‘‘(1) deliver, or mail to the consumer’s last 
known address, such documents or other instru-
ments, which the Board has determined by regula-
tion, are necessary to acknowledge full ownership by 
the consumer of the property acquired pursuant to 
the rental-purchase agreement; and 
‘‘(2) transfer to the consumer the unexpired 
portion of any warranties provided by the manufac-
turer, distributor, or seller of the property, which 
shall apply as if the consumer were the original pur-
chaser of the property, except where such transfer is 
prohibited by the terms of the warranty. 
‘‘SEC. 1007. PROHIBITED PROVISIONS. 
‘‘A rental-purchase agreement may not contain— 
‘‘(1) a confession of judgment; 
‘‘(2) a negotiable instrument; 
‘‘(3) a security interest or any other claim of a 
property interest in any goods, except those goods 
the use of which is provided by the merchant pursu-
ant to the agreement; 
‘‘(4) a wage assignment; 
‘‘(5) a provision requiring the waiver of any 
legal claim or remedy created by this title or other 
provision of Federal or State law; 
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‘‘(6) a provision requiring the consumer, in the 
event the property subject to the rental-purchase 
agreement is lost, stolen, damaged, or destroyed, to 
pay an amount in excess of the least of— 
‘‘(A) the fair market value of the property, 
as determined by the Board in regulation; 
‘‘(B) any early purchase option amount 
provided in the rental-purchase agreement; or 
‘‘(C) the actual cost of repair, as appro-
priate; 
‘‘(7) a provision authorizing the merchant, or a 
person acting on behalf of the merchant, to enter the 
consumer’s dwelling or other premises without ob-
taining the consumer’s consent or to commit any 
breach of the peace in connection with the reposses-
sion of the rental property or the collection of any 
obligation or alleged obligation of the consumer aris-
ing out of the rental-purchase agreement; 
‘‘(8) a provision requiring the purchase of in-
surance or liability damage waiver to cover the prop-
erty that is the subject of the rental-purchase agree-
ment, except as permitted by the Board in regula-
tion; 
‘‘(9) a provision requiring the consumer to pay 
more than 1 late fee or charge for an unpaid or de-
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linquent periodic payment, regardless of the period 
in which the payment remains unpaid or delinquent, 
or to pay a late fee or charge for any periodic pay-
ment because a previously assessed late fee has not 
been paid in full. 
‘‘SEC. 1008. STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS. 
‘‘Upon request of a consumer, a merchant shall pro-
vide a statement of the consumer’s account. If a consumer 
requests a statement for an individual account more than 
4 times in any 12-month period, the merchant may charge 
a reasonable fee for the additional statements. 
‘‘SEC. 1009. RENEGOTIATIONS AND EXTENSIONS. 
‘‘(a) RENEGOTIATIONS.—A renegotiation occurs 
when a rental-purchase agreement is satisfied and re-
placed by a new agreement undertaken by the same con-
sumer. A renegotiation requires new disclosures, except as 
provided in subsection (c). 
‘‘(b) EXTENSIONS.—An extension is an agreement by 
the consumer and the merchant, to continue an existing 
rental-purchase agreement beyond the original end of the 
payment schedule, but does not include a continuation 
that is the result of a renegotiation. 
‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—New disclosures are not required 
for the following, even if they meet the definition of a re-
negotiation or an extension: 
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‘‘(1) A reduction in payments. 
‘‘(2) A deferment of 1 or more payments. 
‘‘(3) The extension of a rental-purchase agree-
ment. 
‘‘(4) The substitution of property with property 
that has a substantially equivalent or greater eco-
nomic value provided the rental-purchase cost does 
not increase. 
‘‘(5) The deletion of property in a multiple-item 
agreement. 
‘‘(6) A change in rental period provided the 
rental-purchase cost does not increase. 
‘‘(7) An agreement resulting from a court pro-
ceeding. 
‘‘(8) Any other event described in regulations 
prescribed by the Board. 
‘‘SEC. 1010. POINT-OF-RENTAL DISCLOSURES. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For any item of property or set 
of items displayed or offered for rental-purchase, the mer-
chant shall display on or next to the item or set of items 
a card, tag, or label that clearly and conspicuously dis-
closes the following: 
‘‘(1) A brief description of the property. 
‘‘(2) Whether the property is new or used. 
‘‘(3) The cash price of the property. 
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‘‘(4) The amount of each rental payment. 
‘‘(5) The total number of rental payments nec-
essary to acquire ownership of the property. 
‘‘(6) The rental-purchase cost. 
‘‘(b) FORM OF DISCLOSURE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A merchant may make the 
disclosure required by subsection (a) in the form of 
a list or catalog which is readily available to the con-
sumer at the point of rental if the merchandise is 
not displayed in the merchant’s showroom or if dis-
playing a card, tag, or label would be impractical 
due to the size of the merchandise. 
‘‘(2) CLEARLY AND CONSPICUOUSLY.—As used 
in this section, the term ‘clearly and conspicuously’ 
means that information required to be disclosed to 
the consumer shall appear in a type size, promi-
nence, and location as to be noticeable, readable, 
and comprehensible to an ordinary consumer. 
‘‘SEC. 1011. RENTAL-PURCHASE ADVERTISING. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If an advertisement for a rental- 
purchase transaction refers to or states the amount of any 
payment for any specific item or set of items, the mer-
chant making the advertisement shall also clearly and con-
spicuously state in the advertisement the following for the 
item, or set of items, advertised: 
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‘‘(1) The transaction advertised is a rental-pur-
chase agreement. 
