The Consumer Leasing Act, 15 U.S.C. 1667 et seq. (CLA), an amendment to the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq., was enacted to foster comparison shopping and informed decision making by requiring accurate disclosure of the costs and terms of leases to consumers. Lessors are subject to disclosure requirements that apply to both open-end leases (i.e., with a residual due at lease end) and closed-end leases (i.e., "walkaway" leases, with no substantial amount due at lease end).
Consumers rely upon the disclosures required by the Consumer Leasing Act, 15 U.S.C. 1667 et seq. (CLA) and Regulation M, 12 CFR 1013, for information to comparison shop among leases, as well as to ascertain the true costs and terms of lease offers. Federal and state enforcement and private litigants use the records to ascertain whether accurate and complete disclosures of the cost of leases have been provided to consumers prior to consummation of the lease. This information provides the primary evidence of law violations in CLA enforcement actions brought by federal agencies. Without Regulation M's recordkeeping requirement, the agencies' ability to enforce the CLA would be significantly impaired.
The new estimates calculated by the CFPB reflect a decrease of -95,040 burden hours and an increase of $14,137of material cost burden. The estimated burden hours are lower than CFPB and FTC's previous estimates for several reasons. First and foremost, the decrease in burden hours represents a significant drop in the estimated number of non-motor-vehicle lessors in the past 3 years. Secondly, the CFPB estimate excludes one-time costs that were associated with rule changes in previous estimates, and also excludes previously reported burden associated with motor-vehicle enforcement (the FTC assumes all burden related to motor vehicle leasing). The increase in material cost arises because we provide an estimate for the small material burden associated with each lease transaction. The decision to estimate per-transaction costs as material burden reflects the CFPB's belief that the process of providing disclosures and recordkeeping has become almost entirely automated, but that there is a small cost of printing and technology costs associated with each additional lease.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
3170-0006 CLA (M) 2015 renewal SS-30day-final.pdf
Change Request - Remove Cost Burden.docx
Consumer Leasing Act Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements