Rent-to-Own Laws in Florida: Your Rights

Florida is one of the better states to be in if you’ve fallen behind on a rent-to-own agreement. Its Rental-Purchase Agreement Act spells out real, specific protections, and several of them are stronger than what people assume.

Can the store come into my home?

No. Florida law specifically bars a rental-purchase agreement from giving the store any right to unlawfully enter your home or to breach the peace when it repossesses the item (Fla. Stat. §559.9234). The same section blocks some other aggressive tactics: an agreement can’t make you give up your legal defenses, “confess judgment,” hand over a power of attorney, or allow your wages to be garnished. If a store breaks in or forces a confrontation to take the item, that’s not allowed.

Can I be arrested for not paying?

No. Falling behind 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). That penalty is aimed at lessors who break the rules, not at customers who miss payments. Anyone telling you that you’ll be arrested for falling behind is using a scare tactic.

Can I be charged with theft for keeping the item?

Keeping the item is a separate question. Florida has a failure-to-return crime that sits outside the Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (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. Two details matter for rent-to-own: the agreement has to contain a specific notice you initial before anyone can be prosecuted, and not returning the item within 5 days of a certified-mail or courier demand is treated as evidence of refusal.

This is about refusing to return the item after a proper demand, not about being behind and trying to catch up. If you decide to walk away, returning the item, or responding to a demand, is what keeps you clear of it.

Getting the item back: 60 days to reinstate

This is Florida’s most valuable protection if you want to keep the item. You have the right to reinstate the agreement, and keep any rights or options you’d already earned, by paying what you owe within 60 days after the end of the last rental period you paid on time (§559.9235). What you have to pay is limited: your unpaid rental payments, any late charges, a reinstatement fee of no more than $5, and a redelivery charge if the item has to be brought back to you. You generally have to return the item promptly if the store asks while you sort this out.

Returning the item: you owe nothing extra

Because a rental-purchase agreement renews one payment at a time, you are never locked into the full “price.” Florida bars any penalty for ending the agreement early or returning the item at any time, apart from amounts you already owe (§559.9234). In plain terms: if you decide you can’t keep going, you can return the item and stop owing future payments.

Fees are capped

Florida caps several charges at small amounts. A late charge for a missed renewal payment can’t exceed $5, and it can only be collected once per payment, no matter how long it stays unpaid (§559.9237). The reinstatement fee is likewise capped at $5 (§559.9235). If you ask for a written account of your payments, the store can charge $5 only for a second or later request within a 12-month period (§559.9236).

Owning the item

Florida is an option-to-purchase state rather than a “you automatically own it after paying X%” state. You acquire ownership once you’ve paid all the sums needed to do so, or by using the early-purchase price formula your agreement is required to disclose (§559.9233). Once you’ve paid enough to own it, the store must deliver documents confirming that you own it (§559.9236). The ownership calculator can help you see how far along you are.