‘‘(3) provide that the consumer may terminate 
the agreement without paying any charges not pre-
viously due under the agreement by voluntarily sur-
rendering or returning the property that is the sub-
ject of the agreement upon expiration of any rental 
period; 
‘‘(4) contain a provision for reinstatement of 
the agreement, which at a minimum— 
‘‘(A) permits a consumer who fails to make 
a timely rental payment to reinstate the agree-
ment, without losing any rights or options 
which exist under the agreement, by the pay-
ment of all past due rental payments and any 
other charges then due under the agreement 
and a payment for the next rental period within 
7 business days after failing to make a timely 
rental payment if the consumer pays monthly, 
or within 3 business days after failing to make 
a timely rental payment if the consumer pays 
more frequently than monthly; 
‘‘(B) if the consumer returns or voluntarily 
surrenders the property covered by the agree-
ment, other than through judicial process, dur-
ing the applicable reinstatement period set forth 
in subparagraph (A), permits the consumer to
reinstate the agreement during a period of at 
least 60 days after the date of the return or 
surrender of the property by the payment of all 
amounts previously due under the agreement, 
any applicable fees, and a payment for the next 
rental period; 
‘‘(C) if the consumer has paid 50 percent 
or more of the total cost necessary to acquire 
ownership and returns or voluntarily surrenders 
the property, other than through judicial proc-
ess, during the applicable reinstatement period 
set forth in subparagraph (A), permits the con-
sumer to reinstate the agreement during a pe-
riod of at least 120 days after the date of the 
return of the property by the payment of all 
amounts previously due under the agreement, 
any applicable fees, and a payment for the next 
rental period; and 
‘‘(D) permits the consumer, upon rein-
statement of the agreement to receive the same 
property, if available, that was the subject of 
the rental-purchase agreement, or if the same 
property is not available, a substitute item of 
comparable quality and condition may be pro-
vided to the consumer; except that, the Board
may, by regulation or order, exempt any inde-
pendent small business (as defined by the 
Board by regulation) from the requirement of 
providing the same or comparable product dur-
ing the extended reinstatement period provided 
in subparagraph (C), if the Board determines, 
taking into account such standards as the 
Board determines to be appropriate, that the 
reinstatement right provided in such subpara-
graph would provide excessive hardship for such 
independent small business; 
‘‘(5) provide a statement specifying the terms 
under which the consumer shall acquire ownership of 
the property that is the subject of the rental-pur-
chase agreement either by payment of the total cost 
to acquire ownership, as provided in section 1006, or 
by exercise of any early purchase option provided in 
the rental-purchase agreement; 
‘‘(6) provide a statement disclosing that if any 
part of a manufacturer’s express warranty covers 
the property at the time the consumer acquires own-
ership of the property, the warranty will be trans-
ferred to the consumer if allowed by the terms of the 
warranty; and
‘‘(7) provide, to the extent applicable, a descrip-
tion of any grace period for making any periodic 
payment, the amount of any security deposit, if any, 
to be paid by the consumer upon initiation of the 
rental-purchase agreement, and the terms for refund 
of such security deposit to the consumer upon re-
turn, surrender or purchase of the property. 
‘‘(b) REPOSSESSION DURING REINSTATEMENT PE-
RIOD.—Subsection (a)(4) shall not be construed so as to 
prevent a merchant from attempting to repossess property 
during the reinstatement period pursuant to subsection 
(a)(4)(A), but such a repossession does not affect the con-
sumer’s right to reinstate. 
‘‘SEC. 1006. RIGHT TO ACQUIRE OWNERSHIP. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The consumer shall acquire own-
ership of the property that is the subject of the rental- 
purchase agreement, and the rental-purchase agreement 
shall terminate, upon compliance by the consumer with the 
requirements of subsection (b) or any early payment op-
tion provided in the rental purchase agreement, and upon 
payment of any past due payments and fees, as permitted 
in regulation by the Board. 
‘‘(b) PAYMENT
OF TOTAL COST.—The consumer 
shall acquire ownership of the rental property upon pay-
ment of the total cost of the rental-purchase agreement,
as such term is defined in section 1001(17), and as dis-
closed to the consumer in the rental-purchase agreement 
pursuant to section 1004(a). 
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL FEES PROHIBITED.—A merchant 
shall not require the consumer to pay, as a condition for 
acquiring ownership of the property that is the subject of 
the rental-purchase agreement, any fee or charge in addi-
tion to, or in excess of, the regular periodic payments re-
quired by subsection (b), or any early purchase option 
amount provided in the rental-purchase agreement, as ap-
plicable. A requirement that the consumer pay an unpaid 
late charge or other fee or charge which the merchant has 
previously billed to the consumer shall not constitute an 
additional fee or charge for purposes of this subsection. 
‘‘(d) TRANSFER
OF OWNERSHIP RIGHTS.—Upon 
payment by the consumer of all payments necessary to ac-
quire ownership under subsection (b) or any early pur-
chase option amount provided in the rental-purchase 
agreement, as appropriate, the merchant shall— 
‘‘(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; 
‘‘(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-
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: 
‘‘(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. 
‘‘(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: 
‘‘(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-
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.— 
‘‘(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 
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. 
‘‘(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. 
‘‘(b) 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-
ture of the disclosures. In devising such forms, the Board 
shall consider the use by merchants of data processing or 
similar automated equipment. Nothing in this title may
be construed to require a merchant to use any such model 
form or clause prescribed by the Board under this section. 
