Hire-Purchase Act 1969

Hire-Purchase Act 1969

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to regulate the form and contents of hire‑purchase agreements and the rights and duties of parties to such agreements and for matters connected therewith.

[15 October 1969]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title and application

1.—(1)  This Act is the Hire-Purchase Act 1969.

(2)  This Act shall apply to hire-purchase agreements or conditional sale agreements made on or after 1 September 2012.

(3)  In the case of agreements made before 1 September 2012, this Act shall continue to apply as if section 9 of the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) (Amendment) Act 2012 had not been enacted.

(4)  The Minister may by order amend, vary, delete or add to any of the Schedules.

(5)  The Minister may, in any order made under subsection (4), make such transitional and savings provisions as he may consider necessary or expedient.

Interpretation

2.—(1)  In this Act —

“action” includes counterclaim and set-off;

“business day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday;

“cash” includes a cheque drawn on a banker;

“certificate of entitlement” means a permit issued by the Registrar of Vehicles under section 10A of the Road Traffic Act 1961;

“conditional sale agreement” means an agreement for the sale of goods under which the purchase price or part of it is payable by instalments, and the property in the goods is to remain in the owner (notwithstanding that the hirer is to be in possession of the goods) until such conditions as to the payment of instalments or otherwise as may be specified in that agreement are fulfilled;

“court” means a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court;

“dealer” means a person, not being the hirer or the owner or a servant of the owner, by whom or on whose behalf negotiations leading to the making of a hire-purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement with the owner were carried out or by whom or on whose behalf the transaction leading to a hire-purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement with the owner was arranged;

“goods” includes any replacement or renewal by the hirer of any part or parts of any goods and any accessory added or addition made to any goods by the hirer during the period of the hiring;

“guarantor” means a person who has guaranteed the performance by a hirer of all or any of his obligations under a hire-purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement but does not include the dealer or a person engaged, at the time of the giving of the guarantee, in the trade or business of selling goods of the same nature or description as the goods comprised in the agreement;

“hire-purchase agreement” means an agreement, other than a conditional sale agreement, under which —

(a) goods are bailed in return for periodical payments to the hirer; and

(b) the property in the goods will pass to the hirer if the terms of the agreement are complied with and one or more of the following occur:

(i) the exercise of an option to purchase by the hirer;

(ii) the doing of any other specified act by any party to the agreement;

(iii) the happening of any other specified event;

“hirer” means the person who takes or has taken goods from an owner under a hire‑purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement and includes a person to whom the hirer’s rights or liabilities under the agreement have passed by assignment or by operation of law;

“licensed insurer” means an insurer who is for the time being licensed under section 11 of the Insurance Act 1966;

“motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle within the meaning of the Road Traffic Act 1961;

“owner” means a person by whom goods are bailed to a hirer under a hire‑purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement and includes a person whom the owner’s rights or liabilities under the agreement have passed by assignment or by operation of law;

“purchase price” means the total sum payable by the hirer under a hire-purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement in order to complete the purchase of goods to which the agreement relates, exclusive of any sum payable as a penalty or as compensation or damages for a breach of the agreement;

“regulated agreement” means a hire-purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement which relates to the goods specified in the First Schedule, but does not include any agreement in which the hirer is engaged in the trade or business of selling goods of the same nature or description as the goods comprised in the agreement;

“third-party insurance” means any insurance in relation to liability in respect of death or bodily injury caused by or arising out of the use of a motor vehicle being insurance required by law;

“vehicle registration fees” means any amount to be provided under a hire‑purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement by the owner for payment by or on behalf of the hirer under the provisions of this Act in connection with the registration and use of a motor vehicle, including any amount payable for third‑party insurance and for the issue of a certificate of entitlement.

(2)  Where an owner has agreed that any part of the purchase price may be discharged otherwise than by the payment of money, any such discharge shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a payment of that part of the purchase price.

(3)  Where, by virtue of 2 or more agreements, none of which by itself constitutes a hire‑purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement, there is a bailment of goods and either the bailee may buy the goods or the property in the goods will or may pass to the bailee, the agreements shall, for the purposes of this Act, be treated as a single hire‑purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement, as the case may be, made at the time when the last agreement was made.

