N.Y. Personal Property Law § 504-a: Interruption or reduction of income in certain instances

§ 504-a. Interruption or reduction of income in certain instances. 1.

If any consumer who has signed a rental-purchase agreement experiences

an interruption or reduction of twenty-five percent or more of income

due to involuntary job loss, involuntary reduced employment, illness,

pregnancy or disability after one-half or more of the total amount of

the rental payments necessary to acquire ownership under the agreement

has been paid, and such consumer provides to the merchant some evidence

of the amount and cause of the interruption or reduction of income, the

merchant shall reduce the amount of each rental payment by (a) the

percentage of the reduction in the consumer's income or (b) fifty

percent, whichever is less, for the period during which the consumer's

income is interrupted or reduced.

2. If payments are reduced, the total dollar amount of payments

necessary to acquire ownership shall not be increased, provided,

however, that the number of payments necessary to acquire ownership may

be increased accordingly and the rights and duties of the merchant and

the consumer shall not otherwise be affected.

3. When the consumer's income is restored, the merchant may increase

the amount of rental payments, but in no event shall rental payments

exceed the originally disclosed amount of rental payments.