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Rent-to-Own Rights

Rent-to-Own Laws in Missouri: Your Rights

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.

What Missouri's rental-purchase law generally provides

Can you be charged with a crime?
Not for the debt, but keeping the item and refusing to return it can be charged as theft.
Can they enter your home?
No home entry without your permission
Getting it back (reinstatement)
Yes
Paid enough to own it?
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).
Fee caps
Reinstatement fee capped at $5
Owe a balance after repossession?
Not allowed

These describe what the statute says. Your own contract and the facts of your situation can affect how they apply.

Verified against Missouri rental-purchase agreement law (Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 407.660–407.665) on .

Missouri’s rental-purchase law is short but contains the protections that matter most when you’ve fallen behind, and it keeps the cost of catching up low.

Can the store come into my home?

No. A rental-purchase agreement in Missouri can’t authorize a merchant to commit a breach of the peace in repossessing the property, and it can’t require a confession of judgment (Mo. Rev. Stat. §407.662). Forcing entry or creating a confrontation isn’t allowed; a store that can’t repossess peacefully has to use the courts.

Can I be arrested for not paying?

No. Falling behind is a civil matter. Missouri treats violations of its rental-purchase law as civil violations of the Merchandising Practices Act (§407.665, which applies §407.020), aimed at merchants who break the rules, with a 10-day window to correct a violation, not at customers who miss payments.

Can I be charged with theft for keeping the item?

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, once that 7-day period passes 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.

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

Reinstatement: three rental terms to catch up

If you fall behind, you can reinstate the original agreement without losing rights or options you’d already earned, within three rental terms after the end of the last term you paid on time (§407.664). You surrender the item if the store asks, and to reinstate you pay your unpaid payments and delinquency charges, a reinstatement fee of no more than $5, and a delivery charge if the item has to be brought back.

Fees are capped at $5

Missouri caps the two charges that bite hardest: a late charge can’t exceed $5 for each payment in default (§407.662), and the reinstatement fee is also capped at $5 (§407.664).

No surprise balloon payments

Missouri blocks a common trap: a store can’t require any extra balloon payment at the end to acquire ownership, and can’t require rental payments greater than the total needed to own the item (§407.662). You own it once you’ve completed that disclosed total. The ownership calculator can help you track how close you are. Because the agreement renews one term at a time, you can also return the item and stop owing future payments.

Missouri rent-to-own questions

Can a rent-to-own store in Missouri have me arrested for missing payments?
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.
Can I be charged with theft for keeping rent-to-own property in Missouri?
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.
Can a rent-to-own store enter my home in Missouri to take the item back?
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).
Can I get rented rented merchandise back after it is repossessed in Missouri?
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).
In Missouri, can I owe money after the item is repossessed?
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.

Sources

Every statement about the law on this page links to the official statute itself, so you can read the law, not just our summary of it. Notice something out of date? Let us know.

Consumer information, not legal advice. For your situation, consider speaking with a licensed Missouri attorney or a local legal-aid office.