed in your contract (La. R.S. §9:3355)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Louisiana requires late, default, pickup, and reinstatement fees to be separately disclosed in the contract (La. R.S. §9:3355); the sections reviewed don't set a single fixed dollar cap, so read your agreement's fee terms closely."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the store to enter your premises without your contemporaneous permission or commit a breach of the peace in repossession, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, a security interest, or a waiver of your claims or defenses (La. R.S. §9:3356)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Louisiana treats violations of its rental-purchase law as civil prohibited practices under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (La. R.S. §9:3361), aimed at the store, not at customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Louisiana makes it a crime for a lessee to intentionally fail to return a leased movable after the lease ends (La. R.S. §14:220.1). Not returning the item within 15 calendar days (or the lease term, whichever is less) after a written notice sent by registered or certified mail is presumptive evidence that the failure was intentional. The penalty is a fine of up to $500 or up to 6 months if the item is worth less than $1,000, and up to $2,000 or up to 2 years if it is worth $1,000 or more. It targets ignoring a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the notice, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "La. R.S. §9:3356: Prohibited practices (entry, breach of peace)",
          "url": "https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=107533",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "La. R.S. §9:3357: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=107534",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "La. R.S. §9:3361: Enforcement; penalties",
          "url": "https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=107539",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "La. R.S. §14:220.1: Leased movables; failure to return after written notice",
          "url": "https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=78360",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "maine",
      "name": "Maine",
      "abbr": "ME",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Maine Rental-Purchase Practices law (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A, §§ 11-101 to 11-118)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/9-a/title9-Ach11.pdf",
      "summary": "Maine's rental-purchase law bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, caps late and other fees, and gives you ownership once half your payments equal the cash price, with the total of payments capped at twice the cash price. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you return or surrender the item within 7 days after missing a payment (or within 2 business days of the merchant's request, whichever is later), you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by paying the past-due charges and other allowed charges, but not the initial administrative fee (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A §11-113)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": 50,
        "effect": "Maine caps the total of payments to own at twice the cash price, and you own the item outright once 50% of your payments equals the cash price. You can also buy it early for the cash price minus 50% of what you've already paid (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A §11-114)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Late fee capped at the greater of 5% of the payment or $3, once per payment (§11-110); initial administrative fee no more than $15; delivery no more than $30 for three or fewer items (or $60 for four or more); payment pickup fee no more than $7.50 (§11-111)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the merchant to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossession, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a security interest in your other goods, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your claims or defenses (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A §11-109)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Maine's Consumer Credit Code provides civil remedies and is enforced by the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, not by criminal charges against customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Maine's unauthorized-use-of-property law covers a person who holds property under a rental or lease agreement and does not return it (Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A §360). Failing to return the item within 5 days of a written demand (sent by certified or registered mail, or hand-delivered, after the rental period) supports a permissible inference of a gross deviation from the agreement, a Class D crime. It targets holding onto the item and ignoring a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A §11-109: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/9-A/title9-Asec11-109.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A §11-113: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/9-A/title9-Asec11-113.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A §11-114: Acquiring ownership",
          "url": "https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/9-A/title9-Asec11-114.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A §11-110: Delinquency charges",
          "url": "https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/9-A/title9-Asec11-110.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 9-A §11-111: Other charges; fee limits",
          "url": "https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/9-A/title9-Asec11-111.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A §360: Unauthorized use of property (failure to return)",
          "url": "https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/17-A/title17-Asec360.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "maryland",
      "name": "Maryland",
      "abbr": "MD",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Maryland Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (Md. Code, Com. Law §§ 12-1101 to 12-1112)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcl&section=12-1106",
      "summary": "Maryland's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, caps the reinstatement fee at $5, gives reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds, and requires written notice of your right to reinstate after a repossession. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (weekly). If the property was returned, you have at least 21 days after the return, or at least 45 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more toward ownership. Even after a repossession, you have 15 days to reinstate, and the store must give you written notice at repossession of your reinstatement rights, the deadline, and the amount due (Md. Code, Com. Law §12-1106)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments your agreement must state."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A reinstatement fee can't exceed $5, including after a repossession (Md. Code, Com. Law §12-1106)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": true,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the lessor to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossession, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your defenses (Md. Code, Com. Law §12-1105). At repossession, the lessor must give you written notice of your right to reinstate (§12-1106)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Maryland's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act is part of its credit-regulation law, enforced civilly, not by charging customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": null,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question, and Maryland has no specific failure-to-return crime for household goods. Its failure-to-return statute applies only to a rental motor vehicle (Md. Code, Crim. Law §7-205); furniture, appliances, and electronics are not covered. For those, only the general theft law could apply (Md. Code, Crim. Law §7-104), and that requires proof of an intent to deprive the owner, which simply being behind or failing to return is not. Returning the item is the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Md. Code, Com. Law §12-1105: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcl&section=12-1105",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Md. Code, Com. Law §12-1106: Reinstatement; repossession",
          "url": "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcl&section=12-1106",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Md. Code, Crim. Law §7-205: Failure to return rental vehicle",
          "url": "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcr&section=7-205&enactments=false&archived=false",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        },
        {
          "title": "Md. Code, Crim. Law §7-104: General theft",
          "url": "https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gcr&section=7-104&enactments=false&archived=false",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "massachusetts",
      "name": "Massachusetts",
      "abbr": "MA",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Massachusetts consumer lease (rent-to-own) law (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §§ 90–93)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93/Section92B",
      "summary": "Massachusetts regulates rent-to-own under its consumer-lease law. You can return the item and owe nothing, and you get a generous reinstatement window, up to 180 days if the item was returned. It's a lighter law than many states (no statutory fee caps or breach-of-peace clause), but the general no-breach-of-peace repossession rule still applies, and missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "You can reinstate within 7 days of a missed payment, and if the property was returned, you have at least 180 days after the unpaid payment to reinstate. You'd pay the past-due payments, the renewal payment, any late fee, and any reasonable pickup/redelivery cost (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §92B)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "A Massachusetts consumer lease is defined as an arrangement that permits you to become the owner of the property (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §90). The statute sets the framework but leaves the specific terms for reaching ownership to your agreement, so read it to see what completing the payments gets you."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Massachusetts's consumer-lease law doesn't set fixed dollar caps on late or reinstatement fees; those come from your agreement. A reinstatement requires past-due payments, the renewal payment, any late fee, and pickup/redelivery costs (§92B)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "Massachusetts's consumer-lease law doesn't spell out a breach-of-peace clause, but the general rule on self-help repossession still applies: a store generally can't break into your home or use force to take the item back. If it can't repossess peacefully, it has to use the courts."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Massachusetts lets you terminate the consumer lease without penalty by voluntarily returning the property in good repair at the end of any lease period (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §91). So you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. A lessor that violates the consumer-lease law is liable to the consumer for actual damages or 25% of the total payments (at least $100, up to $1,000) plus costs and fees (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §93), enforced civilly.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Massachusetts has a larceny-of-leased-or-rented-property crime (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, §87): failing or refusing to return leased or rented personal property within 10 days after the agreement expires, with intent to place it beyond the owner's control. Not returning the item within 10 days after proper notice (actual notice, or a written demand by certified or registered mail) is prima facie evidence of that intent. The penalty is a fine of up to $1,000 or up to a year in jail, plus restitution. It targets holding onto the item and ignoring a proper notice, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the notice, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §91: Written statement; right to terminate",
          "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93/Section91",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §92B: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93/Section92B",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §93: Liability of lessor",
          "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93/Section93",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, §90: Consumer lease; right to acquire ownership",
          "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93/Section90",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, §87: Larceny of leased or rented property",
          "url": "https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter266/Section87",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "michigan",
      "name": "Michigan",
      "abbr": "MI",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Michigan Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.951–445.970)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-Act-424-of-1984",
      "summary": "Michigan's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, gives you up to 90 days to reinstate if you return the item, caps the late fee, and enforces violations civilly. Missing payments isn't a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 90,
        "notes": "You can reinstate the original agreement without losing rights you'd earned. The basic window is 7 days after a missed payment, but if you return or surrender the item within 7 days, you have up to 90 days to reinstate. To reinstate you pay the past-due payment, any late fee, and a redelivery fee no greater than the original delivery fee (Mich. Comp. Laws §445.958)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": 45,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by paying the disclosed 'amount necessary to acquire ownership,' which Michigan's law requires the agreement to state up front. By law that buyout can be no more than the cash price minus 45% of the periodic payments you've already made, and once 45% of your total payments equals the cash price, ownership passes to you automatically (Mich. Comp. Laws §445.954)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Michigan doesn't add a separate flat reinstatement fee, but it caps the late fee at the greater of $10 or 5% of the missed payment, charged only after a payment is 5 days late (monthly or less frequent) or 2 days late (more frequent) (Mich. Comp. Laws §445.958)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the store to unlawfully enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the goods, and it can't include a wage garnishment, a power of attorney to confess judgment, or a waiver of your defenses (Mich. Comp. Laws §445.956)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Michigan enforces violations of its rental-purchase law civilly, through injunctions, civil penalties, and consumer damages actions (Mich. Comp. Laws §§445.959, 445.964), not by charging customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Michigan makes it larceny to keep leased or rented tangible property, including furniture, appliances, and electronics, after the time stated in a written notice sent by registered or certified mail, if you do so with intent to defraud the lessor (Mich. Comp. Laws §750.362a). The penalty rises with the item's value, from a 93-day misdemeanor for low-value goods up to a felony. It targets refusing to return the item after a proper notice with intent to defraud, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the notice, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Mich. Comp. Laws §445.956: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-956",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mich. Comp. Laws §445.958: Failure to make timely payment; reinstatement",
          "url": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-958",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mich. Comp. Laws §445.959: Injunction; civil penalty",
          "url": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-959",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mich. Comp. Laws §445.954: Required disclosures; ownership",