(4)  The court shall have jurisdiction to try any action or proceeding arising out of or in relation to a hire‑purchase agreement or a conditional sale agreement to which this Act applies, including an action for an injunction and an action to rescind a contract, notwithstanding that apart from this subsection the court would have no jurisdiction to do so.

PART 2

FORM AND CONTENTS OF REGULATED AGREEMENTS

Requirements relating to regulated agreements

3.—(1)  Before a regulated agreement is entered into in respect of any goods, the owner shall give or cause to be given to the prospective hirer a written statement which shall contain the items set out in the Second Schedule.

(2)  Where a regulated agreement is entered into by way of acceptance by the owner of a written offer signed by or on behalf of the hirer, subsection (1) shall be deemed not to have been complied with unless the written statement was given to the prospective hirer before the written offer was signed.

(3)  Every regulated agreement —

(a) shall be in writing and in the English language;

(b) shall be signed by or on behalf of the hirer and all other parties to the agreement;

(c) shall —

(i) specify a date on which the hiring shall be deemed to have commenced;

(ii) specify the number of instalments to be paid under the agreement by the hirer;

(iii) specify the amounts of each of these instalments and the person to whom and the place at which the payments of these instalments are to be made;

(iv) specify the time for the payment of each of those instalments; and

(v) contain a description of the goods sufficient to identify them;

(d) shall, where any part of the consideration is or is to be provided otherwise than in cash, contain a description of that part of the consideration; and

(e) shall set out in a tabular form —

(i) the price at which at the time of signing the agreement the hirer might have purchased the goods for cash (referred to in this Act and to be described in the agreement as cash price);

(ii) the amount paid or provided by way of deposit (referred to in this Act and to be described in the agreement as deposit), if any, showing separately the amount paid in cash and the amount provided by any consideration other than cash;

(iii) any amount (included in the total amount) payable to cover the expenses of delivering the goods or any of them or to the order of the hirer (referred to in this Act and to be described in the agreement as freight);

(iv) any amount (included in the total amount) payable to cover vehicle registration fees in respect of the goods (to be described in the agreement as vehicle registration fees);

(v) any amount (included in the total amount) payable for insurance in respect of the goods or any of them;

(vi) the total of the amounts referred to in sub‑paragraphs (i), (iii), (iv) and (v) less the deposit, if any;

(vii) the amount of any other charges included in the total amount payable (referred to in this Act and to be described in the agreement as terms charges);

(viii) the total of the amounts referred to in sub‑paragraphs (vi) and (vii) (referred to in this Act as the balance originally payable under the agreement);

(ix) the total amount payable; and

(x) any other item set out in the Second Schedule.

Copy of documents to be served on hirer

4.—(1)  The owner shall serve or cause to be served on the hirer within 7 business days after the making of a regulated agreement —

(a) a copy of the agreement; and

(b) a notice, which is at least as prominent as the rest of the contents of the agreement, in the terms prescribed in the Third Schedule.

(2)  Where any part of the total amount payable consists of an amount paid or to be paid under a policy of insurance in respect of the goods, the owner shall serve or cause to be served on the hirer within 7 days of receipt of the policy, a copy of the policy or statement in writing setting out the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy that affect the rights of the hirer.

Regulated agreements which are not enforceable

5.—(1)  A regulated agreement that is not in writing shall not be enforceable by the owner.

(2)  An owner shall not be entitled to enforce a regulated agreement or any contract of guarantee relating to a regulated agreement or any right to recover the goods from the hirer, and no security given by the hirer in respect of money payable under the regulated agreement or given by a guarantor in respect of money payable under such a contract of guarantee shall be enforceable against the hirer or guarantor by any holder of the security, unless the requirements set out in sections 3(3)(b) to (e) and 4 have been complied with.

(3)  Notwithstanding subsection (2), where the court is satisfied that —

(a) a failure to comply with any of the requirements set out in sections 3 and 4 has not prejudiced the hirer; and

(b) it would be just and equitable to dispense with such of the requirements mentioned in paragraph (a),

the court may, subject to any conditions that it thinks fit to impose, dispense with those requirements for the purpose of the action.

PART 3

IMPLIED TERMS

Implied terms as to title

6.—(1)  In every hire-purchase agreement, other than one to which subsection (2) applies, there is —

(a) an implied term on the part of the owner that he will have a right to sell the goods at the time when the property is to pass; and

(b) an implied term that —

(i) the goods are free, and will remain free until the time when the property is to pass, from any charge or encumbrance not disclosed or known to the hirer; and

(ii) the hirer will enjoy quiet possession of the goods except so far as it may be disturbed by any person entitled to the benefit of any charge or encumbrance so disclosed or known.

