Rent-to-Own Laws in Pennsylvania: Your Rights

Pennsylvania regulates rent-to-own through its Rental-Purchase Agreement Act (42 Pa.C.S. §§6901–6911). It caps the markup and the fees, blocks the harshest contract terms, and builds in a break if you lose income partway through.

Can I be arrested for not paying?

No. Falling behind on a rental-purchase agreement 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 misses payments.

Can I be charged with theft for keeping the item?

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.

This is about converting or 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 the demand, is what keeps you clear of it.

Can the store come into my home?

No. 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). That same section also bars a power of attorney to confess judgment and any waiver of your defenses. A store that can’t repossess peacefully has to use the courts.

What can the store charge?

Pennsylvania caps both the markup and the fees:

• the total cost of lease services can’t exceed the cash price of the property, so the most you’d pay to own it is capped relative to what it would cost outright (§6905);
• 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 (§6904);
• the store can’t charge a fee for retrieving the property or for terminating or rescinding the agreement, and an in-home collection fee is allowed only if it was disclosed and you agreed to it (§6904).

Reinstatement after a missed payment

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 back the same item or a comparable substitute.

A break if you lose income, and owning or returning

Pennsylvania has a provision few states match: if you lose 25% or more of your income through job loss, reduced employment, illness, pregnancy, or disability after you’ve paid two-thirds toward ownership, the store must reduce each payment by your income-loss percentage (or 50%, whichever is less) while the hardship lasts, without raising the total needed to own the item (42 Pa.C.S. §6907).

Otherwise, you can buy the item early at any time after your first payment, at the price your agreement and its payment chart spell out (§6905), or return it and stop future payments. The ownership calculator can help you compare.