          "url": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-954",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mich. Comp. Laws §445.964: Action for damages by aggrieved person",
          "url": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-964",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mich. Comp. Laws §750.362a: Larceny of leased or rented property",
          "url": "https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-750-362a",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "minnesota",
      "name": "Minnesota",
      "abbr": "MN",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Minnesota Rental Purchase Agreements law (Minn. Stat. §§ 325F.84–325F.97)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/325F",
      "summary": "Minnesota has one of the more protective rent-to-own laws. You can reinstate a lapsed agreement for a fee capped at $5, a store can't breach the peace to repossess, you can return the item and owe nothing more, and missing payments isn't a crime. Once you've paid more than 60% toward ownership, your reinstatement window stretches to at least 180 days.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 60,
        "notes": "You can reinstate the original agreement without losing rights or options you'd already earned, as long as you surrender the item within 7 days of a request to do so. If you've paid less than 60% of the total payments needed to own it, you have 60 days after returning the item to reinstate; if you've paid more than 60%, you get at least 180 days (Minn. Stat. §325F.90)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": 60,
        "effect": "Paying more than 60% of the total of payments needed to acquire ownership extends your reinstatement window to at least 180 days after you return the item, instead of 60 days (Minn. Stat. §325F.90)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "On top of unpaid payments, a reinstatement may include a reinstatement fee of no more than $5 and a delivery charge of no more than $15 for five items or less, or $30 for more than five items (Minn. Stat. §325F.90)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the store to breach the peace when repossessing, require a confession of judgment, or make you waive defenses or counterclaims (Minn. Stat. §325F.91)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Minnesota bars a rental-purchase agreement from charging a penalty for early termination (Minn. Stat. §325F.91). Because the agreement renews one payment at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Minnesota's rental-purchase penalties are civil and apply to a lessor that violates the law, enforced through the state's private-attorney-general statute (Minn. Stat. §325F.97, referencing §8.31), not to customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Under Minnesota's theft statute, a lessee's failure or refusal to return rented property within 5 days after a written demand (served personally or by certified mail) is evidence of an intent to steal (Minn. Stat. §609.52). How serious any charge would be depends on the rental value of the item. It targets holding onto the item and ignoring a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Minn. Stat. §325F.90: Lessee's Reinstatement Rights",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/325F.90",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Minn. Stat. §325F.91: Prohibited Practices",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/325F.91",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Minn. Stat. §325F.97: Penalties and Remedies",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/325F.97",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Minn. Stat. §8.31: Investigation of consumer-law violations; private remedy",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/8.31",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Minn. Stat. §609.52: Theft (failure to return rented property, subd. 2(a)(9))",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.52",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "mississippi",
      "name": "Mississippi",
      "abbr": "MS",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Mississippi Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (Miss. Code §§ 75-24-151–75-24-175)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/",
      "summary": "Mississippi regulates rent-to-own under its Rental-Purchase Agreement Act. Your agreement renews one payment at a time, so you can return the item and stop owing future payments without penalty. If you fall behind, you have a short window to reinstate and keep the rights you'd earned, and a store can't write in the right to break into your home to repossess. Falling behind isn't a crime, but refusing to return the item after a proper written demand can be.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 5,
        "notes": "If you fall behind but return or surrender the item, you keep the right to reinstate the agreement without losing any rights or options you'd already earned. The window to reinstate before the store can hold you to a default is at least 5 days from the payment due date if you renew monthly, or at least 2 days if you renew more often (Miss. Code §75-24-163). If you voluntarily return the item, that window extends to at least 21 days after you return it (at least 45 days if you'd already paid a large share of the total). To reinstate you pay past-due rental charges, any reasonable pickup and redelivery costs if the item was picked up, and any applicable reinstatement fee (§75-24-163)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Mississippi is an option-to-purchase state, not a 'you automatically own it after paying X%' state. A rental-purchase agreement is defined as one that permits you to become the owner of the property (Miss. Code §75-24-153). You own the item once you've paid the total amount necessary to acquire ownership, or by using the early-purchase price the agreement must disclose (§75-24-159)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Mississippi's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act does not set a dollar cap on the reinstatement fee, but it limits how fees can stack: an agreement can't impose a late charge or any other penalty for reinstating beyond the reinstatement fee itself, and only one reinstatement fee may be charged per periodic payment, no matter how long it stays unpaid (Miss. Code §75-24-161). The store must disclose any reinstatement, delivery, and pickup fees up front (§75-24-159)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't give the store the right to enter your home unlawfully or to commit any breach of the peace when repossessing (Miss. Code §75-24-161). The same section bars confessions of judgment, negotiable instruments, security interests in anything beyond the rented item, wage assignments, and waivers of your claims or defenses. Because a rental-purchase agreement isn't a security interest, general self-help repossession law (Miss. Code §75-9-609, which allows non-judicial repossession only if it proceeds without breach of the peace) is background context rather than the controlling rule."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one payment at a time and doesn't obligate you to keep renting beyond the initial period, you can terminate it without penalty by voluntarily surrendering or returning the item in good repair, along with any past-due payments (Miss. Code §§75-24-153, 75-24-159). There's no full-price 'balance' to chase after you return the item, and §75-24-161 bars extra penalties for reinstating."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Mississippi's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act creates civil liability for a store that violates the Act (the greater of your actual damages; 25% of the total payments needed to acquire ownership, not less than $100 nor more than $1,000; or costs and attorney's fees), and that liability runs against the lessor, not the customer who misses a payment (Miss. Code §75-24-171).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Mississippi has a failure-to-return crime for leased or rented property (Miss. Code §97-17-64): a person who obtains property under a lease or rental agreement and unlawfully keeps it with intent to deprive the owner can be charged. A written demand mailed by certified or registered mail, return receipt, is the trigger, and failing to return the item or contact the owner within 10 days after that proper notice is treated as evidence of intent to defraud. The offense is a misdemeanor if the property is worth under $1,000 and a felony if it's worth $1,000 or more. It targets refusing to return the item after a proper demand, not being behind and trying to catch up; returning the item, or contacting the owner to arrange return, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Miss. Code §75-24-151: Short title (Mississippi Rental-Purchase Agreement Act)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Miss. Code §75-24-153: Definitions (rental-purchase agreement; consumer; lessor)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Miss. Code §75-24-159: Items to be disclosed in rental-purchase agreements",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Miss. Code §75-24-161: Prohibited provisions in rental-purchase agreements",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Miss. Code §75-24-163: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Miss. Code §75-24-171: Lessor liability for violations",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Miss. Code §75-9-609: Secured party's right to take possession after default",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Miss. Code §97-17-64: Larceny under lease or rental agreement",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/mscode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "missouri",
      "name": "Missouri",
      "abbr": "MO",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Missouri rental-purchase agreement law (Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 407.660–407.665)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=407.660",
      "summary": "Missouri's rental-purchase law caps both late fees and the reinstatement fee at $5, bars a store from breaching the peace to repossess, gives you a reinstatement window of three rental terms, and blocks surprise balloon payments. Missing payments isn't a crime; violations are civil.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you miss a payment, you can reinstate the original agreement without losing rights or options you'd earned, within three rental terms after the end of the last term you paid on time. You surrender the item if the store asks, and pay unpaid payments plus delinquency charges, a reinstatement fee of no more than $5, and a delivery charge if redelivery is needed (Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.664)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You own the item after completing the disclosed total of payments. Missouri bars a store from requiring any extra balloon payment at the end to acquire ownership, or from requiring rental payments greater than the total needed to own it (Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.662)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A late charge can't exceed $5 for each payment in default (Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.662), and the reinstatement fee is likewise capped at $5 (§407.664)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize a merchant to commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the property, or require a confession of judgment (Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.662)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Missouri bars a store from requiring rental payments greater than the total needed to acquire ownership or any balloon payment to finish (Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.662). Because the agreement renews one term at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Missouri treats violations of its rental-purchase law as civil violations of the Merchandising Practices Act (Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.665, applying §407.020), aimed at merchants, with a 10-day window to correct a violation, not at customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Missouri has a stealing-leased-or-rented-property crime (Mo. Rev. Stat. §570.057): failing to return the item with intent to deprive the owner. Not returning it within 7 days after a certified-mail demand for return is evidence of that intent (72 hours after the agreement expires for a motor vehicle). For non-vehicle property, after that 7-day period the owner reports the failure to local law enforcement, which may then notify you that you may be subject to arrest. It is a class A misdemeanor, or a class D felony if the item is worth $750 or more. It targets ignoring a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.662: Prohibited provisions; fee caps",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=407.662",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.664: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=407.664",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.665: Violations; enforcement",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=407.665",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.020: Merchandising Practices Act; unlawful practices",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=407.020",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mo. Rev. Stat. §570.057: Stealing leased or rented property",
          "url": "https://www.revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=570.057",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "montana",
      "name": "Montana",
      "abbr": "MT",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Montana Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (Mont. Code Ann. Title 30, Ch. 19)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0300/chapter_0190/parts_index.html",
      "summary": "Montana's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from entering your premises or breaching the peace to repossess, and gives you reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds or more. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind and the item is returned or voluntarily surrendered, you can reinstate the agreement for at least 21 days after the return, or at least 45 days if you'd already paid two-thirds or more of the total needed to acquire ownership. A repossession during that period doesn't cancel your right to reinstate, and you'd get the same or comparable item back (Mont. Code Ann. §30-19-112)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments your agreement must state."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Montana's act requires charges to be disclosed in your agreement; the sections reviewed don't set a single fixed dollar cap, so read your contract's fee terms closely."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the store to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the property, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your claims or defenses (Mont. Code Ann. §30-19-111)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Montana's rental-purchase law is a consumer-protection statute; its remedies run against a store that breaks the rules, not against customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Montana has a failure-to-return-rented-property crime (Mont. Code Ann. §45-6-309): not returning the item within 48 hours of the time set for return, if the agreement gave bold-print written notice of the deadline and penalty, or within 72 hours of a written demand sent by certified or registered mail after the lease period ends. The penalty rises with value, from a fine or up to 6 months in jail for items worth $1,500 or less, up to a felony for higher-value goods. It targets ignoring a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Mont. Code Ann. §30-19-111: Provisions prohibited in agreements",
          "url": "https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0300/chapter_0190/part_0010/section_0110/0300-0190-0010-0110.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mont. Code Ann. §30-19-112: Reinstatement of agreement; repossession",
          "url": "https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0300/chapter_0190/part_0010/section_0120/0300-0190-0010-0120.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Mont. Code Ann. §45-6-309: Failure to return rented or leased personal property",
          "url": "https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0450/chapter_0060/part_0030/section_0090/0450-0060-0030-0090.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "nebraska",
