Hire-Purchase Act 1969 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Implied Terms
6B. Implied undertakings as to quality or fitness
Feedback & supportExcept 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.
goods
“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;
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.
owner
“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;
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.
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:
fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied;
appearance and finish;
freedom from minor defects;
safety;
durability.
The term implied by subsection (2) does not extend to any matter making the quality of goods unsatisfactory —
which is specifically drawn to the attention of the hirer before the agreement is made;
where the hirer examines the goods before the agreement is made, which that examination ought to reveal; or
where the goods are bailed by reference to a sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample.
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 —
hirer
“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;
to the owner in the course of negotiations conducted by the owner in relation to the making of the hire‑purchase agreement; or
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.
An implied condition or warranty as to quality or fitness for a particular purpose may be annexed to a hire-purchase agreement by usage.
hire-purchase 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;
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.
The terms implied by subsections (2) and (6) are conditions.