§ 501. Form. 1. A rental-purchase agreement must be written in plain\nEnglish and in any other language used by the merchant in an\nadvertisement related to the rental-purchase agreement. Numerical\namounts must be stated in figures.\n 2. Disclosures required by this section must be printed or typed in\neach rental-purchase agreement in a size equal to at least ten-point\nbold-faced type.\n 3. A rental-purchase agreement may not contain a provision:\n (a) requiring a confession of judgment;\n (b) authorizing a merchant or an agent of the merchant to commit a\nbreach of the peace in the repossession of merchandise;\n (c) waiving a defense, counterclaim, or right the consumer may have\nagainst the merchant or an agent of the merchant;\n (d) requiring the purchase of insurance from the merchant to cover the\nmerchandise;\n (e) requiring the payment of a late charge or reinstatement fee unless\na periodic payment is delinquent for more than three days for agreements\nthat are renewed on week by week terms and seven days for agreements\nthat are renewed on month by month terms, and the charge or fee is in an\namount not more than the greater of ten percent of the delinquent amount\nor three dollars for agreements that are renewed on week by week terms\nand not more than the greater of ten percent of the delinquent amount or\nfive dollars for agreements that are renewed on month by month terms. In\nthe event that multiple items are leased to a consumer pursuant to more\nthan one rental-purchase agreement, any late fee imposed pursuant to\nthis section shall not exceed ten percent of the total of the periodic\npayments that are delinquent.\n (f) requiring a payment in addition to regular periodic payments in\norder to acquire ownership of the merchandise or requiring periodic\npayments totalling more than the cost to acquire ownership, as provided\nin section five hundred three of this article.\n 4. Only one late charge or reinstatement fee may be assessed for a\ndelinquent periodic payment regardless of the period during which it\nremains in default. No merchant shall assess a late charge for a\nperiodic payment made in full on its due date or within three days for\nagreements that are renewed on week by week terms or seven days for\nagreements that are renewed on month by month terms when the only\ndelinquency is attributable to late fees assessed on earlier periodic\npayments. With respect to payments accepted by mail or by store deposit\nbox, no merchant shall assess a late fee for payments which are\npost-marked or received before the expiration of the applicable\ndelinquency periods.\n 5. A rental-purchase agreement must provide that:\n (a) a charge in addition to periodic payments, if any, must be\nreasonably related to the cost of a service performed;\n (b) a consumer who fails to make a timely payment may reinstate an\nagreement without losing rights or options previously acquired and\nwithout incurring any charges, other than rental charges for the time he\npossessed the property, except for those charges provided for in\nparagraph (e) of subdivision three of this section by making the\nrequired payment before the later of seven days or half the number of\ndays in a regular payment period after the due date of the payment;\n (c) if the merchandise is returned or voluntarily surrendered by the\nconsumer, other than through judicial process, during the applicable\nreinstatement period set forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the\nconsumer's right to reinstate the agreement as set forth in paragraph\n(b) of this subdivision shall be extended for a period of not less than\none year after the date of the return of the merchandise.\n 6. This section does not prevent a merchant from attempting to\nrepossess merchandise during the reinstatement period provided in\nparagraph (b) of subdivision five of this section. The consumer's right\nto reinstate an agreement does not expire because of such a\nrepossession.
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