      "name": "Nebraska",
      "abbr": "NE",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Nebraska Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 69-2101 to 69-2119)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=69-2108",
      "summary": "Nebraska's Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act is one of the most detailed in the country: it bars entering your home or breaching the peace, caps late and reinstatement fees at $5, lets you return the item with no penalty, and stretches your reinstatement window to 90 or 180 days as you pay more. Missing payments isn't a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 30,
        "notes": "You can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up within 5 business days of the renewal date (monthly) or 3 business days (more frequent). If the item was returned, the base window is 30 days, but it extends to 90 days if you'd paid 60–80% toward ownership, and to 180 days if you'd paid 80% or more (Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-2108)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": 60,
        "effect": "Paying more toward ownership lengthens your reinstatement window after returning the item: 90 days once you've paid 60–80% of the total, and 180 days at 80% or more (Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-2108). You can also buy the item early."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "Late fee capped at $5 (monthly, after 5 business days) or $3 (more frequent, after 3 business days) and collected only once per payment; reinstatement fee capped at $5; initial administrative fee capped at $10; delivery capped at $10 (or $25 for more than five items) (Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-2110)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A consumer rental purchase agreement can't authorize the store to enter your premises unlawfully or commit a breach of the peace in repossession, and it can't require a confession of judgment, a wage garnishment, a waiver of your defenses, or that you buy insurance from the lessor (Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-2107)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Nebraska lets you terminate without penalty by surrendering the item at the end of any lease term (§69-2108), and bars any charge for early termination or for returning an item (§69-2109). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Nebraska's rental-purchase law is administered by the Department of Banking and Finance and enforced civilly, aimed at lessors who break the rules, not at customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Under Nebraska's theft law, a lessee's failure to return leased or rented movable property after a written agreement expires is presumed to be done with intent to deprive the owner if the lessee was mailed certified-mail notice that the agreement expired and did not return the item within 10 days (Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-511). How serious any charge would be depends on the item's value. It targets holding onto the item and ignoring a proper notice, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the notice, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-2107: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=69-2107",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-2108: Agreement; reinstatement",
          "url": "https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=69-2108",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-2110: Fees; deposits; charges",
          "url": "https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=69-2110",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Neb. Rev. Stat. §69-2109: Prohibited charges; early termination",
          "url": "https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=69-2109",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-511: Theft by unlawful taking (failure to return leased property)",
          "url": "https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=28-511",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "nevada",
      "name": "Nevada",
      "abbr": "NV",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Nevada lease-purchase law (Nev. Rev. Stat. ch. 597, §§ 597.010–597.110)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-597.html",
      "summary": "Nevada's lease-purchase law bars a store from breaching the peace to repossess, gives reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds or more, and provides that you don't own the item until you've made all the payments. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent). If the property was returned, you have 21 days after the return to reinstate, or 45 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more toward ownership. You'd pay past-due amounts, the reasonable costs of returning and redelivering the property, and any late fee (Nev. Rev. Stat. §597.070)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You don't own the leased property until you've made all the payments necessary to acquire ownership (Nev. Rev. Stat. §597.030)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Nevada's lease-purchase law doesn't set fixed dollar caps on late or reinstatement fees in the sections reviewed; reinstatement requires past-due charges, the reasonable costs of returning and redelivering the property, and any applicable late fee (Nev. Rev. Stat. §597.070)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement may not authorize the lessor, or anyone acting on the lessor's behalf, to commit a breach of the peace in order to repossess the leased property (Nev. Rev. Stat. §597.060)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a lease-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Nevada's lease-purchase law is a consumer-protection statute; its remedies run against a store that breaks the rules, not against customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Nevada makes it larceny to keep leased or rented personal property after the agreed return time, when done with intent to defraud the lessor or to retain it without permission, if you then fail to return it within 72 hours of a written demand sent by registered mail (Nev. Rev. Stat. §205.940). The charge is graded by the item's value. It targets ignoring a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Nev. Rev. Stat. §597.030: Acquisition of ownership",
          "url": "https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-597.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Nev. Rev. Stat. §597.060: Prohibited provisions (breach of the peace)",
          "url": "https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-597.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Nev. Rev. Stat. §597.070: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-597.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Nev. Rev. Stat. §205.940: Conversion of rented or leased personal property",
          "url": "https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-205.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "new-hampshire",
      "name": "New Hampshire",
      "abbr": "NH",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "New Hampshire Rent-to-Own Agreement Act (N.H. Rev. Stat. ch. 358-P)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/358-P/358-P-mrg.htm",
      "summary": "New Hampshire's Rent-to-Own Agreement Act bars a store from entering your premises or breaching the peace to repossess, caps late and reinstatement fees at $5, and gives reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent). If the item was returned, you have at least 21 days after the return to reinstate, or at least 30 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more toward ownership (N.H. Rev. Stat. §358-P:8)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Your agreement must disclose an early-purchase option and the price or formula for it; you acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments (N.H. Rev. Stat. §358-P:4)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A late charge or reinstatement fee can't exceed $5, applies only after a payment is more than 5 days late (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent), and only one such charge may be made per payment (N.H. Rev. Stat. §358-P:7)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rent-to-own agreement can't authorize the dealer to enter your premises without permission or commit a breach of the peace in repossession (N.H. Rev. Stat. §358-P:7)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rent-to-own agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. A dealer that violates the Act is liable to the consumer civilly: actual damages or 25% of the total payments to own it (at least $100, up to $1,000), plus costs and fees (N.H. Rev. Stat. §358-P:11).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. New Hampshire's theft law reaches a person who has custody of property under a rental or lease agreement and intentionally fails to return it in a way that is a gross deviation from the agreement (N.H. Rev. Stat. §637:9). There is no set written-demand period, but the bar is high: it takes an intentional failure that grossly departs from the agreement, not simply being behind. The charge is graded by the item's value. Returning the item, or responding to a demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "N.H. Rev. Stat. §358-P:7: Prohibited practices; fee caps",
          "url": "https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/358-P/358-P-7.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.H. Rev. Stat. §358-P:8: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/358-P/358-P-8.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.H. Rev. Stat. §358-P:11: Remedies",
          "url": "https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXXI/358-P/358-P-11.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.H. Rev. Stat. §637:9: Unauthorized use of propelled vehicle or rented property",
          "url": "https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LXII/637/637-9.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "new-jersey",
      "name": "New Jersey",
      "abbr": "NJ",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": false,
      "statuteName": "No dedicated rental-purchase statute; general New Jersey law applies (N.J.S.A. Titles 2C, 12A, 56)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu",
      "summary": "New Jersey has no dedicated rent-to-own law, so no state statute gives you a reinstatement window, a fee cap, or a set ownership percentage. Instead, general law applies: a store repossessing under a security interest can't breach the peace (N.J.S.A. 12A:9-609), the Consumer Fraud Act bars unconscionable and deceptive practices (N.J.S.A. 56:8-2), and while falling behind is never a crime, the general theft statute for failing to make a required disposition of property (N.J.S.A. 2C:20-9) can reach someone who keeps rented goods, so returning the item is the clean step.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": null,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "New Jersey has no rental-purchase statute, so there is no state-mandated reinstatement right or window the way states with a Rental-Purchase Agreement Act provide. Whether you can catch up after a missed payment and keep the item is governed by your individual contract, not by a statute. Because a typical rent-to-own agreement renews one period at a time, returning the item is generally an option even where the contract offers no formal reinstatement."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "There is no statutory ownership-percentage threshold, because New Jersey has no rent-to-own act setting one. When you own the item is determined by your contract's terms, typically after you complete the disclosed payments or exercise an early-purchase option if the agreement offers one."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "New Jersey sets no statutory cap on rent-to-own reinstatement fees, late fees, or other charges, because it has no rental-purchase statute imposing one. Charges are governed by the contract. A charge or practice that is unconscionable or deceptive in connection with the sale or advertisement of merchandise could still be challenged under the Consumer Fraud Act (N.J.S.A. 56:8-2)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "New Jersey has no rent-to-own statute spelling out repossession rules, so the general secured-transactions rule governs: if the store holds a security interest, it may take the collateral after default without judicial process only if it proceeds 'without breach of the peace' (N.J.S.A. 12A:9-609(b)); otherwise it must use the courts. Forcing entry into your home or provoking a confrontation is a breach of the peace. Aggressive or deceptive repossession or collection conduct can also be challenged as an unconscionable or deceptive practice under the Consumer Fraud Act (N.J.S.A. 56:8-2)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": null,
        "notes": "With no rent-to-own act on point, whether you owe anything after returning the item turns on your contract and on general secured-transactions law (N.J.S.A. Title 12A, Chapter 9). Because a typical rent-to-own agreement renews one period at a time and does not obligate you to pay a full purchase price, returning the item generally lets you stop future payments; a demand for a large 'balance' after return may be worth scrutinizing under the Consumer Fraud Act (N.J.S.A. 56:8-2)."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil debt, not a crime. New Jersey has no rental-purchase statute, and nothing in its general law makes simply missing a payment a criminal offense. A creditor's remedy for non-payment is a civil action to collect or to recover the item, not an arrest.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question, and New Jersey's general theft code can reach it. N.J.S.A. 2C:20-9 (theft by failure to make required disposition of property received) reaches a person who 'purposely obtains or retains property upon agreement or subject to a known legal obligation to make specified payment or other disposition' and then 'deals with the property obtained as his own and fails to make the required payment or disposition.' It requires purposeful conduct and treating the item as your own — not mere lateness. It has no certified-mail demand step or prima-facie-refusal clause the way some states' dedicated failure-to-return laws do. The offense is graded by the property's value under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2: a disorderly persons offense below $200, a fourth-degree crime from $200 to $500, a third-degree crime above $500 up to $75,000, and a second-degree crime at $75,000 or more. Being behind and trying to catch up is not the same as purposely keeping the item as your own; returning the item, or responding to a demand, is the clean step."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "N.J.S.A. 2C:20-9: Theft by failure to make required disposition of property received",
          "url": "https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2: Grading of theft offenses (value tiers)",
          "url": "https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.J.S.A. 12A:9-609: Secured party's right to take possession after default (without breach of the peace)",
          "url": "https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 and 56:8-2: Consumer Fraud Act (definitions; unconscionable and deceptive practices)",
          "url": "https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/statutes/consumer-fraud-act.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "New Jersey Statutes (N.J.S.A.): official full-text database (no rental-purchase act enacted in Title 56)",
          "url": "https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "new-mexico",
      "name": "New Mexico",
      "abbr": "NM",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "New Mexico Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (NMSA 1978, §§ 57-26-1 to 57-26-12)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa-unanno/en/item/18560/index.do",
