Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is expected to introduce the companion bill in the Senate.

Cover - March 2009 RTO Magazine

Download the complete copy of RTO Magazine's Rental Purchase Agreement Act De-Mystified

The text of H.R 1744, the Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act, was released today by the Government Printing Office (GPO) and, as expected, is identical to HR 1767, introduced by Rep. William Clay (D-MO) in the 110th congress. The Act was referred to the Committee on Financial Services.

NEW - See cosponsors by committee.

RTO Online hosts the most comprehensive rent-to-own legislative resource library available on the net including the complete text and cosponsor list of the 21 RTO industry related bills dating back to 1993 (see list below). Our congressional-facebook database (House - Senate) has recently been updated for the 111th Congress.

The Act was introduced in the House last week by Rep Clay with 41 initial cosponsors (see list). HR 1767 had 4 initial cosponsors and eventually gained 99. Despite broad support, a hearing was never scheduled and the bill died in committee.

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is expected to introduce the companion bill in the Senate (see story).

Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced legislation with negative industry and consumer impacts - The Rent to Own Reform Act - in each of the past two sessions. The Rent to Own Reform Act would define rental-purchase as a credit sale rather than a self-terminable lease as it is currently defined by 47 states and thus subject to interest rate disclosures and caps. Insiders speculate that Schumer will introduce the bill again this session, although no announcements have been made.

The demand for a debt-free, no long-term obligation method of acquiring needed household goods is growing. The demand will not go away if congress should decide to pass legislation taking the "own" out of "rent to own". Schumer's bill would ultimately harm consumers by forcing Rent to Own companies to become rent-to-rent - eliminating ownership options altogether.

A real-time PDF version of the complete congressional database - with HR 1744 cosponsors identified - can be created with a single click. The facebook creation program is iPhone compatible and is provided free of charge by RTOonline.com. Create US Senate Facebook PDF - Create US House Facebook PDF.

RTO Magazine, the rent-to-own industry's leading trade magazine, this month published "Rental Purchase Agreement Act De-Mystified" - a step by step guide to understanding the Act and its impact on consumers. Download Rental Purchase Agreement Act De-Mystified.