(2)  In a hire-purchase agreement, in the case of which there appears from the agreement or is to be inferred from the circumstances of the agreement an intention that the owner should transfer only such title as he or a third person may have, there is —

(a) an implied term that all charges or encumbrances known to the owner and not known to the hirer have been disclosed to the hirer before the agreement is made; and

(b) an implied term that neither —

(i) the owner; nor

(ii) in a case where the parties to the agreement intend that any title which may be transferred shall be only such title as a third person may have, that person; nor

(iii) anyone claiming through or under the owner or that third person otherwise than under a charge or encumbrance disclosed or known to the hirer, before the agreement is made,

will disturb the quiet possession of the hirer.

(3)  The term implied by subsection (1)(a) is a condition and the terms implied by subsections (1)(b), (2)(a) and (2)(b) are warranties.

Bailing or hiring by description

6A.—(1)  Where under a hire-purchase agreement goods are bailed by description, there is an implied term that the goods will correspond with the description, and if under the agreement the goods are bailed by reference to a sample as well as a description, it is not sufficient that the bulk of the goods corresponds with the sample if the goods do not also correspond with the description.

(2)  The term implied by subsection (1) is a condition.

(3)  Goods shall not be prevented from being bailed by description by reason only that, being exposed for sale or bailment, they are selected by the hirer.

Implied undertakings as to quality or fitness

6B.—(1)  Except as provided by this section and section 6C and subject to the provisions of any other written law, there is no implied term as to the quality or fitness for any particular purpose of goods bailed under a hire‑purchase agreement.

(2)  Where the owner bails goods under a hire‑purchase agreement in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the agreement are of satisfactory quality.

(3)  For the purposes of this Part, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.

(4)  For the purposes of this Part, the quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods:

(a) fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied;

(b) appearance and finish;

(c) freedom from minor defects;

(d) safety;

(e) durability.

(5)  The term implied by subsection (2) does not extend to any matter making the quality of goods unsatisfactory —

(a) which is specifically drawn to the attention of the hirer before the agreement is made;

(b) where the hirer examines the goods before the agreement is made, which that examination ought to reveal; or

(c) where the goods are bailed by reference to a sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample.

(6)  Where the owner bails goods under a hire‑purchase agreement in the course of a business and the hirer, expressly or by implication, makes known —

(a) to the owner in the course of negotiations conducted by the owner in relation to the making of the hire‑purchase agreement; or

(b) to a dealer in the course of negotiations conducted by that dealer in relation to goods sold by him to the owner before forming the subject matter of the hire‑purchase agreement,

any particular purpose for which the goods are being bailed, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the agreement are reasonably fit for that purpose, whether or not that is a purpose for which such goods are commonly supplied, except where the circumstances show that the hirer does not rely, or that it is unreasonable for him to rely, on the skill or judgment of the owner or dealer.

(7)  An implied condition or warranty as to quality or fitness for a particular purpose may be annexed to a hire-purchase agreement by usage.

(8)  Subsections (1) to (7) apply to a hire‑purchase agreement made by a person who in the course of a business is acting as agent for the owner as they apply to an agreement made by the owner in the course of a business, except where the owner is not bailing in the course of a business and either the hirer knows that fact or reasonable steps are taken to bring it to the notice of the hirer before the agreement is made.

(9)  The terms implied by subsections (2) and (6) are conditions.

Samples

6C.—(1)  Where under a hire-purchase agreement goods are bailed by reference to a sample, there is an implied term —

(a) that the bulk will correspond with the sample in quality;

(b) that the hirer will have a reasonable opportunity of comparing the bulk with the sample; and

(c) that the goods will be free from any defect, making their quality unsatisfactory, which would not be apparent on reasonable examination of the sample.

(2)  The term implied by subsection (1) is a condition.

Modification of remedies for breach of statutory condition in non-consumer cases

6D.—(1)  Where in the case of a hire‑purchase agreement —

(a) the hirer would, apart from this subsection, have the right to reject the goods by reason of a breach on the part of the owner of a term implied by section 6A, 6B or 6C(1)(a) or (c); but

(b) the breach is so slight that it would be unreasonable for him to reject them,

then, if the hirer does not deal as consumer, the breach is not to be treated as a breach of condition but may be treated as a breach of warranty.

