2006 New York Code - Form.

 
    §  501.  Form. 1. A rental-purchase agreement must be written in plain
  English  and  in  any  other  language  used  by  the  merchant  in   an
  advertisement   related  to  the  rental-purchase  agreement.  Numerical
  amounts must be stated in figures.
    2. Disclosures required by this section must be printed  or  typed  in
  each  rental-purchase  agreement  in  a size equal to at least ten-point
  bold-faced type.
    3. A rental-purchase agreement may not contain a provision:
    (a) requiring a confession of judgment;
    (b) authorizing a merchant or an agent of the  merchant  to  commit  a
  breach of the peace in the repossession of merchandise;
    (c)  waiving  a  defense, counterclaim, or right the consumer may have
  against the merchant or an agent of the merchant;
    (d) requiring the purchase of insurance from the merchant to cover the
  merchandise;
    (e) requiring the payment of a late charge or reinstatement fee unless
  a periodic payment is delinquent for more than three days for agreements
  that are renewed on week by week terms and  seven  days  for  agreements
  that are renewed on month by month terms, and the charge or fee is in an
  amount not more than the greater of ten percent of the delinquent amount
  or  three  dollars for agreements that are renewed on week by week terms
  and not more than the greater of ten percent of the delinquent amount or
  five dollars for agreements that are renewed on month by month terms. In
  the event that multiple items are leased to a consumer pursuant to  more
  than  one  rental-purchase  agreement,  any late fee imposed pursuant to
  this section shall not exceed ten percent of the total of  the  periodic
  payments that are delinquent.
    (f)  requiring  a  payment in addition to regular periodic payments in
  order to acquire ownership of  the  merchandise  or  requiring  periodic
  payments  totalling more than the cost to acquire ownership, as provided
  in section five hundred three of this article.
    4. Only one late charge or reinstatement fee may  be  assessed  for  a
  delinquent  periodic  payment  regardless  of the period during which it
  remains in default. No  merchant  shall  assess  a  late  charge  for  a
  periodic  payment  made in full on its due date or within three days for
  agreements that are renewed on week by week  terms  or  seven  days  for
  agreements  that  are  renewed  on  month  by  month terms when the only
  delinquency is attributable to late fees assessed  on  earlier  periodic
  payments.  With respect to payments accepted by mail or by store deposit
  box,  no  merchant  shall  assess  a  late  fee  for  payments which are
  post-marked  or  received  before  the  expiration  of  the   applicable
  delinquency periods.
    5. A rental-purchase agreement must provide that:
    (a)  a  charge  in  addition  to  periodic  payments,  if any, must be
  reasonably related to the cost of a service performed;
    (b) a consumer who fails to make a timely  payment  may  reinstate  an
  agreement  without  losing  rights  or  options  previously acquired and
  without incurring any charges, other than rental charges for the time he
  possessed the  property,  except  for  those  charges  provided  for  in
  paragraph  (e)  of subdivision three of section five hundred one of this
  article by making the required payment before the later of seven days or
  half the number of days in a regular payment period after the  due  date
  of the payment; and
    (c)  if  the merchandise is returned or voluntarily surrendered by the
  consumer, other than through judicial  process,  during  the  applicable
  reinstatement period set forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the
  consumer's  right  to  reinstate the agreement as set forth in paragraph
  (b) of this subdivision shall be extended for a period of not less  than
  thirty  days  after  the  date  of  the  return of the merchandise. If a
  consumer has paid one-half the total of payments  necessary  to  acquire
  ownership,  the right to reinstate the agreement shall be extended for a
  period  of  not less than sixty days after the date of the return of the
  merchandise. If a consumer has  paid  three-quarters  of  the  total  of
  payments  necessary  to  acquire  ownership,  the  consumer's  rights to
  reinstate the agreement shall be extended for a period of not less  than
  one hundred eighty days after the return of the merchandise.
    6.  This  section  does  not  prevent  a  merchant  from attempting to
  repossess merchandise  during  the  reinstatement  period,  provided  in
  paragraph  (b) of subdivision five of this section. The consumer's right
  to  reinstate  an  agreement  does  not  expire  because   of   such   a
  repossession.  On reinstatement, the merchant shall provide the consumer
  with the  same  merchandise  or  substitute  merchandise  of  comparable
  quality  and  condition.  If  substitute  merchandise  is  provided, the
  merchant shall provide the consumer with  the  disclosures  required  in
  subdivision seven of this section.
    7.  A  rental-purchase  agreement  must  disclose in a conspicuous and
  informative fashion:
    (a) a description of the merchandise provided;
    (b) whether the merchandise is new or used, provided however, that  it
  shall  not  be  a  violation  of  this  section  to  indicate  that  the
  merchandise is used if it is actually new;
    (c) the amount and timing of rental-purchase payments;
    (d) the total number of payments and the total  amount  that  must  be
  paid  to  acquire  ownership  of  the merchandise, which amount shall be
  explicitly labelled "total cost";
    (e) the amount and purpose of any payment, charge, or fee, in addition
  to the regular periodic payments;
    (f) whether  the  consumer  is  liable  for  loss  or  damage  to  the
  merchandise and, if so, the maximum amount for which the consumer may be
  liable,  which in the case of loss shall in no event be greater than the
  price the consumer would have paid to exercise an early purchase  option
  pursuant  to  this  article.  In  the case of damage to the merchandise,
  other than normal wear and tear the consumer shall  be  liable  for  the
  lesser  of  the  price the consumer would have paid to exercise an early
  purchase option pursuant to this article or the cost of  the  repair  as
  determined by the merchant;
    (g)  that  the  consumer  does not acquire ownership rights unless the
  consumer has complied with the ownership terms of the agreement;
    (h) the cash price of the merchandise; and
    (i) a statement of the conditions under which a consumer may  exercise
  an  early  purchase  option and under which the merchant or consumer may
  otherwise terminate the lease.