‘‘(2) The amount, timing, and total number of 
rental payments necessary to acquire ownership 
under the rental-purchase agreement. 
‘‘(3) The amount of the rental-purchase cost. 
‘‘(4) To acquire ownership of the property the 
consumer must pay the rental-purchase cost plus ap-
plicable taxes. 
‘‘(5) Whether the stated payment amount and 
advertised rental-purchase cost is for new or used 
property. 
‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—An advertisement for a rental- 
purchase agreement shall not state or imply that a specific 
item, or set of items, is available at specific amounts or 
terms unless the merchant usually and customarily offers, 
or will offer, the item or set of items at the stated amounts 
or terms. 
‘‘(c) CLEARLY AND CONSPICUOUSLY.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this sec-
tion, the term ‘clearly and conspicuously’ means that 
required disclosures shall be presented in a type, 
size, shade, contrast, prominence, location, and man-
ner, as applicable to different mediums for adver-
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tising, so as to be readily noticeable and comprehen-
sible to the ordinary consumer. 
‘‘(2) REGULATORY
GUIDANCE.—The Board 
shall prescribe regulations on principles and factors 
to meet the clear and conspicuous standard as ap-
propriate to print, video, audio, and computerized 
advertising, reflecting the principles and factors typi-
cally applied in each medium by the Federal Trade 
Commission. 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Nothing contrary to, incon-
sistent with, or in mitigation of, the required disclo-
sures shall be used in any advertisement in any me-
dium, and no audio, video, or print technique shall 
be used that is likely to obscure or detract signifi-
cantly from the communication of the disclosures. 
‘‘SEC. 1012. CIVIL LIABILITY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 
section 1013, any merchant who fails to comply with any 
requirement of this title with respect to any consumer is 
liable to such consumer as provided for leases in section 
130. For purposes of this section, the term ‘creditor’ as 
used in section 130 shall include a ‘merchant’, as defined 
in section 1001. 
‘‘(b) JURISDICTION OF COURTS; LIMITATION ON AC-
TIONS.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 
130(e), any action under this section may be 
brought in any United States district court, or in 
any other court of competent jurisdiction, before the 
end of the 1-year period beginning on the date the 
last payment was made by the consumer under the 
rental-purchase agreement. 
‘‘(2) RECOUPMENT
OR
SET-OFF.—This sub-
section shall not bar a consumer from asserting a 
violation of this title in an action to collect an obli-
gation arising from a rental-purchase agreement, 
which was brought after the end of the 1-year period 
described in paragraph (1) as a matter of defense by 
recoupment or set-off in such action, except as oth-
erwise provided by State law. 
‘‘SEC. 1013. ADDITIONAL GROUNDS FOR CIVIL LIABILITY. 
‘‘(a) INDIVIDUAL CASES WITH ACTUAL DAMAGES.— 
Any merchant who fails to comply with any requirements 
imposed under section 1010 or 1011 with respect to any 
consumer who suffers actual damage from the violation 
shall be liable to such consumer as provided in section 
130. 
‘‘(b) PATTERN OR PRACTICE OF VIOLATIONS.—If a 
merchant engages in a pattern or practice of violating any 
requirement imposed under section 1010 or 1011, the 
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Federal Trade Commission or an appropriate State attor-
ney general, in accordance with section 1016, may initiate 
an action to enforce sanctions against the merchant, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(1) an order to cease and desist from such 
practices; and 
‘‘(2) a civil money penalty of such amount as 
the court may impose, based on such factors as the 
court may determine to be appropriate. 
‘‘SEC. 1014. LIABILITY OF ASSIGNEES. 
‘‘(a) ASSIGNEES INCLUDED.—For purposes of sec-
tion 1013, and this section, the term ‘merchant’ includes 
an assignee of a merchant. 
‘‘(b) LIABILITIES OF ASSIGNEES.— 
‘‘(1) APPARENT VIOLATION.—An action under 
section 1012 or 1013 for a violation of this title may 
be brought against an assignee only if the violation 
is apparent on the face of the rental-purchase agree-
ment to which it relates. 
‘‘(2) APPARENT
VIOLATION
DEFINED.—For 
purposes of this subsection, a violation that is appar-
ent on the face of a rental-purchase agreement in-
cludes, but is not limited to, a disclosure that can 
be determined to be incomplete or inaccurate from 
the face of the agreement. 
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‘‘(3) INVOLUNTARY ASSIGNMENT.—An assignee 
has no liability in a case in which the assignment is 
involuntary. 
‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—No provision 
of this section shall be construed as limiting or alter-
ing the liability under section 1012 or 1013 of a 
merchant assigning a rental-purchase agreement. 
‘‘(c) PROOF OF DISCLOSURE.—In an action by or 
against an assignee, the consumer’s written acknowledg-
ment of receipt of a disclosure, made as part of the rental- 
purchase agreement, shall be conclusive proof that the dis-
closure was made, if the assignee had no knowledge that 
the disclosure had not been made when the assignee ac-
quired the rental-purchase agreement to which it relates. 
‘‘SEC. 1015. REGULATIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall prescribe regu-
lations as necessary to carry out the purposes of this title, 
to prevent its circumvention, and to facilitate compliance 
with its requirements. 
‘‘(b) MODEL DISCLOSURE FORMS.—The Board may 
publish model disclosure forms and clauses for common 
rental-purchase agreements to facilitate compliance with 
the disclosure requirements of this title and to aid the con-
sumer in understanding the transaction by utilizing read-
ily understandable language to simplify the technical na-
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