How rent-to-own could lead to jail

TAMPA - It may seem like an easy way to fill your house with some high-end electronics and furniture you may not be able to afford.

Rent-to-own stores are a booming business’a $411 million business in Florida alone.

In these hard economic times, people in the Bay Area are flocking to them, but when you can’t pay the bill, you may end up in jail.

It's called "failure to redeliver leased property." It’s a law that’s been on the books for rent-to-own contracts since 2001. It’s also a third degree felony.

So along with a bad credit rating, you could spend up to five years in prison.

According to a 2001 Florida Senate report, the Florida Rental Dealers Association claimed the law would stop people from "pawning or absconding with rental purchase property" without facing criminal charges.

Marc Edelman is the general counsel for Buddy’s home furnishings. When you sign a rental agreement, criminal charges are actually one of the terms you agree to if you can’t pay.

Edelman says that pressing charges is an extreme option.

Judge Greg Holder says he has seen a surge in these cases over the past two years in his felony division alone. He says he finds the trend disturbing.

Although it may sound a bit extreme for not returning rental property to be a felony, the principle behind it is still sound, experts say: the bottom line is, if you can’t afford it, you probably don’t need it.

Spending one minute in jail, let alone five years in prison because you really wanted that flat screen tv, just isn’t worth it.