      "summary": "New Mexico's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from unlawfully entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, and, like Ohio, it forbids treating a simple failure to return the goods as probable cause for a criminal charge. You can reinstate after a missed payment (longer if you'd returned the item), return the goods without penalty, and buy them early. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you miss a payment you can reinstate without losing any rights or options you'd earned by paying the past-due rental charges, the reasonable pickup and redelivery costs if the goods were picked up, and any reinstatement fee, within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent) (NMSA 1978, §57-26-7). If you returned the goods within 7 days of the renewal date, you get longer: at least 21 days after the return if you'd paid less than two-thirds toward ownership, or at least 30 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more. On reinstatement the store must give you back the same goods if available, or a comparable substitute."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You don't own the goods until you've paid the total amount necessary to acquire ownership, which the store has to disclose, and your agreement must spell out your purchase option, including the right to an early purchase option and the price or formula for it (NMSA 1978, §57-26-5). A store can't make you pay more than the disclosed amount needed to acquire ownership, or add an extra payment to own them (§57-26-6)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "New Mexico's act doesn't set a fixed dollar reinstatement-fee cap, but it bars more than one reinstatement fee on any single payment, and it bars any late charge or other penalty for reinstating beyond a single reinstatement fee (NMSA 1978, §57-26-6). A store also can't require you to buy insurance or a damage waiver from it."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement may not authorize the store, or anyone acting for it, to enter your premises unlawfully or to commit any breach of the peace in repossessing the goods (NMSA 1978, §57-26-6). The same section bars a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, a security interest in your other property, and a waiver of your defenses."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "You may terminate the agreement without penalty by voluntarily returning the goods in good repair (reasonable wear and tear excepted) at the end of any rental period, along with any past-due payments (NMSA 1978, §57-26-5). Because it renews one period at a time, returning the goods stops future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Enforcement is civil: a store that breaks the rules is liable to the consumer for the greater of actual damages or 25% of the total payments to own the goods, at least $100 and up to $1,000, plus costs and attorney's fees (NMSA 1978, §57-26-11).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": false,
          "notes": "New Mexico protects rent-to-own customers here, like Ohio. Its Rental-Purchase Agreement Act provides that a rental-purchase agreement may not treat merely failing to return the goods as probable cause for a criminal action (NMSA 1978, §57-26-6). So a simple failure to return the item cannot be turned into a criminal charge against you. Returning the item is still the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "NMSA 1978, §57-26-6: Prohibited provisions (breach of the peace; no criminal probable cause)",
          "url": "https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa-unanno/en/item/18560/index.do#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc201313684/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgCYAGARgGZ+ANgAcAFgCUAGmTZShCAEVEhXAE9oAcg2SIhMLgRKV6rTr0GQAZTykAQuoBKAUQAyTgGoBBAHIBhJ5KkYABG0KTs4uJAA",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "NMSA 1978, §57-26-7: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa-unanno/en/item/18560/index.do#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc201313685/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgCYAGARgGZ+ANgAcAVgCUAGmTZShCAEVEhXAE9oAcg2SIhMLgRKV6rTr0GQAZTykAQuoBKAUQAyTgGoBBAHIBhJ5KkYABG0KTs4uJAA",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "NMSA 1978, §57-26-11: Enforcement; remedies; limitations",
          "url": "https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa-unanno/en/item/18560/index.do#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc201313689/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgCYAGARgGZ+ANgAcATgCUAGmTZShCAEVEhXAE9oAcg2SIhMLgRKV6rTr0GQAZTykAQuoBKAUQAyTgGoBBAHIBhJ5KkYABG0KTs4uJAA",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "new-york",
      "name": "New York",
      "abbr": "NY",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "New York Personal Property Law, Article 11 (Rental-Purchase Agreements, §§ 500–508)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEP/A11",
      "summary": "New York regulates rent-to-own under Article 11 of its Personal Property Law. A store can't breach the peace to repossess, late and reinstatement fees are tightly limited, and after a repossession the store must tell you in writing how to reinstate. Missing payments isn't a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you miss a payment, you can reinstate without losing rights or options you'd already earned by paying what's due before the later of seven days or half of a regular payment period after the due date. Even after a repossession, within 15 days the store must give you written notice of your right to reinstate and the amount and deadline to do so (N.Y. Pers. Prop. Law §501)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "New York uses an early-purchase option: you can buy the item early by paying any past-due amounts plus the cash price multiplied by (payments remaining ÷ total payments). You also own it once you make all the scheduled payments (N.Y. Pers. Prop. Law §§501, 504)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "Greater of 10% of the late amount or $3 (weekly) / $5 (monthly)",
        "otherNotes": "A late charge or reinstatement fee is allowed only after a payment is delinquent more than 3 days (weekly agreements) or 7 days (monthly), and only one such charge may be assessed per delinquent payment (N.Y. Pers. Prop. Law §501)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": true,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement may not authorize a merchant to breach the peace when repossessing merchandise, or require a confession of judgment (N.Y. Pers. Prop. Law §501). After a repossession the merchant must send written notice of your reinstatement rights within 15 days."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one payment at a time, you can return the merchandise and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. New York's rental-purchase law is a consumer-protection statute enforced through civil means and the Attorney General, not by charging customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. New York has a misapplication-of-property crime (N.Y. Penal Law §165.00): intentionally refusing to return rented personal property worth more than $100 after the owner makes a written demand (in person or by certified mail to the address in the agreement) and continuing to refuse for 30 days. The demand has to state the return date, that the owner does not consent, and that withholding may be a class A misdemeanor (a fine of up to $1,000 or up to a year in jail). It targets intentionally refusing a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "N.Y. Pers. Prop. Law §501: Form (prohibited provisions, reinstatement, fees)",
          "url": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEP/501",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.Y. Pers. Prop. Law §504: Early purchase option",
          "url": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEP/504",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.Y. Pers. Prop. Law, Article 11: Rental-Purchase Agreements",
          "url": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEP/A11",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.Y. Penal Law §165.00: Misapplication of property",
          "url": "https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/165.00",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "north-carolina",
      "name": "North Carolina",
      "abbr": "NC",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": false,
      "statuteName": "No dedicated rent-to-own statute; general law applies (N.C.G.S. Chapters 14, 25, 75)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.ncleg.gov/Laws/GeneralStatutesTOC",
      "summary": "North Carolina has no dedicated rent-to-own law, so no state statute gives you a reinstatement window, a fee cap, or a set ownership percentage. Instead, general law applies: a store repossessing under a security interest can't breach the peace (N.C.G.S. §25-9-609), unfair or deceptive collection tactics are barred (§75-1.1), and while falling behind is never a crime, two general conversion statutes (§§14-167, 14-168.1) can reach someone who keeps rented goods, so returning the item is the clean step.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": null,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "North Carolina has no rent-to-own statute, so there is no state-mandated reinstatement right or window the way states with a Rental-Purchase Agreement Act provide. Whether you can catch up after a missed payment and keep the item is governed by your individual contract, not by a statute. Because a typical rent-to-own agreement renews one period at a time, returning the item is generally an option even where the contract offers no formal reinstatement."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "There is no statutory ownership-percentage threshold, because North Carolina has no rent-to-own act setting one. When you own the item is determined by your contract's terms. Separately, N.C.G.S. §25A-2(b) treats a lease or bailment as a credit sale only when the customer is bound to pay a sum substantially equal to the goods' value and gets ownership on full compliance; an ordinary rent-to-own deal that renews period by period, where you are never obligated to keep paying, generally falls outside that provision."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "North Carolina sets no statutory cap on rent-to-own reinstatement fees, late fees, or other charges, because it has no rental-purchase statute imposing one. Charges are governed by the contract. A charge that is unfair or deceptive in or affecting commerce could still be challenged under the Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act (N.C.G.S. §75-1.1)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "North Carolina has no rent-to-own statute spelling out repossession rules, so the general secured-transactions rule governs: if the store holds a security interest, it may take the collateral after default without judicial process only if it proceeds 'without breach of the peace' (N.C.G.S. §25-9-609); otherwise it must use the courts. Forcing entry into your home or provoking a confrontation is a breach of the peace. Aggressive or deceptive repossession or collection conduct can also be challenged as an unfair or deceptive practice under §75-1.1."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": null,
        "notes": "With no rent-to-own act on point, whether you owe anything after returning the item turns on your contract and on general secured-transactions law (N.C.G.S. Chapter 25, Article 9). Because a typical rent-to-own agreement renews one period at a time and does not obligate you to pay a full purchase price, returning the item generally lets you stop future payments; a demand for a large 'balance' after return may be worth scrutinizing under §75-1.1."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil debt, not a crime. North Carolina has no rental-purchase statute, and nothing in its general law makes simply missing a payment a criminal offense. A creditor's remedy for non-payment is a civil action, not an arrest.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question, and North Carolina has two general conversion statutes that can reach it. §14-168.1 makes it a crime for a 'bailee, lessee, tenant or lodger' to fraudulently convert entrusted property, or secrete it with fraudulent intent, to their own use: a Class 3 misdemeanor, or a Class H felony if the value exceeds $400. §14-167 makes it a crime to rent or hire an 'appliance, equipment, tool, or other thing of value' and willfully fail to return it when the rental term expires: a Class 3 misdemeanor (a Class H felony only for a motor vehicle worth over $4,000). Neither statute has a certified-mail demand step or a prima-facie clause the way some states' failure-to-return laws do, and §14-168.1 requires proof of fraudulent intent, not mere lateness. Being behind is not conversion; returning the item, or responding to a demand, is the clean step."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "N.C.G.S. §14-167: Failure to return hired property",
          "url": "https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-167.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.C.G.S. §14-168.1: Conversion by bailee, lessee, tenant or attorney-in-fact",
          "url": "https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-168.1.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.C.G.S. §25-9-609: Secured party's right to take possession after default",
          "url": "https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_25/GS_25-9-609.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.C.G.S. §25A-2: 'Consumer credit sale' defined (leases/bailments treated as sales)",
          "url": "https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_25A/GS_25A-2.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.C.G.S. §75-1.1: Methods of competition, acts and practices regulated (Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices)",
          "url": "https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_75/GS_75-1.1.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "North Carolina General Statutes: Table of Contents (no rental-purchase act)",
          "url": "https://www.ncleg.gov/Laws/GeneralStatutesTOC",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "north-dakota",
      "name": "North Dakota",
      "abbr": "ND",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "North Dakota Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement law (N.D. Cent. Code ch. 47-15.1)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c15-1.html",
      "summary": "North Dakota's consumer rental-purchase law bars a store from entering your premises or breaching the peace to repossess, caps the late fee at the greater of $3 or 5%, gives reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds, and enforces violations civilly. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent). If you'd paid two-thirds or more toward ownership and returned the item, you have at least 45 days after the return to reinstate. You'd pay past-due charges, the reasonable costs of repossession and redelivery if applicable, and any late fee (N.D. Cent. Code §47-15.1-05)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments your agreement must state."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "A late fee can't exceed the greater of $3 or 5% of the delinquent lease payment (N.D. Cent. Code §47-15.1-05)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A consumer rental purchase agreement can't authorize the lessor to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossession, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a negotiable instrument, a security interest in your other goods, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your claims or defenses (N.D. Cent. Code §47-15.1-04)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. A lessor that violates the law is liable to the consumer civilly: actual damages or 25% of the total payments to own the item (at least $100, up to $1,000), plus costs and attorney's fees (N.D. Cent. Code §47-15.1-08).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": null,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question, and North Dakota has no specific failure-to-return crime for rented goods. Its theft chapter has no provision about leased or rented property, so only the general theft law could apply (N.D. Cent. Code §12.1-23-02), which requires proof that you knowingly took or kept the item with intent to deprive the owner. Simply being behind, or failing to return it, is not by itself that proof. Returning the item is the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "N.D. Cent. Code §47-15.1-04: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c15-1.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.D. Cent. Code §47-15.1-05: Reinstatement; repossession",
          "url": "https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c15-1.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.D. Cent. Code §47-15.1-08: Penalties; remedies",
          "url": "https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c15-1.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "N.D. Cent. Code §12.1-23-02: Theft of property (general)",
