Probably Stolen Rent Guide: Dates, Grace and the Buyout

Sources checked 2026-11-03 · Independent fan guide · Single-sourced claims are marked inline

Rent in Probably Stolen starts at 200 credits every seven days on Mark Up difficulty, rises over time, and is the clock the whole game runs on — the win condition is buying the shop outright. The store page's objective is one sentence: earn enough to buy out your shop before rising rent forces your hand. This guide puts the bills, the permit and the upgrade vendors in one ledger.

Rent, grace and eviction

India Times' endings guide carries the numbers: rent begins at 200 credits every seven days (Tpose Gaming pins the first Mark Up payment to day 7), and the Landlord may forgive a missed payment — once on Price Gouge and Mark Up, never on Thin Margins and Red Ink. On Mark Up a first refusal can be forgiven but the missed amount is added to the next bill; refuse again with no grace left and the run ends in You Defaulted On Your Rent. Tpose's habits: check the Calendar for the due date and keep the rent money mentally separate from machine savings. Tpose Gaming also warns that some starting scenarios begin with higher rent than others (which ones is not yet verified).

Buying the store: deed or mortgage

On any rent day, if your cash covers it, the Landlord offers a Buyout option next to paying rent. The deed's listed day-one values: 12,000 credits on Price Gouge and Mark Up, 24,000 on Thin Margins, 36,000 on Red Ink — and the property value rises slightly each day, so earlier is cheaper. The mortgage route through the Loan Shark swaps rent for weekly payments; if you miss a payment and he can't recoup it by seizing stock, the run ends in Repossession. Both wins unlock Keys to the Kingdom (21.2% of players globally) and let you Continue playing rent-free. The full trigger detail is in the endings guide.

The Business Permit is rent's second bill

Operating legally in the Lower Levels requires a Business Permit. India Times reports the Mentor warns on day 24 if you still lack one — permits go on sale two weeks after that warning, enforcement begins a week after they go on sale — and the listed prices run 500 credits (Price Gouge), 1,500 (Mark Up), 2,000 (Thin Margins) and 3,000 (Red Ink). Buying it unlocks the Authorized achievement (44.0% globally). India Times is also the only endings source that lists a No Permit losing ending for enforcement catching you permitless (not yet verified). Lou's storyline opens only after you own the permit, the same guide notes.

The nightly bills

GameSpew's advice is two words long: "Pay them!" At day's end the game offers power, security, janitorial and similar services; Into Indie Games' first-day run shows the power bill at 5 credits, and the run summary's Expenses tab tracks rent, power, Janitorial and Insurance Service separately (India Times).

Joe Wild's network and other upgrades

• Insurance: Joe Wild sells an overnight "insurance service" protecting the store from theft (Into Indie Games).
• Wild's Network upgrades: Wild's favors unlock store upgrades — Into Indie Games picked Red Imp Brewery and Showcase Expansion 1; favor grows from Lower Levels reputation or subscribing to his nightly protection. The Demo's Aquafarmer update added the Retired Aquafarmer fish-tank line.
• Display case and neon signs: set up on day five of the scripted week, they decide which customers — and what wealth level — show up (Into Indie Games; IGN adds swapping signs to match coming events).
• Vending machines: 1.0's headline passive income — they keep selling overnight after you close (release notes).
• Perks: your first run can't use active perks; from run two you can hold four at once (Into Indie Games). IGN names Model Citizen (extra Security reputation) and Intimidating (your crimes produce less evidence) as picks that suit a chemistry business.
• The Merchant: a premium seller visits weekly (Into Indie Games) — and patch 1.0.0.5 made him keep visiting every Sunday even after you buy the store.

Endless Mode sits beside the difficulties, but is not one

The Difficulty screen also offers Endless Mode, India Times notes — its description warns certain scripted events and customers will not spawn, so it trades the ending (and its stats screen) for an open-ended run. If what you want is the win, stay off it and let the money guide build the buffer that gets you to a buyout.