Renting To Own It
S.C. Code 37-2-702 and S.C. Code 37-2-705 — the full cost disclosed, a buyout at fifty-five percent, and small capped late fees
A rental-purchase agreement is one for household goods, renewable with each payment, for an initial period of four months or less, that lets the renter become the owner.
Before signing, the lessor discloses clearly the total of scheduled payments, the number, amounts and timing of payments to own the item, that ownership comes only when they are all made, whether the item is new or used, and any responsibility for loss or damage, and gives the renter a copy.
The buyout. At any time after the first payment, the renter may acquire ownership by paying fifty-five percent of the difference between the total of scheduled payments and the total paid so far.
- A late charge of up to $4 on a monthly payment more than five business days late, or up to $2 on a weekly one more than three business days late, once per payment.
- An initial fee of up to $5, or instead a delivery charge of up to $15, or $45 for more than five items.
- A charge of up to $7 for picking up a payment at the home, a few times in any six-month period.
Those are the extra charges the part allows. A particular agreement is a question for the Department of Consumer Affairs.
Sources for this section (4)
- S.C. Code 37-2-701 — Consumer rental-purchase agreements; definitions
- S.C. Code 37-2-702 — Rental-purchase required disclosures
- S.C. Code 37-2-705 — Rental-purchase delinquency charges
- S.C. Code 37-2-706 — Rental-purchase deposits; delivery charges; pick up charges
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Carolina attorney.