TITLE XXXI
TRADE AND COMMERCE

CHAPTER 358-P
RENT-TO-OWN AGREEMENT ACT

Section 358-P:5

    358-P:5 Advertising. –
I. If an advertisement for a rent-to-own agreement refers to or states the dollar amount of an initial, periodic, or final payment or offers a free initial, periodic, or final payment for any item and refers to or states the right to acquire ownership of the item, then for such item the advertisement shall also clearly and conspicuously state the following:
(a) That the transaction advertised is a rent-to-own agreement.
(b) The total number and total amount of periodic payments necessary to acquire ownership of the item or a representative sample of the total number and total amount of periodic payments for each category of items in the advertisement.
(c) That the consumer acquires no ownership rights unless the total amount necessary to acquire ownership is paid.
II. Any owner or personnel of any medium in which an advertisement appears or through which it is disseminated shall not be liable under this section.
III. The provisions of paragraph I of this section shall not apply to an advertisement which does not refer to or state the amount of any payment, or which is published in the yellow pages of a telephone directory or in any similar directory of business.
IV. Every item displayed or offered under a rent-to-own agreement shall bear a tag or card that clearly and conspicuously indicates in Arabic numerals each of the following:
(a) The cash price of the item.
(b) The amount of the periodic payment.
(c) The total number and total dollar amount of periodic payments necessary to acquire ownership.

Source. 1994, 406:1. 2000, 8:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2001.