          "url": "https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c23.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "ohio",
      "name": "Ohio",
      "abbr": "OH",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Ohio Lease-Purchase Agreements law (Ohio Rev. Code §§ 1351.01–1351.09)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-1351",
      "summary": "Ohio's lease-purchase law is among the most protective on the question people fear most: it bars any agreement from treating a simple failure to return the item as grounds for a criminal charge. A store also can't breach the peace to repossess, you can reinstate for a fee capped at $5, and your payments build a credit toward buying the item early.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you miss a payment, you can reinstate the agreement within three lease terms after the end of the last term you paid on time, without losing rights you'd earned (Ohio Rev. Code §1351.05). You also get a grace period before a payment is treated as late, at least 2 days on weekly agreements and 5 days on monthly ones."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Ohio gives you a built-in early-buyout credit: you can purchase the item at any time for the difference between its cash price and 50% of the payments you've already made, and you acquire ownership once 50% of your lease payments equals the cash price (Ohio Rev. Code §1351.06)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A reinstatement may add a reinstatement fee of no more than $5 plus a delivery charge if redelivery is needed (Ohio Rev. Code §1351.05). A penalty for early termination is prohibited (§1351.04)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement can't authorize the store to commit a breach of the peace when repossessing (Ohio Rev. Code §1351.03), and it can't state that merely failing to return the item is probable cause for a criminal action."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Ohio prohibits a penalty for early termination of a lease-purchase agreement (Ohio Rev. Code §1351.04). Because the agreement renews one term at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. The Act's penalties are civil and apply to lessors who break the rules (Ohio Rev. Code §§1351.08–1351.09), not to a customer who falls behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": false,
          "notes": "Ohio gives rent-to-own customers unusually strong protection here. A lease-purchase agreement may not state that a mere failure to return the property is probable cause for a criminal action (Ohio Rev. Code §1351.03). So a simple failure to return the item cannot be turned into a criminal charge against you. Returning the item is still the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Ohio Rev. Code §1351.03: Provisions prohibited in lease-purchase agreement",
          "url": "https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1351.03",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ohio Rev. Code §1351.05: Reinstatement of agreement after default",
          "url": "https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1351.05",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ohio Rev. Code §1351.06: Acquiring ownership; early purchase",
          "url": "https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1351.06",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ohio Rev. Code §1351.04: Prohibited charges; early-termination penalty",
          "url": "https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1351.04",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Ohio Rev. Code §1351.08: Civil remedies; lessor liability",
          "url": "https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1351.08",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "oklahoma",
      "name": "Oklahoma",
      "abbr": "OK",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Oklahoma Rental-Purchase Act (Okla. Stat. tit. 59, §§ 1951–1957)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=96741",
      "summary": "Oklahoma's Rental-Purchase Act bars a store from breaching the peace to repossess, requires a reinstatement right after a missed payment (with at least 30 more days if you returned the item), and lets you return the merchandise at any time without penalty, owing nothing beyond unpaid rent and fees. Missing payments is a civil matter; the act's criminal penalty targets unlicensed dealers, not customers.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 30,
        "notes": "Every rental-purchase agreement must give you reinstatement rights. If you miss a payment you can reinstate without losing rights or options you'd earned by arranging to make the past-due payments within 2 days of the due date (and paying any fees due), or returning the item within 2 days if the store asks (Okla. Stat. tit. 59, §1954(D)). If you return the item during the reinstatement period, your right to reinstate is extended for at least 30 more days, and on reinstatement the store must give you the same item or a comparable substitute."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You don't acquire ownership until you've met the ownership terms of your agreement: the total number and amount of payments needed to own the item, which the store must disclose (Okla. Stat. tit. 59, §1954(B)). The agreement also has to spell out your purchase-option rights, so you can buy it early on the disclosed terms."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Oklahoma's act doesn't set fixed dollar caps on late or reinstatement fees, but a rental-purchase agreement may not require a fee that exceeds the range usually or customarily charged for similar products or services (Okla. Stat. tit. 59, §1954(C)). Any insurance or liability-damage waiver the store offers has to be optional and clearly disclosed as optional."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement may not authorize the store, or an agent of the store, to commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the property (Okla. Stat. tit. 59, §1954(C)). The same section bars an agreement from requiring a confession of judgment or making you waive your defenses. A store that can't repossess peacefully has to use the courts."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "You have the right to return the merchandise to the store without additional charge or penalty at any time, owing nothing further except unpaid rent charges and fees (Okla. Stat. tit. 59, §1954(H)). Because the agreement renews one term at a time, returning the item stops future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime for the customer. The act's misdemeanor penalty, a fine of up to $5,000 or up to a year in jail, applies to someone who willfully runs a rental-purchase business without a license, not to a customer who falls behind (Okla. Stat. tit. 59, §1957). A customer harmed by a store's violation can recover actual damages plus 25% of the total payments needed to own the item (at least $100, up to $1,000), with attorney's fees and court costs (§1955).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Oklahoma's embezzlement law reaches property held under a lease or rental agreement that is willfully or intentionally not returned within 5 days after the agreement expires (Okla. Stat. tit. 21, §1451). The charge is graded by the item's value. It targets keeping the item past the end of the agreement, not being behind; returning the item, or arranging its return, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "59 O.S. §1954: Required disclosures; prohibited provisions; reinstatement rights",
          "url": "https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=96741",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "59 O.S. §1955: Recovery of damages, fees, and court costs",
          "url": "https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=96742",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "59 O.S. §1957: Applicability; penalties for violations",
          "url": "https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=96744",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Okla. Stat. tit. 21, §1451: Embezzlement (failure to return leased property)",
          "url": "https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=440119",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "oregon",
      "name": "Oregon",
      "abbr": "OR",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Oregon Lease-Purchase Agreements law (ORS 646A.120–646A.134)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors646A.html",
      "summary": "Oregon's lease-purchase law bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, and from treating a simple failure to return the item as grounds for a criminal charge. Reinstatement rights grow once you've paid more, and missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent). If the item was returned, you have at least 21 days after the return to reinstate, extending to at least 30 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more. You'd pay past-due charges, any pickup/redelivery costs, and any late fee (ORS 646A.130)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments your agreement must state."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A late charge or reinstatement fee can't exceed $5, applies only after a payment is more than 2 days late (weekly) or 5 days late (monthly), and only one such charge may be made per payment (ORS 646A.128). Reinstatement also requires past-due charges and any pickup/redelivery costs (ORS 646A.130)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement can't authorize the lessor to enter your premises without permission or commit a breach of the peace in repossession, and it can't state that a mere failure to return the property is probable cause for a criminal action. It also can't include a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, a waiver of defenses, or a required insurance purchase (ORS 646A.128)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a lease-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Oregon's lease-purchase law is a set of civil consumer-protection rules on disclosures, fees, and prohibited contract terms; it does not make missing payments a criminal offense.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": false,
          "notes": "Oregon protects rent-to-own customers here, like Ohio. A lease-purchase agreement can't treat a mere failure to return the item as probable cause for a criminal action (ORS 646A.128). So a simple failure to return the goods cannot be turned into a criminal charge against you. Returning the item is still the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "ORS 646A.128: Provisions prohibited in lease-purchase agreements",
          "url": "https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors646A.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "ORS 646A.130: Reinstatement of lease-purchase agreement",
          "url": "https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors646A.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "pennsylvania",
      "name": "Pennsylvania",
      "abbr": "PA",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Pennsylvania Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (42 Pa.C.S. §§ 6901–6911)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=PDF&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=69",
      "summary": "Pennsylvania's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from entering your home without consent or breaching the peace to repossess, caps the late fee at the greater of $5 or 10%, and limits the markup so lease charges can't exceed the item's cash price. You can reinstate after a missed payment (90–120 days if you returned the item), and a special hardship rule can cut your payments if you lose income after paying two-thirds. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you miss a payment you can reinstate without losing any rights or options you'd earned by paying the past-due rental charges, the reasonable retrieval and redelivery costs (if the item was retrieved), and any late fee, within 7 days of the renewal date (42 Pa.C.S. §6906). If you returned the item during that window, you get longer: at least 90 days after the return if you'd paid less than two-thirds toward ownership, or at least 120 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more. On reinstatement the store must give you the same item or a comparable substitute."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "A rental-purchase agreement must let you acquire ownership at any time after your first payment, at a price or formula stated in the agreement, and it has to come with a chart showing the buyout amount after each payment (42 Pa.C.S. §6905). The total cost of lease services can't exceed the cash price of the property."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "A late fee can only be charged once a payment is 5+ days late (monthly) or 2+ days late (more frequent), and it can't exceed the greater of $5 or 10% of the past-due payment (42 Pa.C.S. §6904). A store also can't charge you a fee for retrieving the property or for terminating or rescinding the agreement, and an in-home payment-collection fee is allowed only if it was disclosed and you agreed to it."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement may not authorize the store, or its agent, to commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the property, or to enter your dwelling or other premises without your consent at the time of entry (42 Pa.C.S. §6904). The same section bars a power of attorney to confess judgment and any waiver of your defenses."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "A store can't charge you a fee for retrieving the property or for terminating or rescinding the agreement (42 Pa.C.S. §6904). Because the agreement renews one term at a time, you can return the item and stop future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Pennsylvania enforces the act through civil law: a violation counts as a violation of the state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, which carries its own enforcement and a private right of action for consumers (42 Pa.C.S. §6909). The act's duties and penalties run against a store that breaks the rules, not a customer who falls behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Pennsylvania has a theft-of-leased-property crime (18 Pa.C.S. §3932): obtaining property under a lease and then intentionally dealing with it as your own, by selling, hiding, converting, or otherwise disposing of it. Intent is presumed if you used a false name and didn't return it on time, or if you fail to return it within 7 days after a written demand sent by both first-class and certified or registered mail. It targets converting or refusing to return the item after a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "42 Pa.C.S. §6904: Prohibited provisions (breach of the peace; entry without consent; late-fee cap)",
          "url": "https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=PDF&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=69",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "42 Pa.C.S. §6906: Lessee's right to reinstate agreement after termination",
          "url": "https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=PDF&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=69",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "42 Pa.C.S. §6909: Lessor's liability for noncompliance",
          "url": "https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=PDF&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=69",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "18 Pa.C.S. §3932: Theft of leased property",
          "url": "https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/18/00.039.032.000..HTM",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "rhode-island",
      "name": "Rhode Island",
      "abbr": "RI",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Rhode Island Rental-Purchase Agreements law (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 6-44-1 to 6-44-12)",
      "statuteUrl": "http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE6/6-44/INDEX.HTM",
