Section 57-26-1 – Short title.

Sections 1 through 12 [57-26-1 to 57-26-12 NMSA 1978] of this act may be cited as the “Rental-Purchase Agreement Act”. History: Laws 1995, ch. 38, § 1.

Section 57-26-10 – Advertising.

A. An advertisement that refers to or states the dollar amount of a periodic payment and the right to acquire ownership of a specific item shall also clearly and conspicuously state: (1) that the transaction advertised is a rental-purchase agreement; (2) the total number and total amount of periodic payments necessary to acquire ownership of […]

Section 57-26-11 – Enforcement; remedies; limitations.

A. A lessor who fails to comply with the requirements of the Rental-Purchase Agreement Act is liable to the consumer damaged thereby in an amount equal to: (1) the greater of the actual damages sustained by the consumer as a result of the lessor’s failure to comply or twenty-five percent of the total of payments […]

Section 57-26-12 – Lessor’s defenses.

A. If a lessor establishes by a preponderance of evidence that a violation of the Rental-Purchase Agreement Act was unintentional or the result of a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adopted to avoid such errors, the lessor shall not be subject to the provisions of Section 11 [57-26-11 NMSA 1978] of […]

Section 57-26-2 – Definitions.

As used in the Rental-Purchase Agreement Act: A. “advertisement” means a commercial message in any medium that solicits a consumer to enter a rental-purchase agreement; B. “cash sale price” means the price stated in a rental-purchase agreement for which the lessor would have sold and the consumer would have bought the goods that are the […]

Section 57-26-3 – Exempted transactions; relationship to other laws.

A. The Rental-Purchase Agreement Act does not apply to the following: (1) rental-purchase agreements made primarily for business, commercial or agricultural purposes; (2) a lease of a safe deposit box; (3) a lease or bailment of personal property that is incidental to the lease of real property and provides that the consumer has no option […]

Section 57-26-4 – General requirements of rental-purchase agreements.

A. Each rental-purchase agreement shall be in writing, dated, signed by the consumer and lessor and completed as to all essential provisions. B. The printed or typed portion of the rental-purchase agreement, other than instructions for completion, shall be in a size equal to at least eight-point type. The rental-purchase agreement shall be designated “rental-purchase […]

Section 57-26-5 – Disclosures.

A. For each rental-purchase agreement, the lessor shall disclose in the agreement the following items, as applicable: (1) whether the periodic payment is weekly, monthly or otherwise, the dollar amount of each payment and the total number and total dollar amount of all periodic payments necessary to acquire ownership of the goods; (2) a statement […]

Section 57-26-6 – Prohibited provisions.

A rental-purchase agreement shall not contain: A. a confession of judgment; B. a negotiable instrument; C. a security interest or any other claim of a property interest in any property of the consumer; D. a wage assignment; E. a waiver by the consumer of claims or defenses; F. a provision authorizing the lessor or a […]

Section 57-26-7 – Reinstatement.

A. A consumer who fails to make a timely rental payment may reinstate the rental-purchase agreement without losing any rights or options that exist under the agreement by the payment of the following charges within five days of the renewal date of an agreement with monthly periodic payments or within two days of the renewal […]

Section 57-26-8 – Receipts.

Upon request by the consumer, a lessor shall provide the consumer with a written receipt for each payment made. History: Laws 1995, ch. 38, § 8.

Section 57-26-9 – Renegotiations and extensions.

A. A renegotiation occurs when any term of a rental-purchase agreement that is required to be disclosed by Section 5 [57-26-5 NMSA 1978] of the Rental-Purchase Agreement Act is changed by agreement between the lessor and consumer. A renegotiation creates a new rental-purchase agreement requiring the lessor to give all the disclosures required by Section […]