(2)  This section applies unless a contrary intention appears in, or is to be implied from, the agreement.

(3)  It is for the owner to show —

(a) that a breach fell within subsection (1)(b); and

(b) that the hirer did not deal as consumer.

Exclusion of implied terms

6E.  An express term does not negative a term implied by this Part unless inconsistent with it.

Special provisions as to conditional sale agreements

6F.—(1)  Section 11(3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (whereby in certain circumstances a breach of a condition in a contract of sale is treated only as a breach of warranty) shall not apply to a conditional sale agreement where the buyer deals as consumer.

(2)  A breach of a condition (whether express or implied) to be fulfilled by the seller under any such agreement shall be treated as a breach of warranty, and not as grounds for rejecting the goods and treating the agreement as repudiated, if (but only if) it would have fallen to be so treated had the condition been contained or implied in a corresponding hire-purchase agreement as a condition to be fulfilled by the owner.

(3)  In subsection (2), “corresponding hire-purchase agreement” means a hire‑purchase agreement relating to the same goods as the conditional sale agreement and made between the same parties and at the same time and in the same circumstances and, as nearly as may be, in the same terms as the conditional sale agreement.

Interpretation of this Part

6G.  In this Part —

(a) “business” has the same meaning as in the Sale of Goods Act 1979;

(b) references to dealing as consumer are to be construed in accordance with Part 1 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

PART 4

HIRERS

Statutory rights of hirers

Liability of owner and person acting on his behalf for misrepresentation

7.—(1)  Every representation, warranty or statement made to the hirer or prospective hirer, whether orally or in writing, by the owner or the dealer or any person acting on behalf of the owner or the dealer in connection with or in the course of negotiations leading to the entering into of a regulated agreement shall confer on the hirer —

(a) as against the owner — the same right to rescind the agreements as the hirer would have had if the representation, warranty or statement had been made by an agent of the owner; and

(b) as against the person who made the representation, warranty or statement, and any person on whose behalf the person who made the representation, warranty or statement was acting in making it — the same right of action in damages as the hirer would have had against them or either of them if the hirer had purchased the goods from the person who made the representation, warranty or statement or the person on whose behalf the person who made the representation, warranty or statement was acting in making it (as the case may be) as a result of the negotiations.

(2)  Every covenant, condition or term in any regulated agreement or other document purporting to exclude, limit or modify the operation of subsection (1) or to preclude any right of action or any defence based on or arising out of any such representation, warranty or statement shall be void.

(3)  Without prejudice to any other rights or remedies to which an owner may be entitled, an owner shall be entitled to be indemnified —

(a) by the person who made the representation, warranty or statement; and

(b) by any person on whose behalf the representation, warranty or statement was made against any damage suffered by the owner as a result of any such representation, warranty or statement.

Duty of owners to supply documents and information

8.—(1)  An owner shall, within 7 business days of the receipt thereof, comply with a written request made to him by a hirer, at any time before final payment has been made, whereby the hirer requires either a copy of the regulated agreement between the parties or a statement signed by the owner or his agent showing —

(a) the amount paid to the owner by or on behalf of the hirer;

(b) the amount which has become due under the agreement but remains unpaid; and

(c) the amount which is to become payable under the agreement,

or both such copy of the agreement and the statement.

(2)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), an owner need not comply with such a request —

(a) if he has sent the hirer the document requested within a period of 3 months immediately preceding the request; or

(b) unless the request is accompanied by a reasonable fee, which shall not exceed such amount as may be prescribed, if the hirer makes a second or subsequent request for a copy of the regulated agreement between the parties after the owner has previously complied with such a request.

(3)  In the event of a failure without reasonable cause to comply with subsection (1) then, while the default continues —

(a) the owner shall not be entitled to enforce —

(i) the agreement against the hirer;

(ii) any right to recover the goods from the hirer; or

(iii) any contract of guarantee relating to the agreement; or

(b) any security given by the hirer in respect of money payable under the agreement or given by a guarantor in respect of money payable under a contract of guarantee relating to the agreement shall not be enforceable against the hirer or the guarantor by any holder of the security.

Appropriation of payments made in regulated agreements

9.—(1)  A hirer who is liable to make payments in respect of 2 or more regulated agreements to the same owner shall, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, be entitled, on making any payment in respect of the agreements which is not sufficient to discharge the total amount then due under all the agreements, to require the owner to appropriate the sum so paid by him in or towards the satisfaction of the sum due under any one of the agreements, or in or towards the satisfaction of the sums due under any 2 or more of the agreements in such proportions as he thinks fit.