      "summary": "Rhode Island's rental-purchase law bars a store from breaching the peace to repossess, gives you up to three lease terms to reinstate for a fee capped at $5, and enforces violations civilly. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned within three lease terms after the end of the last term you paid on time. You surrender the item if asked and pay unpaid lease payments, delinquency charges, a reinstatement fee of no more than $5, and any delivery charge (R.I. Gen. Laws §6-44-5)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Your agreement includes an early-purchase option, and you acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments (R.I. Gen. Laws §6-44-6)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "A reinstatement fee can't exceed $5, on top of your unpaid payments and delinquency charges (R.I. Gen. Laws §6-44-5)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize the lessor to commit a breach of the peace in repossession, and it can't include a confession of judgment or a waiver of your defenses (R.I. Gen. Laws §6-44-4)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one lease term at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Rhode Island enforces violations of its rental-purchase law civilly (R.I. Gen. Laws §6-44-9), not by charging customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Rhode Island makes it larceny for a person in possession of leased personal property to refuse to return it after the lease expires with intent to deprive the owner, or to sell, transfer, or conceal it (R.I. Gen. Laws §11-41-16.1). Using a false name or address to get the property is prima facie evidence of that intent, and the penalty follows the state's general larceny grading by value (§11-41-5). It targets refusing to return the item with intent to deprive, not being behind; returning the item takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "R.I. Gen. Laws §6-44-4: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE6/6-44/6-44-4.HTM",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "R.I. Gen. Laws §6-44-5: Reinstatement",
          "url": "http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE6/6-44/6-44-5.HTM",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "R.I. Gen. Laws §6-44-6: Early purchase option",
          "url": "http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE6/6-44/6-44-6.HTM",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "R.I. Gen. Laws §6-44-9: Enforcement; civil liability",
          "url": "http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE6/6-44/6-44-9.HTM",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "R.I. Gen. Laws §11-41-16.1: Sale or concealment of leased personal property",
          "url": "https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE11/11-41/11-41-16.1.HTM",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        },
        {
          "title": "R.I. Gen. Laws §11-41-5: Penalties for larceny",
          "url": "https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE11/11-41/11-41-5.HTM",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "south-carolina",
      "name": "South Carolina",
      "abbr": "SC",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "South Carolina Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreements (S.C. Code §§ 37-2-701 to 37-2-714)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t37c002.php",
      "summary": "South Carolina's consumer rental-purchase law, part of the Consumer Protection Code, caps almost every fee a store can charge, lets you reinstate after a missed payment as long as you're no more than 60 days behind, and gives you the right to return the item or buy it early at a discount. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 60,
        "notes": "If you miss a payment you have the right to reinstate the original agreement without losing any rights or options you'd earned, as long as the agreement is not more than 60 days in default and, where the store has asked for the item back, you surrendered it during the time payments were missed (S.C. Code §37-2-714). To reinstate you pay the outstanding accrued payments and delinquency charges, plus a delivery charge if the item has to be redelivered. On reinstatement the store must give you the same item or a comparable substitute."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "At any time after your first payment, you can buy the item early by tendering 55% of the difference between the total of scheduled payments and what you've already paid, so the further along you are, the less the early buyout costs (S.C. Code §§37-2-702, 37-2-713). Otherwise you own it once you've completed the total of scheduled payments."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "South Carolina caps the charges in a rental-purchase deal: a delinquency charge of no more than $4 (monthly or less often, after 5 business days) or $2 (more frequent, after 3 business days); an initial nonrefundable fee of no more than $5; a delivery charge of no more than $15 (or $45 for more than five items); and a pickup charge of no more than $7, limited in how often it can be assessed (S.C. Code §§37-2-705, 37-2-706). Apart from these, an agreement can't charge you for a default (§37-2-707)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "South Carolina's rental-purchase part doesn't include its own breach-of-the-peace clause; it focuses on charges, disclosures, and your rights to reinstate or return. As a general matter a store still can't break in or force a confrontation to take the item, and one that can't repossess peacefully has to use the courts. The law does bar an agreement from making you confess judgment (§37-2-712) or sign away your claims and defenses (§37-2-709)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Apart from the specific charges the law allows, a consumer rental-purchase agreement may not charge you for a default, and any such provision is unenforceable (S.C. Code §37-2-707). At any time after your first payment you can simply return the item (§37-2-713), which stops future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. South Carolina's rental-purchase law sits inside the Consumer Protection Code and works through civil rules (caps on charges, disclosure duties, and your reinstatement and return rights), not criminal penalties against a customer who falls behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": false,
          "notes": "South Carolina protects rent-to-own customers here. Its failure-to-return larceny statute, which otherwise makes it a crime to wilfully and fraudulently fail to return rented property within 72 hours after the rental agreement has expired, expressly does not apply to lease-purchase agreements (S.C. Code §16-13-420). A rent-to-own deal is a lease-purchase agreement, so that crime cannot be used against you. Returning the item is still the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "S.C. Code §37-2-714: Lessee's right to reinstatement",
          "url": "https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t37c002.php",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "S.C. Code §37-2-713: Right to return, continue, or purchase before end of agreement",
          "url": "https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t37c002.php",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "S.C. Code §§37-2-705 to 37-2-707: Delinquency charges; deposits and charges; default",
          "url": "https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t37c002.php",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "S.C. Code §16-13-420: Failure to return leased or rented property (excludes lease-purchase)",
          "url": "https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t16c013.php",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "south-dakota",
      "name": "South Dakota",
      "abbr": "SD",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "South Dakota Lease-Purchase Agreements law (S.D. Codified Laws ch. 54-6A)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/54-6A",
      "summary": "South Dakota's lease-purchase law bars a store from entering your premises or breaching the peace to repossess, gives reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds, and lets you return the item without penalty. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent). If the property was returned, you have at least 21 days after the return, or at least 45 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more toward ownership (S.D. Codified Laws §54-6A-7)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments; your agreement must also disclose an early-purchase option and the price or formula for it (S.D. Codified Laws §54-6A-5)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "South Dakota requires late, default, pickup, and reinstatement fees to be separately disclosed in the contract (S.D. Codified Laws §54-6A-5); the chapter doesn't set fixed dollar caps, so read your contract's fee terms closely."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement can't authorize the lessor to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossession, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a negotiable instrument, a security interest in your other goods, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your claims or defenses (S.D. Codified Laws §54-6A-6)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "South Dakota lets you terminate without penalty by voluntarily returning the property in good repair at the end of any lease term, along with any past-due payments (S.D. Codified Laws §54-6A-5). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. South Dakota's lease-purchase law is a consumer-protection statute. Its remedies run against a store that breaks the rules, not against customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. South Dakota makes it theft to intentionally convert leased or rented personal property to your own use after receiving proper notice demanding its return once the lease has expired (S.D. Codified Laws §22-30A-13). Proper notice is a written demand by certified or registered mail, or personal service. A separate section sets out an affirmative defense built from several factors taken as a whole, including that you gave your accurate name and address at the time of rental and that you returned the item within 48 hours of notice that a prosecution had started (S.D. Codified Laws §22-30A-14). It targets keeping the item after a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "S.D. Codified Laws §54-6A-5: Information required in disclosure (early purchase; termination)",
          "url": "https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/54-6A-5",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "S.D. Codified Laws §54-6A-6: Provisions prohibited in agreements",
          "url": "https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/54-6A-6",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "S.D. Codified Laws §54-6A-7: Reinstatement; repossession",
          "url": "https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/54-6A-7",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "S.D. Codified Laws §22-30A-13: Theft by conversion of rented personalty after notice",
          "url": "https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/22-30A-13",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "S.D. Codified Laws §22-30A-14: Affirmative defense to conversion of leased or rented personalty",
          "url": "https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/22-30A-14",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "tennessee",
      "name": "Tennessee",
      "abbr": "TN",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Tennessee Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-18-601–47-18-614)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/",
      "summary": "Tennessee regulates rent-to-own under its Rental-Purchase Agreement Act. If you fall behind, you have a right to reinstate the agreement without losing what you've built up, an agreement can't authorize a store to break into your home or breach the peace to repossess, and because the deal renews one payment at a time you can return the item and stop owing future payments. Missing payments isn't a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 5,
        "notes": "Tennessee requires a rental-purchase agreement to let a consumer who misses a timely payment reinstate the agreement without losing any rights or options. The base window is 5 days after the renewal date for monthly payments (2 days if payments are more often). If you voluntarily surrender the item, you have at least 30 days after the return to reinstate — and that post-return window grows the more you've paid toward ownership: at least 90 days once you've paid 60% or more of the total needed to own, and at least 180 days at 80% or more (Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-607)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Tennessee is an option-to-purchase state: you own the item once you make the number and total of payments needed to acquire ownership, which the agreement must disclose up front (§47-18-604). Paying a larger share also lengthens how long you have to reinstate after returning the item — at least 90 days once you've paid 60%, and at least 180 days at 80% (§47-18-607)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Tennessee does not set a fixed dollar cap on the reinstatement or late fee. Instead, on reinstatement the most a store may charge is all past-due rental charges, the reasonable costs of pickup, redelivery, and any refurbishing, and any applicable late fee (§47-18-607). Late-payment, default, pickup, and reinstatement fees have to be disclosed separately from the total of payments (§47-18-604)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement in Tennessee may not authorize the store, or anyone acting for it, to unlawfully enter your premises or to commit any breach of the peace when repossessing the goods. The same section bars a confession of judgment, a garnishment-of-wages clause, a waiver of your defenses or counterclaims, and a requirement that you buy insurance from the store (§47-18-606)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one payment at a time, you are never locked into the full price. Tennessee's Act does not authorize a store to collect the remaining scheduled payments as a deficiency after you return the item; your obligation is limited to what you already owe. If you go the reinstatement route instead, the amount you owe is capped by statute to past-due charges plus reasonable pickup/redelivery/refurbishing costs and any applicable late fee (§47-18-607)."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Tennessee's Rental-Purchase Agreement Act carries civil liability for a store that breaks the rules — the greater of your actual damages or 25% of the total of payments needed to acquire ownership (at least $100 and no more than $1,000), plus costs and attorney's fees (§47-18-611). That is aimed at lessors, not at customers who miss a payment.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Under Tenn. Code Ann. §39-14-108, failing to return leased or rented personal property can be prosecuted as theft, but only after a specific process: the owner must send written notice to return the property by registered or certified mail, and you must fail to return it both by the agreement's return date and within 10 days after that notice is mailed. If it's charged, the grade follows Tennessee's general theft ladder in §39-14-105 — a Class A misdemeanor if the property is worth $1,000 or less, and a Class E felony (or higher) if it is worth more than $1,000. This targets refusing to return the item after a proper written demand, not being behind and trying to catch up; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-601 et seq.: Rental-Purchase Agreement Act — official Tennessee Code, Title 47, Ch. 18, Part 6",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-603: Definitions (rental-purchase agreement; consumer)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-604: Required disclosures (ownership; fees)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-606: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-607: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tenn. Code Ann. §47-18-611: Civil liability of lessor",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tenn. Code Ann. §39-14-108: Theft of rental property (failure to return)",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tenn. Code Ann. §39-14-105: Grading of theft",
          "url": "https://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "texas",
      "name": "Texas",
      "abbr": "TX",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Texas Rental-Purchase Agreements law (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 92)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.92.htm",
      "summary": "Texas regulates rent-to-own under Chapter 92 of its Business & Commerce Code. A store can't breach the peace to repossess, late and reinstatement fees are capped at $10, returning the item extends your reinstatement window by at least 30 days, and missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 30,
