As used in this title:

(a) “Advertisement” means a commercial message in any medium that directly or indirectly solicits or promotes one or more specific rental-purchase transactions, excluding instore merchandising aids. This definition does not limit or alter the application of other laws, including Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17200) of Part 2 and Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 17500) of Part 3, of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code, to rental-purchase transactions.

Ask a litigation question, get an answer ASAP!
Thousands of highly rated, verified litigation lawyers.
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

(b) “Consumer” means a natural person or persons who rent or lease personal property from a lessor pursuant to a rental-purchase agreement or to whom a lessor offers personal property for use pursuant to a rental-purchase agreement.

(c) “Lessor” means any person or entity that provides or offers to provide personal property for use by consumers pursuant to a rental-purchase agreement.

(d) “Rental-purchase agreement,” except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, means an agreement between a lessor and a consumer pursuant to which the lessor rents or leases, for valuable consideration, personal property for use by a consumer for personal, family, or household purposes for an initial term not exceeding four months that may be renewed or otherwise extended, if under the terms of the agreement the consumer acquires an option or other legally enforceable right to become owner of the property. A rental-purchase agreement is a lease subject to Title 1.5 (commencing with Section 1750) and Title 1.7 (commencing with Section 1790).

“Rental-purchase agreement” shall not be construed to be, nor be governed by, and shall not apply to, any of the following:

(1) A retail installment sale, as defined in Section 1802.5.

(2) A retail installment contract, as defined in Section 1802.6.

(3) A retail installment account, as defined in Section 1802.7.

(4) A lease or agreement that constitutes a security interest, as defined in § 1201 of the Commercial Code.

(5) A consumer credit contract, as defined in Section 1799.90.

(e) “Cash price” means the price of the personal property described in the rental-purchase agreement that the consumer may pay in cash to the lessor at the inception of the rental-purchase agreement to acquire ownership of that personal property.

(f) “Cost of rental” means the difference between the total of all periodic payments necessary to acquire ownership under the rental-purchase agreement and the cash price of the rental property that is subject to the rental-purchase agreement.

(g) “Fee” means any payment, charge, fee, cost, or expense, however denominated, other than a rental payment.

(h) “Appliance” means and includes any refrigerator, freezer, range including any cooktop or oven, microwave oven, washer, dryer, dishwasher, or room air-conditioner or air purifier.

(i) “Electronic set” means and includes any television, radio, camera, video game, or any type of device for the recording, storage, copying, printing, transmission, display, or playback of any sound or image, but does not include any item that is part of a computer system.

(j) “Computer system” means a computer processor and a video monitor, printer, and peripheral items primarily designed for use with a computer. Audio and video devices, which are commonly used for entertainment and into which data may be downloaded from a computer, are not part of a computer system.

(k) “Lessor’s cost” means the documented actual cost, including actual freight charges, of the rental property to the lessor from a wholesaler, distributor, supplier, or manufacturer and net of any discounts, rebates, and incentives.

(l) “Total of payments” means the total amount of periodic payments necessary to acquire ownership of the property that is the subject of the rental-purchase agreement if the consumer makes all regularly scheduled payments.

(m) “Electronic device” means a desktop or laptop computer, handheld device, tablet, smartphone, or other electronic product or device that has a platform on which to download, install, or run any software program, code, script, or other content.

(n) “Geophysical location tracking technology” means hardware, software, or an application that collects and reports data or information that identifies the precise geophysical location of an item, including technologies that report the GPS coordinates of an electronic device, the WiFi signals available to or actually used by an electronic device to access the Internet, the telecommunication towers or connections available to or actually used by an electronic device, the processing of any reported data or information through geolocation lookup services, or any information derived from any combination of the foregoing.

(o) “Monitoring technology” means any hardware, software, or application utilized in conjunction with an electronic device that can cause the electronic device to capture, monitor, record, or report information about user activities with or without the user’s knowledge.

(p) “Remote technical assistance” means collaborative access by the user and technician to connect to an electronic device for the purpose of providing technical support to the user.

(q) “Express consent” means the affirmative agreement to any use or installation of geophysical location tracking technology or remote technical assistance. Express consent does not include consent given when either option is highlighted or preselected as a default setting.

(Amended by Stats. 2014, Ch. 426, Sec. 1. (AB 2667) Effective January 1, 2015.)