(2)  If the hirer fails to make any such appropriation as mentioned in subsection (1), the payment shall by virtue of this section be appropriated towards the satisfaction of the sums due under the respective regulated agreements in the order in which the agreements were entered into.

Power of court to allow goods to be removed

10.—(1)  Where, by virtue of a regulated agreement, it is the duty of a hirer to keep the goods comprised in the agreement in his possession or control at a particular place or not to remove the goods from a particular place and the owner fails or refuses to give his consent to the request of the hirer for approval to remove the goods from the place, the court may, on the application of the hirer, make an order approving the removal of the goods to some other place which place shall, for the purposes of the agreement, be substituted for the place mentioned in the agreement.

(2)  No order shall be made under subsection (1) if the owner satisfies the court that he had good reason for failing or refusing to give his consent.

Assignments of right, title and interest of hirer under regulated agreement

11.—(1)  The right, title and interest of a hirer under a regulated agreement may be assigned with the consent of the owner, or if his consent is unreasonably withheld, without his consent.

(2)  Except as otherwise provided in this section, no payment or other consideration shall be required by an owner for his consent to such an assignment as is mentioned in subsection (1) and where an owner requires any such payment or other consideration for his consent, that consent shall be deemed to be unreasonably withheld.

(3)  Where, at the request of a hirer under a regulated agreement, the owner fails or refuses to give his consent to an assignment by the hirer of his right, title and interest under the agreement, the hirer may apply to a court for an order declaring that the consent of the owner to that assignment has unreasonably been withheld.

(4)  Where an order is made under subsection (3) the consent shall be deemed to be unreasonably withheld.

(5)  As a condition of granting consent to an assignment of the right, title and interest of the hirer under a regulated agreement, the owner may stipulate that all defaults under the agreement shall be made good and may require the hirer and assignee —

(a) to execute and deliver to the owner an assignment in a form approved by the owner whereby, without prejudicing or affecting the continuing personal liability of the hirer in those respects, the assignee agrees with the owner to be personally liable to pay the instalments remaining unpaid and to perform and observe all other stipulations and conditions of the regulated agreement during the residue of the term of the regulated agreement and whereby the assignee indemnifies the hirer in respect of those liabilities; and

(b) to pay to the owner any reasonable costs incurred by the owner (including legal expenses) in preparing, drawing, stamping or registering the assignment, agreement or counterparts.

Assignments of right, title and interest of owner under regulated agreement

11A.—(1)  The hirer under a regulated agreement may, by notice in writing to the owner, require the owner to assign his right, title and interest under the agreement to another person.

(2)  As a condition of the assignment of the right, title and interest of the owner under a regulated agreement, the owner may —

(a) stipulate that all defaults under the agreement shall be made good; and

(b) require the hirer and assignee —

(i) to deliver to the owner a form of assignment whereby the assignee agrees to pay to the owner the net balance due under the agreement; and

(ii) to pay to the owner any reasonable costs incurred by the owner (including legal expenses) in relation to the assignment.

(3)  Except as otherwise provided in this section, no payment or other consideration shall be required by an owner for an assignment referred to in subsection (1).

(4)  Where an owner fails or refuses to assign his right, title and interest under the regulated agreement as required by the hirer in accordance with this section, the hirer may apply to a court for an order requiring the owner to do so.

Passing of right, title and interest by operation of law

12.—(1)  The right, title and interest of a hirer under a regulated agreement shall be capable of passing by operation of law to the personal representative of the hirer and if the hirer is a company the liquidator may exercise the same right under the agreement as the company.

(2)  Nothing in this section shall relieve any personal representative or liquidator from compliance with the provisions of the regulated agreement.

Early completion of agreement

13.—(1)  The hirer under a regulated agreement may, if he has given notice in writing to the owner of his intention to do so, on or before the day specified for that purpose in the notice, complete the purchase of the goods by paying or tendering to the owner the net balance due under the agreement.

(2)  The rights conferred on the hirer by this section may be exercised by him —

(a) at any time during the continuance of the agreement; or

(b) where the owner has taken possession of the goods, upon payment to the owner (within 7 business days after the owner has served a notice in the form set out in the Fifth Schedule) in addition to the net balance due together with the reasonable costs including costs (if any) of storage, repair or maintenance of the goods incurred by the owner incidental to his taking possession of the goods.