        "notes": "You can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up before the later of one week after the due date, or half of a regular payment period after the due date (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §92.053). If you return the merchandise during the reinstatement period, your right to reinstate is extended at least 30 days after the return (§92.103)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You can't be required to pay any extra balloon payment at the end, or to pay more than the disclosed total to acquire ownership of the merchandise (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §92.054). You own it once you've made that disclosed total."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$10",
        "otherNotes": "A late charge or reinstatement fee must be at least $5 and no more than the lesser of $10 or 10% of the delinquent payment, only one may be charged per payment, and only after a payment is more than 7 days late (monthly) or 3 days (more frequent) (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §92.055)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement can't authorize a merchant to commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the merchandise, and it can't include a confession of judgment or a waiver of your defenses (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §92.054)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Texas bars requiring you to pay more than the disclosed total to acquire ownership (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §92.054). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the merchandise and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. A merchant's violation of Chapter 92 is a civil deceptive trade practice (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §92.202), and a harmed consumer can recover damages plus 25% of the total payments to own the item (at least $250, up to $1,000) and attorney's fees (§92.201). There are no criminal charges against customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Texas treats holding rented property beyond the rental period, without the owner's consent, as theft of service (Tex. Penal Code §31.04). The trigger is failing to return the property after a written notice demanding its return: 5 days for property worth less than $2,500, 3 days from $2,500 to under $10,000, and 2 days at $10,000 or more. The charge is graded by the item's value. It targets keeping the item after a proper notice, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the notice, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §92.053: Reinstatement (required provisions)",
          "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.92.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §92.054: Prohibited provisions",
          "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.92.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §92.055: Restrictions on late charges and reinstatement fees",
          "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.92.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §§92.201–92.202: Civil enforcement; deceptive trade practice",
          "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.92.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Tex. Penal Code §31.04: Theft of service (failure to return rented property)",
          "url": "https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.31.htm",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "utah",
      "name": "Utah",
      "abbr": "UT",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Utah Rental Purchase Agreement Act (Utah Code §§ 15-8-1 to 15-8-12)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title15/Chapter8/15-8.html",
      "summary": "Utah's Rental Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from entering your premises or breaching the peace to repossess, gives reinstatement rights that grow once you've paid two-thirds, lets you return the item without penalty, and enforces violations civilly. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned by catching up within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly) or 2 days (more frequent). If you returned the property, you can reinstate within at least 45 days (if you'd paid less than two-thirds) or at least 90 days (if you'd paid two-thirds or more) (Utah Code §15-8-8)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "You acquire ownership by completing the disclosed total of payments; your agreement must also disclose an early-purchase option and the price or formula for it (Utah Code §15-8-6)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Utah requires late, default, pickup, and reinstatement fees to be separately disclosed in the agreement (Utah Code §15-8-6); the act doesn't set fixed dollar caps, so read your contract's fee terms closely."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental purchase agreement can't authorize the lessor to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace while repossessing, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a negotiable instrument, a wage assignment, a waiver of your claims or defenses, or mandatory insurance (Utah Code §15-8-7)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Utah lets you terminate without penalty by voluntarily returning the property in good repair at the end of any rental period, along with any past-due payments (Utah Code §15-8-6). Because the agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. A lessor that violates the act is liable to the consumer civilly, for actual damages or 25% of the total payments to own the item (at least $100, up to $1,000), plus costs and fees (Utah Code §15-8-11).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Utah's theft-by-custodian law reaches a person who has custody of property under a rental or lease agreement and intentionally fails to return it in a way that is a gross deviation from the agreement (Utah Code §76-6-410). There is no set written-demand period, but the bar is high: it takes an intentional failure that grossly departs from the agreement, not simply being behind. The charge is graded by the item's value. Returning the item, or arranging its return, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Utah Code §15-8-6: Disclosures (early purchase; termination)",
          "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title15/Chapter8/15-8-S6.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Utah Code §15-8-7: Prohibited practices",
          "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title15/Chapter8/15-8-S7.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Utah Code §15-8-8: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title15/Chapter8/15-8-S8.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Utah Code §15-8-11: Enforcement; penalties",
          "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title15/Chapter8/15-8-S11.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Utah Code §76-6-410: Theft by custodian of property pursuant to repair or rental agreement",
          "url": "https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title76/Chapter6/76-6-S410.html",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "vermont",
      "name": "Vermont",
      "abbr": "VT",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Vermont Rent-to-Own Agreements law (9 V.S.A. § 41b)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/09/004",
      "summary": "Vermont's rent-to-own law is among the most protective: a store can't enter your home or breach the peace, must give 14 days' notice before suing, faces strict limits on collection calls, and you get up to 180 days to reinstate after surrendering the item. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "You can reinstate by catching up within 5 business days of the renewal date (monthly) or 3 business days (more frequent). Before suing you, the merchant must give 14 days' written notice of default and your right to reinstate. If you voluntarily surrender the item, you have at least 180 days after the merchant retakes possession to reinstate (9 V.S.A. §41b)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "At any time after your first payment, you can buy the item early for the cash price minus 50% of your previous payments, so the more you've paid, the cheaper it is to own it (9 V.S.A. §41b)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Beyond fee limits, Vermont focuses heavily on collection conduct (see repossession), capping how a merchant can contact you about an overdue account."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": true,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rent-to-own merchant can't unlawfully enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossession (9 V.S.A. §41b). Vermont also limits collection: a merchant can't contact you more than six times a week about an overdue account, call your workplace after you or your employer object, use abusive language, or threaten unwarranted legal action."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rent-to-own agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Vermont treats violations of its rent-to-own law as unfair and deceptive acts in commerce (9 V.S.A. §2453), enforced civilly, not by charging customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Vermont has a theft-of-rented-property crime (13 V.S.A. §2591): converting rented personal property to your own use, or refusing or neglecting to return it under a written agreement. Rental agreements must carry a bold-face warning that not returning the item within 72 hours of a notice to return, or within 15 days after the agreement expires, may be treated as evidence of intent to commit larceny. The penalty depends on value (up to 6 months for items worth $900 or less, up to 2 years above that). It targets keeping the item after a proper notice, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the notice, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "9 V.S.A. §41b: Rent-to-own agreements",
          "url": "https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/09/004",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "9 V.S.A. §2453: Unfair and deceptive acts in commerce",
          "url": "https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/09/063/02453",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "13 V.S.A. §2591: Theft of rented property",
          "url": "https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/13/057/02591",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "virginia",
      "name": "Virginia",
      "abbr": "VA",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Virginia Lease-Purchase Agreement Act (Va. Code §§ 59.1-207.17 to 59.1-207.27)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title59.1/chapter17.4/",
      "summary": "Virginia's Lease-Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, lets you reinstate with a longer window once you've paid two-thirds or more, and lets you return the item at the end of a term without penalty. Violations are enforced as consumer-protection violations against the store, and missing payments is never a crime. Note that Virginia doesn't set fixed dollar fee caps.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights you'd earned. While you still have the item, you can cure within 5 days of the renewal date (monthly payments) or 2 days (more frequent). If the item was returned, you have at least 21 days after the return, or at least 45 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more. Reinstatement requires past-due charges, reasonable pickup/redelivery costs, and any applicable late fee (Va. Code §59.1-207.23)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Virginia requires your agreement to disclose an early-purchase option and the price, formula, or method for it; you acquire ownership by completing all the scheduled payments (Va. Code §59.1-207.21)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Virginia's act doesn't set fixed dollar caps on late or reinstatement fees; those come from your agreement. A reinstatement requires past-due charges, reasonable pickup/redelivery costs, and any applicable late fee (Va. Code §59.1-207.23)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement may not authorize the store to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the goods, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your claims (Va. Code §59.1-207.22)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Virginia lets you terminate the agreement without penalty by voluntarily returning the property in good repair at the end of a lease term, along with any past-due payments (Va. Code §59.1-207.21). Because it renews one term at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Virginia treats violations of its lease-purchase law as prohibited practices under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (Va. Code §59.1-207.27, applying §59.1-200), civil enforcement aimed at the store, not at customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": false,
          "notes": "Virginia protects rent-to-own customers here. Its fraudulent-conversion-of-leased-property crime, which otherwise reaches a lessee who fails to return leased property within 30 days of a written notice, expressly excludes property covered by the Virginia Lease-Purchase Agreement Act (Va. Code §18.2-118). A rent-to-own agreement is governed by that Act, so that crime cannot be used against you. Returning the item is still the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Va. Code §59.1-207.21: Required disclosures; early purchase; termination",
          "url": "https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter17.4/section59.1-207.21/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Va. Code §59.1-207.22: Prohibited provisions (entry, breach of peace)",
          "url": "https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter17.4/section59.1-207.22/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Va. Code §59.1-207.23: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter17.4/section59.1-207.23/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Va. Code §59.1-207.27: Enforcement (Virginia Consumer Protection Act)",
          "url": "https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter17.4/section59.1-207.27/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Va. Code §59.1-200: Prohibited practices (Virginia Consumer Protection Act)",
          "url": "https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/chapter17/section59.1-200/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Va. Code §18.2-118: Fraudulent conversion of leased property (excludes Lease-Purchase Act)",
          "url": "https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter5/section18.2-118/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "washington",
      "name": "Washington",
      "abbr": "WA",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Washington Lease-Purchase Agreements law (RCW Chapter 63.19)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=63.19",
      "summary": "Washington's lease-purchase law bars a store from entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, and gives you reinstatement rights that last longer once you've paid two-thirds or more. Violations are enforced through the state Consumer Protection Act, and missing payments is never a crime. Note that Washington doesn't set fixed dollar caps on fees.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If you fall behind, you can reinstate without losing rights or options you'd earned. While you still have the item, you can cure within 10 days of the renewal date (monthly payments) or 5 days (more frequent). If the item was returned, you have at least 21 days after the return to reinstate, or at least 45 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more. Reinstatement requires past-due charges, reasonable pickup/redelivery costs, and any applicable late fee (RCW 63.19.060)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Washington follows the standard lease-purchase model: you acquire ownership by completing all the scheduled payments, and your agreement must disclose the total cost to own and any early-purchase option (RCW 63.19.040)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "Washington's lease-purchase law doesn't set fixed dollar caps on late or reinstatement fees; those are set in your agreement. It does limit what a reinstatement can require to past-due charges, reasonable pickup/redelivery costs, and any applicable late fee (RCW 63.19.060)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A lease-purchase agreement may not authorize the store to enter your premises or commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the goods, and it can't include a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, or a waiver of your claims or defenses (RCW 63.19.050)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a lease-purchase agreement renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. Washington enforces violations of its lease-purchase law through the state Consumer Protection Act (RCW 63.19.110, applying chapter 19.86 RCW), a civil framework aimed at businesses, not at customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question, and Washington's theft statute names rent-to-own directly. It is theft to keep rented, leased, or lease-purchased property with intent to deprive the owner after proper notice (RCW 9A.56.096). Proper notice is a written demand by certified or registered mail sent after the due date. The charge is graded by the item's replacement value, from a gross misdemeanor up to a class B felony. It targets keeping the item after a proper demand, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the demand, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "RCW 63.19.050: Agreement restrictions (entry, breach of peace, prohibited terms)",
