RTO Legislative Activity - Independent Studies of Rent-to-Own

Survey of Rent-to-Own Customers published by the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Economics Between December 1998 and February 1999, more than 12,000 randomly selected U.S. households were surveyed, identifying more than 500 rent-to-own customers who were interviewed about their experience with rent-to-own stores. The survey is the first study on rent-to-own customers and the industry by a federal governmental body.

Click here to download this survey.

Rent-to-Own Agreements: Purchases or Rentals? By Michael H. Anderson and Raymond Jackson Published in the Journal of Applied Business Research, spring 2003 The authors of this study examine the nature of rent-to-own agreements by using a unique data set of more than 350,000 transactions drawn from 100 rent-to-own stores in 46 states. The main result is that rent-to-own agreements are more frequently used for short-term needs rather than as a method of acquisition. Legislative and legal efforts to classify rent-to-own agreements as primarily installment contracts cannot be justified by their statistically proven pattern of use in the marketplace.

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A Reconsideration of Rent-to-Own By Michael H. Anderson and Raymond Jackson Published in the Journal of Consumer Affairs, winter 2001 This study investigates the market value and customer pattern rent-to-own provides in the American economy.

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Please review the following website - Rent-to-Own Congressional Web Site - for the current legislative context, issues and history for the rent-to-own industry and the U.S. Congress.

APRO: The Association of Progressive Rental Organizations— the official voice of the rent-to-own industry Founded in 1980, APRO is the national, non-profit trade association advocating and representing the rent-to-own industry before the U.S. Congress, state legislatures, courts, media, Wall Street and the public. Click here to contact an APRO representative.