The Florida Senate

559.9233  Rental-purchase agreements.--

(1)  A rental-purchase agreement must be in writing, must be signed by both the lessor and the lessee, and must be completed as to all essential provisions prior to being signed by the lessee.

(2)  The printed portion of the rental-purchase agreement must be in at least 6-point type and must contain the following notice in substantially this form:

(a)  Do not sign this rental-purchase agreement before you read it or if it contains any blank spaces.

(b)  You are entitled to an exact copy of the rental-purchase agreement you sign. Keep it to protect your legal rights.

(3)  The lessor must deliver to the lessee, or mail to the lessee at her or his address shown on the rental-purchase agreement, a copy of the rental-purchase agreement signed by the lessor. Before the transaction is completed, a copy of the rental-purchase agreement, or a separate statement on which the disclosures required by this section are made and on which the lessee and lessor are identified, must be delivered to the lessee. Any acknowledgment by the lessee of delivery of a copy of the rental-purchase agreement, if contained in the rental-purchase agreement, must appear directly above or adjacent to the lessee's signature.

(4)  A rental-purchase agreement must contain the following:

(a)  The name of the lessor and the name of the lessee;

(b)  The place of business of the lessor and the residence or place of business of the lessee, as specified by the lessee;

(c)  A brief description of the rental property, sufficient to identify the property to the lessee and lessor, including a statement indicating whether the property is new or previously rented. If a rental-purchase agreement is for multiple items, a description of each item may be provided in a separate statement incorporated by reference in the primary disclosure statement;

(d)  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 completion of the rental-purchase agreement;

(e)  The amount and timing of rental payments;

(f)  The amount of all other charges, individually itemized, payable by the lessee to the lessor which are not included in the rental payments;

(g)  A statement of the total cost of the rental-purchase agreement expressed as the total of the initial payment, all rental payments, and all other charges necessary to acquire ownership of the rental property;

(h)  A statement of the party liable for loss, damage in excess of normal wear and tear, or destruction to the rental property;

(i)  The lessee's right to reinstate the rental-purchase agreement and the amount, or method of determining the amount, of any penalty or other charge for reinstatement;

(j)  The party responsible for maintaining or servicing the rental property and a brief description of the responsibility;

(k)  A statement of the conditions under which the lessee or lessor may terminate the rental-purchase agreement;

(l)  A statement that the lessee has the option to purchase the rental property during the term of the rental-purchase agreement and the price, formula, or method by which the purchase price is to be determined;

(m)  A statement that if, at the time the lessee acquires ownership of the property, any part of a manufacturer's warranty covering the rental property exists, such warranty will be transferred to the lessee if allowed by the terms of the warranty; and

(n)  The cash price of the rental property that is the subject of the rental-purchase agreement.

(5)  With respect to matters specifically governed by the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act, compliance with the provisions of such act satisfies the requirements of this section.

(6)  All information required by this section must be stated in a clear and coherent manner, using words and phrases of common meaning. The information must be appropriately divided and captioned by sections. All numerical amounts and percentages must be stated in figures. All of the information required by this section must be provided directly on the rental-purchase agreement or on a separate form.

(7)  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 detract attention from the required information.

History.--s. 3, ch. 88-69; s. 831, ch. 97-103.