Power of hirer to terminate hiring

14.—(1)  The hirer of any goods comprised in a regulated agreement may terminate the hiring by returning the goods to the owner during ordinary business hours at the place at which the owner ordinarily carries on business or to the place specified for that purpose in the agreement.

(2)  Where the nature of the goods comprised in a regulated agreement or the facilities available at the place or places of business of the owner or the place specified in the agreement is or are such that it would be impracticable to return the goods to such a place, the hirer may terminate the hiring by returning the goods to any place agreed to by the parties to the agreement.

(3)  Where the parties fail to agree, the hirer who proposes to return the goods to the owner under this section may, subject to subsection (5), apply to a court for an order fixing the place to which the goods may be returned.

(4)  The court —

(a) shall fix the place that is in its opinion reasonable having regard to all the circumstances surrounding the transaction; and

(b) may order that, subject to the goods being returned to the owner, the hiring shall be terminated on such date as is specified in the order.

(5)  Notice of an application under subsection (3) shall be given to the owner by the hirer.

(6)  When a regulated agreement is terminated under this section, the owner is entitled to recover from the hirer —

(a) the amount (if any) required to be paid in those circumstances under the agreement; or

(b) the amount (if any) that the owner would have been entitled to recover if he had taken possession of the goods at the date of termination of the hiring,

whichever is less.

Repossession

Notices to be given to hirer when goods repossessed

15.—(1)  Subject to this section, an owner shall not exercise any power of taking possession of goods comprised in a regulated agreement arising out of any breach of the agreement relating to the payment of instalments until he has served on the hirer a notice, in writing, in the form set out in the Fourth Schedule and the period fixed by the notice has expired, which shall not be less than 7 business days after the service of the notice.

(2)  An owner need not comply with subsection (1) if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the goods comprised in the regulated agreement will be removed or concealed by the hirer contrary to the provisions of the agreement, but the onus of proving the existence of those grounds shall lie upon the owner.

(3)  Within 7 business days after the owner has taken possession of goods that were comprised in a regulated agreement, he shall serve on the hirer and every guarantor of the hirer a notice, in writing, in the form set out in the Fifth Schedule.

(4)  Where the owner takes possession of goods that were comprised in a regulated agreement, he shall —

(a) deliver or cause to be delivered to the hirer personally a document acknowledging receipt of the goods; or

(b) if the hirer is not present at that time, send to the hirer immediately after taking possession of the goods a document acknowledging receipt of the goods.

(5)  The document acknowledging receipt of the goods required under subsection (4) shall set out a short description of the goods and the date on which, the time at which and the place where the owner took possession of the goods.

(6)  If the notice required by subsection (3) is not served, the rights of the owner under the regulated agreement shall thereupon cease and determine.

(7)  If the hirer exercises his rights under this Act to recover the goods so taken possession of, the agreement shall have the same force and effect in relation to the rights and liabilities of the owner and the hirer as it would have had if the notice under subsection (3) had been duly given.

Owner to retain possession of goods repossessed for 7 business days

16.  Where an owner has taken possession of any goods, he shall not, without the written consent of the hirer, sell or dispose of the goods or part with possession of the goods —

(a) until after the expiration of 7 business days after the date of the service on the hirer of the notice referred to in section 15(3); or

(b) if notice under section 17(1)(a) has been given, until the time for payment or tender pursuant to that notice has expired,

whichever is the later.

Hirer’s rights and immunities when goods repossessed

17.—(1)  Where the owner takes possession of any goods comprised in a regulated agreement —

(a) the hirer may, within 7 business days after the service on him of the notice referred to in section 15(3), by giving to the owner a notice in writing signed by the hirer or his agent —

(i) require the owner to redeliver to or to the order of the hirer (subject to compliance by the hirer with section 18) the goods that have been repossessed; or

(ii) require the owner to sell the goods to any person introduced by the hirer who is prepared to buy the goods for cash at a price not less than the estimated value of the goods set out in the first‑mentioned notice; or

(b) the hirer may recover from the owner —

(i) if the value of the goods at the time of the owner so taking possession of the goods is less than the net amount payable under the agreement but the total of that value and the amount paid or provided, whether by cash or other consideration, by or on behalf of the hirer under the agreement exceeds the net amount payable — the difference between that total and the net amount payable; or

(ii) if the value of the goods at the time of the owner so taking possession of the goods is equal to or greater than the net amount payable under the agreement — the total of that value and the amount paid or provided, whether by cash or other consideration, by or on behalf of the hirer under the agreement, less the net amount payable.