          "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=63.19.050",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "RCW 63.19.060: Reinstatement of agreement",
          "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=63.19.060",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "RCW 63.19.110: Violation; application of Consumer Protection Act",
          "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=63.19.110",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "RCW 9A.56.096: Theft of rental, leased, lease-purchased, or loaned property",
          "url": "https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9A.56.096",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "west-virginia",
      "name": "West Virginia",
      "abbr": "WV",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "West Virginia Consumer Goods Rental Protection Act (W. Va. Code ch. 46B)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://code.wvlegislature.gov/46B/",
      "summary": "West Virginia's rent-to-own law gives you 60 days to reinstate after falling behind (90 days once you've paid more than 40% toward ownership), caps the reinstatement fee at $5, and a store generally can't breach the peace to repossess. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 60,
        "notes": "You can reinstate within 60 days after the end of the last period you paid on time, extended to 90 days if you'd paid more than 40% of the payments needed to own the item. One limit: you can't reinstate after a dealer has lawfully repossessed the goods twice during the same transaction (W. Va. Code §46B-3-4)."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": 40,
        "effect": "Paying more than 40% of the payments needed to own the item extends your reinstatement window from 60 days to 90 days after falling behind (W. Va. Code §46B-3-4)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": "$5",
        "otherNotes": "When the goods have been repossessed or returned before reinstatement, the dealer may charge a nominal reinstatement fee of no more than $5 (W. Va. Code §46B-3-4)."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "As with any self-help repossession, a store generally can't break into your home or use force to take the item back. West Virginia's rent-to-own law also limits collection conduct and prohibits a range of dealer practices; when a dealer violates the chapter, you can recover actual damages, attorney's fees and costs, and a civil penalty of $100 to $1,000 per violation (W. Va. Code §46B-8-1)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "Because a rent-to-own transaction renews one period at a time, you can return the item and stop owing future payments rather than being held to a full purchase price."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. West Virginia's rent-to-own law provides civil remedies (actual damages, attorney's fees and costs, and a civil penalty of $100 to $1,000 per violation under W. Va. Code §46B-8-1) aimed at dealers who break the rules, not at customers who fall behind.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. West Virginia makes it larceny for a person who holds property under a written lease to, with intent to defraud, secrete or convert it after receiving a written notice to return it (W. Va. Code §61-3-32). The notice is sent by certified mail after the lease expires, giving you 10 days to return the property; failing to return within those 10 days is prima facie evidence of intent to defraud. It targets hiding or keeping the item after a proper notice, not being behind; returning the item, or responding to the notice, takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "W. Va. Code §46B-3-4: Reinstatement (Default article)",
          "url": "https://code.wvlegislature.gov/46B-3/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "W. Va. Code §46B-8-1: Enforcement; consumer remedies",
          "url": "https://code.wvlegislature.gov/46B-8/",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "W. Va. Code ch. 46B: Consumer Goods Rental Protection Act",
          "url": "https://code.wvlegislature.gov/46B/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "W. Va. Code §61-3-32: Fraudulent disposition of leased property; failure to return",
          "url": "https://code.wvlegislature.gov/61-3-32/",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-21"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "wisconsin",
      "name": "Wisconsin",
      "abbr": "WI",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": false,
      "statuteName": "Wisconsin Consumer Act (Wis. Stat. chs. 421–427), applied to rent-to-own as a consumer credit sale (§421.301(9)); default and repossession governed by ch. 425 (§§425.104, 425.105, 425.206, 425.209)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/421.301(9)",
      "summary": "Wisconsin doesn't have a standalone rent-to-own act. Instead, most rent-to-own of household goods is treated as a consumer credit sale under the Wisconsin Consumer Act (Wis. Stat. §421.301(9)), which is generally more protective than a typical RTO-act state. Before a store can repossess, it must send a default notice and give you 15 days to catch up (§§425.104, 425.105), and it can't breach the peace or enter your home to take the item (§425.206). Falling behind is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": 15,
        "notes": "Wisconsin's analog to reinstatement is the statutory right to cure a default. If your rent-to-own is a consumer credit sale, the store generally can't accelerate, sue, or take the item until it sends you a written default notice and 15 days pass; during those 15 days you can cure by paying all unpaid installments due plus any delinquency or deferral charges (Wis. Stat. §§425.104, 425.105(1)–(2)). The right to cure does not exist if you had already defaulted, been noticed, and cured twice on the same transaction in the preceding 12 months (§425.105(3))."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Wisconsin treats a qualifying rent-to-own as a consumer credit sale in which you become the owner once you complete the agreement's terms (Wis. Stat. §421.301(9)). There is no statutory ownership percentage — the share that makes you the owner is set by your own contract. (A separate 60% figure appears in the deficiency rules: after a repossession of goods, no deficiency is owed on smaller debts unless you had paid less than 60% of the cash price, §425.209(2) — that is about what you can be charged, not about ownership.) The [ownership calculator](/tools/ownership-calculator/) can help you see how far along you are."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "The Wisconsin Consumer Act does not set a fixed dollar cap on a reinstatement or cure fee the way a dedicated RTO act does. To cure a default you tender the unpaid installments due plus any unpaid delinquency or deferral charges the agreement lawfully imposes (Wis. Stat. §425.105(2)); delinquency charges themselves are limited by the Act (see ch. 422). No acceleration is allowed as part of a cure (§425.105(2))."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": true,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "For a consumer credit sale or consumer lease, a store generally can't take the item except by voluntary surrender, a court judgment, statutory abandonment, or (for motor vehicles only) after the notice period runs (Wis. Stat. §425.206(1)). When taking possession it may not commit a breach of the peace (§425.206(2)(a)) or enter a dwelling used as your residence except at your voluntary request (§425.206(2)(b)). A default notice and 15-day cure period generally come first (§§425.104, 425.105)."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": null,
        "notes": "Wisconsin limits deficiency judgments. After repossessing goods, a merchant may seek a deficiency only if it disposed of the goods in good faith and in a commercially reasonable manner, and even then no deficiency is owed when the debt at default was $1,000 or less unless you had paid less than 60% of the cash price and did not renounce your rights after default (Wis. Stat. §425.209). This caps how much a store can chase you for after taking the item back."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil debt, not a crime, in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Consumer Act's enforcement is civil (ch. 425 and ch. 427), and nothing in it makes simply being late a criminal offense. Anyone telling you that you'll be arrested for missing rent-to-own payments is using a scare tactic.",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": true,
          "notes": "Keeping the item is a separate question. Wisconsin's theft statute reaches someone who intentionally fails to return personal property held under a written lease or written rental agreement after that agreement has expired (Wis. Stat. §943.20(1)(e)). A safe harbor applies: except for a motor vehicle, a person who returns the property within 10 days after the agreement expires is not covered. Penalties scale with value — for most household goods (value $2,500 or less) it is a Class A misdemeanor, rising to felony classes above $2,500 (§943.20(3)). This targets intentionally refusing to return the item after the term ends, not being behind and trying to catch up; returning the item takes you out of it."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Wis. Stat. §421.301(9): Definition of 'consumer credit sale' (covers rent-to-own of goods)",
          "url": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/421.301(9)",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Wis. Stat. §425.104: Notice of customer's right to cure default",
          "url": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/425.104",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Wis. Stat. §425.105: Cure of default (15-day right to cure; twice-in-12-months limit)",
          "url": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/425.105",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Wis. Stat. §425.206: Nonjudicial enforcement limited (no breach of peace; no home entry)",
          "url": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/425.206",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Wis. Stat. §425.209: Restrictions on deficiency judgments",
          "url": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/425.209",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        },
        {
          "title": "Wis. Stat. §943.20: Theft (subsec. (1)(e) failure to return leased/rented property; (3) value tiers)",
          "url": "https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/943.20",
          "retrieved": "2026-07-05"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "slug": "wyoming",
      "name": "Wyoming",
      "abbr": "WY",
      "eligibility": "full",
      "hasSpecificStatute": true,
      "statuteName": "Wyoming Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act (Wyo. Stat. §§ 40-19-101 to 40-19-120)",
      "statuteUrl": "https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title40.pdf",
      "summary": "Wyoming's Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act bars a store from unlawfully entering your home or breaching the peace to repossess, and, like Ohio, it forbids treating a simple failure to return the item as probable cause for a criminal charge. You can reinstate after a missed payment (longer if you'd returned the item), end the agreement without penalty by returning it, and buy it early. Missing payments is a civil matter, not a crime.",
      "reinstatement": {
        "available": true,
        "windowDays": null,
        "notes": "If your only default is a missed payment, you can reinstate without losing any rights or options. Within 7 days of the renewal date, you pay the past-due rental charges, the reasonable pickup and redelivery costs if the item was picked up, and any applicable reinstatement fee (Wyo. Stat. §40-19-110). If you returned the item within that 7-day window, you get more time: at least 21 days after the return if you'd paid less than two-thirds toward ownership, or at least 30 days if you'd paid two-thirds or more. On reinstatement the store must give you back the same item if available, or a comparable substitute."
      },
      "ownershipThreshold": {
        "percent": null,
        "effect": "Your agreement has to disclose your option to purchase, including the right to an early purchase option and the price, formula, or method for buying the item early (Wyo. Stat. §40-19-107). A store can't require a larger final 'balloon' payment to own it, or make you pay more than the disclosed amount necessary to acquire ownership (§40-19-108)."
      },
      "feeCaps": {
        "reinstatementFeeMax": null,
        "otherNotes": "A reinstatement fee can only be charged if a payment is more than 5 days late on a monthly agreement (or more than 2 days on a more frequent one), and reinstatement and pickup/redelivery fees can't exceed the maximum set by state rule (Wyo. Stat. §40-19-108). No extra late charge or penalty may be added for reinstating, beyond that reinstatement fee."
      },
      "repossession": {
        "noticeRequired": null,
        "homeEntryAllowed": false,
        "notes": "A rental-purchase agreement may not authorize the store, or anyone acting for it, to enter your premises unlawfully or to commit any breach of the peace in repossessing the property (Wyo. Stat. §40-19-108). After you've been in default at least 3 business days, the store can give you a written notice of default and a right to cure (§40-19-109). The same prohibited-provisions section also bars a confession of judgment, a wage assignment, and a waiver of your defenses."
      },
      "deficiency": {
        "allowed": false,
        "notes": "You may terminate the agreement without penalty by voluntarily returning the property in good repair (ordinary wear and tear excepted) at the end of any rental period, along with any past-due payments (Wyo. Stat. §40-19-107). Because it renews one period at a time, returning the item stops future payments."
      },
      "criminalCharges": {
        "possible": false,
        "notes": "Falling behind on payments is a civil matter, not a crime. The act's criminal penalties (a felony for obstructing the state's examination, a misdemeanor for disobeying the administrator's order) apply to a store, not a customer (Wyo. Stat. §40-19-118). A consumer harmed by a violation can recover the greater of actual damages or 25% of the total payments to own the item, at least $100 and up to $1,000, plus costs and attorney's fees (§40-19-119).",
        "failureToReturn": {
          "possible": false,
          "notes": "Wyoming protects rent-to-own customers here, like Ohio. A rental-purchase agreement may not provide that merely failing to return the property is probable cause for a criminal action (Wyo. Stat. §40-19-108). So a simple failure to return the goods cannot be turned into a criminal charge against you. Returning the item is still the clean way to end the matter."
        }
      },
      "lastVerified": "2026-07-05",
      "sources": [
        {
          "title": "Wyo. Stat. §40-19-108: Prohibited provisions (breach of the peace; no criminal probable cause)",
          "url": "https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title40.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Wyo. Stat. §40-19-110: Reinstatement",
          "url": "https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title40.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        },
        {
          "title": "Wyo. Stat. §40-19-119: Consumer civil actions",
          "url": "https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title40.pdf",
          "retrieved": "2026-06-19"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}