A merchant shall be deemed to be in compliance with the 
requirement to provide disclosure under section 1003(a) 
if the merchant— 
‘‘(1) uses any appropriate model form or clause 
as published by the Board; or 
‘‘(2) uses any such model form or clause and 
changes it by— 
‘‘(A) deleting any information which is not 
required by this title; or 
‘‘(B) rearranging the format, if in making 
such deletion or rearranging the format, the 
merchant does not affect the substance, clarity, 
or meaningful sequence of the disclosure. 
‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE OF REGULATIONS.—Any reg-
ulation prescribed by the Board, or any amendment or in-
terpretation thereof, shall not be effective before the Octo-
ber 1 that follows the date of publication of the regulation 
in final form by at least 6 months. The Board may at 
its discretion lengthen that period of time to permit mer-
chants to adjust to accommodate new requirements. The 
Board may also shorten that period of time, notwith-
standing the first sentence, if it makes a specific finding 
that such action is necessary to comply with the findings
of a court or to prevent unfair or deceptive practices. In 
any case, merchants may comply with any newly pre-
scribed disclosure requirement prior to its effective date. 
‘‘SEC. 1016. ENFORCEMENT. 
‘‘(a) FEDERAL ENFORCEMENT.—Compliance with 
the requirements imposed under this title shall be enforced 
under the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 
et seq.), and a violation of any requirements imposed 
under this title shall be deemed a violation of a require-
ment imposed under that Act. All of the functions and 
powers of the Federal Trade Commission under the Fed-
eral Trade Commission Act are available to the Commis-
sion to enforce compliance by any person with the require-
ments of this title, irrespective of whether that person is 
engaged in commerce or meets any other jurisdictional 
test in the Federal Trade Commission Act. 
‘‘(b) STATE ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An action to enforce the re-
quirements imposed by this title may also be 
brought by the appropriate State attorney general in 
any appropriate United States district court, or any 
other court of competent jurisdiction. 
‘‘(2) PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The State attorney 
general shall provide prior written notice of any
such civil action to the Federal Trade Commis-
sion and shall provide the Commission with a 
copy of the complaint. 
‘‘(B) EMERGENCY ACTION.—If prior notice 
is not feasible, the State attorney general shall 
provide notice to the Commission immediately 
upon instituting the action. 
‘‘(3) FTC INTERVENTION.—The Commission 
may— 
‘‘(A) intervene in the action; 
‘‘(B) upon intervening— 
‘‘(i) remove the action to the appro-
priate United States district court, if it 
was not originally brought there; and 
‘‘(ii) be heard on all matters arising in 
the action; and 
‘‘(C) file a petition for appeal. 
‘‘SEC. 1017. CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR WILLFUL AND KNOW-
ING VIOLATION. 
‘‘Whoever willfully and knowingly gives false or inac-
curate information or fails to provide information which 
he is required to disclose under the provisions of this title 
or any regulation issued thereunder shall be subject to the 
penalty provisions as provided in section 112.
‘‘SEC. 1018. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 
‘‘(a) RELATION TO STATE LAW.— 
‘‘(1) NO
EFFECT
ON
CONSISTENT
STATE 
LAWS.—Except as otherwise provided in subsection 
(b), this title does not annul, alter, or affect in any 
manner the meaning, scope or applicability of the 
laws of any State relating to rental-purchase agree-
ments, except to the extent those laws are incon-
sistent with any provision of this title, and then only 
to the extent of the inconsistency. 
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION
OF
INCONSISTENCY.— 
Upon its own motion or upon the request of an in-
terested party, which is submitted in accordance 
with procedures prescribed in regulations of the 
Board, the Board shall determine whether any such 
inconsistency exists. If the Board determines that a 
term or provision of a State law is inconsistent, mer-
chants located in that State need not follow such 
term or provision and shall incur no liability under 
the law of that State for failure to follow such term 
or provision, notwithstanding that such determina-
tion is subsequently amended, rescinded, or deter-
mined by judicial or other authority to be invalid for 
any reason. 
‘‘(3) GREATER
PROTECTION
UNDER
STATE 
LAW.—Except as provided in subsection (b), for pur-
poses of this section, a term or provision of a State 
law is not inconsistent with the provisions of this 
title if the term or provision affords greater protec-
tion and benefit to the consumer than the protection 
and benefit provided under this title as determined 
by the Board, on its own motion or upon the peti-
tion of any interested party. 
‘‘(b) STATE LAWS RELATING TO CHARACTERIZATION 
OF TRANSACTION.—Notwithstanding the provisions of 
subsection (a), this title shall supersede any State law to 
the extent that such law— 
‘‘(1) regulates a rental-purchase agreement as a 
security interest, credit sale, retail installment sale, 
conditional sale or any other form of consumer cred-
it, or that imputes to a rental-purchase agreement 
the creation of a debt or extension of credit, or 
‘‘(2) requires the disclosure of a percentage rate 
calculation, including a time-price differential, an 
annual percentage rate, or an effective annual per-
centage rate. 
‘‘(c) RELATION TO FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 
ACT.—No provision of this title shall be construed as lim-
iting, superseding, or otherwise affecting the applicability 
of the Federal Trade Commission Act to any merchant 
or rental-purchase transaction.