Sec. 42-241. Written agreement. Information which must be disclosed.
Sec. 42-241. Written agreement. Information which must be disclosed. (a) A
rent-to-own agreement shall be a written statement and shall include the following information in the following order:
(1) A brief description of the rented property, sufficient to identify the property to
the lessee and lessor. If the agreement is for multiple items, a description of each item
may be provided in a separate statement which is incorporated by reference in the primary disclosure statement;
(2) Whether the property is new or used;
(3) The total amount of any initial payment, including any advance payment, delivery charge or any trade-in allowance, to be paid by the lessee at or before consummation
of the rent-to-own agreement;
(4) The amount and timing of renewal payments;
(5) The cash price of the rented property at the time of consummation. If the rent-to-own agreement is for two or more items, then the aggregate cash price for all items
shall satisfy this requirement;
(6) The total number of payments and the total amount of such payments necessary
to acquire ownership, to be denominated "rent-to-own price";
(7) The difference between the cash price and the rent-to-own price;
(8) A statement that the lessee has the option to purchase the rented property during
the term of the rent-to-own agreement by the formula for early purchase set forth in
section 42-249;
(9) The lessee's right to reinstate a terminated rent-to-own agreement and the
amount, or method of determining the amount, of any penalties or other charges for
reinstatement as established in section 42-246;
(10) The amount of all other charges, individually itemized, payable by the lessee
to the lessor, which are not included in the renewal payments;
(11) A statement indicating which party shall be liable for loss, damage in excess
of normal wear and tear or destruction of the rented property;
(12) A statement that the lessor is responsible for maintaining or servicing the rented
property, together with a brief description of this responsibility;
(13) A statement of the conditions under which the lessee or lessor may terminate
the agreement;
(14) A statement that, if any part of a manufacturer's warranty continues to cover
the rented property at the time the lessee assumes ownership of the property, it will be
passed on to the lessee if allowed by the terms of the warranty;
(15) A statement that the rent-to-own agreement may be cancelled by the lessee
without penalty at any time;
(16) If the rent-to-own agreement is sold as a negotiable instrument, a statement
that any holder of the rent-to-own agreement shall be subject to all claims and defenses
which the lessee could assert against the lessor.
(b) All information required by this section shall be stated in a clear and coherent
manner, using words and phrases of common meaning, and all rent-to-own agreements
shall comply with sections 42-151 to 42-158, inclusive. A rent-to-own agreement shall
be dated and in writing. The printed portion of the agreement shall be in at least eight-point type. The cash price, rent-to-own price, and the difference between the two
amounts shall be in at least ten-point, boldface type. The information shall be appropriately divided and captioned by its sections. All numerical amounts and percentages shall
be stated in figures. The information shall be disclosed by the lessor to the lessee prior
to the signing of the agreement by the lessee. All the information required by this section
shall be provided directly on the agreement or instrument or on a separate form.
(c) In a consumer rent-to-own agreement, the lessor shall make the disclosures required by this section in the manner required by subsection (b) of this section before
consummation of the rent-to-own agreement.
(d) At the lessor's option, information in addition to that required by this section
may be disclosed if the additional information is not stated, utilized or placed in a manner
which will contradict, obscure or distract attention from the required information.
(P.A. 91-162, S. 2, 18.)