(2)  Where the owner takes possession of any goods comprised in a regulated agreement, the owner is not entitled to recover any sum (whether under a judgment or order or otherwise) which if added together with —

(a) the value of the goods at the time of the owner so taking possession of the goods; and

(b) the amount paid or provided, whether by cash or other consideration, by or on behalf of the hirer under the agreement,

exceeds the net amount payable under the agreement in respect of the goods.

(3)  For the purposes of this section, the value of any goods at the time of the owner taking possession of the goods is —

(a) the best price that could be reasonably obtained by the owner at that time; or

(b) if the hirer has introduced a person who has bought the goods for cash, the amount paid by that person,

less —

(c) the reasonable costs incurred by the owner of and incidental to his taking possession of the goods;

(d) any amount properly expended by the owner on the storage, repair or maintenance of the goods; and

(e) (whether or not the goods have subsequently been sold or disposed of by the owner) the reasonable expenses of selling or otherwise disposing of the goods.

(4)  Where the owner has sold goods of which he has taken possession, the onus of proving that the price obtained by him for the goods was the best price that could be reasonably obtained by him at the time when he took possession of the goods shall lie upon the owner.

(5)  No amount is recoverable by the hirer under this section except where the owner has failed to serve on the hirer a notice as required by section 15(3) unless —

(a) the hirer, within 7 business days after the owner has served a notice as required by section 15(3), gives to the owner notice in writing —

(i) setting out the amount claimed under this section and the amount that is claimed by the hirer to be the value of the goods at the time of the owner taking possession of the goods; and

(ii) signed by the hirer or his advocate and solicitor or agent; and

(b) proceedings for the recovery of the amount so claimed under this section are commenced not later than 3 months after the giving by the hirer to the owner of the notice referred to in paragraph (a).

(6)  If, before the proceedings referred to in subsection (5) are commenced by the hirer, the owner serves an offer in writing on the hirer to pay any amount in satisfaction of the claim by the hirer under this section, the owner, in the proceedings, is entitled to pay into court the amount so offered and, upon so doing, is entitled to the same rights as he would have had if that amount had been tendered to the hirer before the proceedings were commenced.

(7)  No such right as is referred to in subsection (6) shall be available to the owner in any proceedings by the hirer to recover the amount so offered or any lesser amount if the hirer, before commencing the proceedings, notifies the owner in writing of the acceptance by the hirer of the amount so offered.

Power of hirer to regain possession of goods in certain circumstances

18.—(1)  If, within 7 business days after giving notice to the owner under section 17(1)(a), the hirer —

(a) pays or tenders to the owner any amount due by the hirer under the regulated agreement in respect of the period of hiring up to the date of the payment or tender (and for the purposes of this paragraph the hiring shall be deemed to have continued up to that date);

(b) remedies any breach of the agreement or (where he is unable to remedy the breach by reason of the fact that the owner has taken possession of the goods) pays or tenders to the owner the costs and expenses reasonably and actually incurred by the owner in doing any act, matter or thing necessary to remedy the breach; and

(c) pays or tenders to the owner the reasonable costs and expenses of the owner of and incidental to his taking possession of the goods and of his returning them to the hirer,

the owner shall forthwith return the goods to the hirer.

(2)  The goods shall be received and held by the hirer pursuant to the terms of the regulated agreement as if the breach had not occurred and the owner had not taken possession of the goods.

(3)  Where goods are returned to the hirer under subsection (1) and any breach of the regulated agreement has not been remedied, the owner has no right arising out of the breach to take possession of the goods unless —

(a) by notice in writing given to the hirer at the time of the return of the goods he specifies the breach and requires it to be remedied; and

(b) the hirer fails within 7 business days or within the time specified in the notice (whichever is the longer) after receiving the notice to remedy the breach.

Power of court to vary existing judgments or orders when goods are repossessed

19.  In any proceedings arising out of a regulated agreement, after the owner has taken possession of the goods, the court before which the proceedings are brought may vary or discharge any judgment or order of the court against the hirer for the recovery of money so far as is necessary to give effect to section 17.