The New York Times has brought attention to growing problems in the rent-to-own housing market. Because many former homeowners had their credit ruined because of a foreclosure during the mortgage crisis, they have been driven into nontraditional housing markets includinge rent-to-owns.

As the NYT points out, rent-to-own deals can be worse than traditional rentals and worse than traditional mortgages due to fewer consumer protections than either.  Habitibility rules that apply to rental housing may not apply to certain rent-to-owns, also the applicability of laws concerning refundability of damage deposits and other restrictions on eviction are iffy.

The disclosure protections that apply to home mortgages also may not apply to rent-to-own contracts. Because rent-to-own contracts often/usually shift the burden of repair and rehabilitation of the property to the tenant, the costs of a rent-to-own house are often unpredictible.

All of that being said, rent-to-own contracts are not all bad, and they can work for some people, especially people who have the time and ability to do a lot of repair work. The devil is in the details.

If you have a problem with a rent-to-own or contract-for-deed house, contact a NACA lawyer in your area through the NACA find an attorney list.  Even if that NACA lawyer is not familiar with rent-to-own issues he or she has access to the wisdom of all the other NACA lawyers, so there’s still a great chance that your problems can be addressed.