TITLE 10
COMMERCE AND TRADE
Section 1. Selling and Other Trade Practices, 10-1-1 through 10-1-915.
ARTICLE 23
LEASE-PURCHASE AGREEMENTS
10-1-681. Definitions.
As used in this article, the term:
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"Lease-purchase agreement" means an agreement for the use of personal property by a lessee primarily for personal, family, or household purposes for an initial period of four months or less that is renewable with each payment after the initial period and that permits the lessee to become the owner of the property. Lease-purchase agreements shall not include any of the following:
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A lease or agreement which constitutes a credit sale as defined in 12 C.F.R. 226.2(a)(16) and Section 1602(g) of the Truth-in-Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1601, et seq.;
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A lease which constitutes a consumer lease as defined in 12 C.F.R. 213.2(a)(6);
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Any lease for agricultural, business, or commercial purposes;
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Any lease made to an organization; or
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A lease or agreement which constitutes a retail installment transaction as defined in paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Code Section 10-1-2.
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"Lessee" means a person who leases property pursuant to a lease-purchase agreement.
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"Lessor" means a person who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly leases, offers to lease, or arranges for the leasing of property under a lease-purchase agreement.
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"Period" means a day, week, month, or other subdivision of a year.
(Code 1981, §10-1-681, enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1341, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 136, § 10.)
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Lease-purchase agreement
meeting the requirements of O.C.G.A
§
10-1-681 constituted a true lease, not a security agreement, and was subject to
§
365 of the Bankruptcy Code, 11 U.S.C.
§
365. Central Rents, Inc. v. Johnson, 203 Bankr. 498 (Bankr. S.D. Ga. 1996).
Agreement not lease-purchase.
- Claimant's unwritten agreement with an individual concerning a vehicle was not a lease-purchase agreement because it had a 36-month term; additionally, the agreement was a credit sale under the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z because the agreement plainly required the individual to pay the full value of the vehicle and provided that the individual would become the vehicle's owner for no additional consideration upon payment of the purchase price. United States v. Bushay, 34 F. Supp. 3d 1260 (N.D. Ga. Aug. 5, 2014).
