Implied terms as to title
6.—(1) In every hire-purchase agreement, other than one to which subsection (2) applies, there is —(a)
an implied term on the part of the owner that he will have a right to sell the goods at the time when the property is to pass; and
(b)
an implied term that —(i)
the goods are free, and will remain free until the time when the property is to pass, from any charge or encumbrance not disclosed or known to the hirer; and
(ii)
the hirer will enjoy quiet possession of the goods except so far as it may be disturbed by any person entitled to the benefit of any charge or encumbrance so disclosed or known.
(2) In a hire-purchase agreement, in the case of which there appears from the agreement or is to be inferred from the circumstances of the agreement an intention that the owner should transfer only such title as he or a third person may have, there is —(a)
an implied term that all charges or encumbrances known to the owner and not known to the hirer have been disclosed to the hirer before the agreement is made; and
(b)
an implied term that neither —(i)
the owner; nor
(ii)
in a case where the parties to the agreement intend that any title which may be transferred shall be only such title as a third person may have, that person; nor
(iii)
anyone claiming through or under the owner or that third person otherwise than under a charge or encumbrance disclosed or known to the hirer, before the agreement is made,
will disturb the quiet possession of the hirer.
(3) The term implied by subsection (1)(a) is a condition and the terms implied by subsections (1)(b), (2)(a) and (2)(b) are warranties.
Bailing or hiring by description
6A.—(1) Where under a hire-purchase agreement goods are bailed by description, there is an implied term that the goods will correspond with the description, and if under the agreement the goods are bailed by reference to a sample as well as a description, it is not sufficient that the bulk of the goods corresponds with the sample if the goods do not also correspond with the description.
(2) The term implied by subsection (1) is a condition.
(3) Goods shall not be prevented from being bailed by description by reason only that, being exposed for sale or bailment, they are selected by the hirer.
Implied undertakings as to quality or fitness
6B.—(1) Except 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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:(a)
fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied;
(b)
appearance and finish;
(c)
freedom from minor defects;
(d)
safety;
(e)
durability.
(5) The term implied by subsection (2) does not extend to any matter making the quality of goods unsatisfactory —(a)
which is specifically drawn to the attention of the hirer before the agreement is made;
(b)
where the hirer examines the goods before the agreement is made, which that examination ought to reveal; or
(c)
where the goods are bailed by reference to a sample, which would have been apparent on a reasonable examination of the sample.
(6) 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 —(a)
to the owner in the course of negotiations conducted by the owner in relation to the making of the hire‑purchase agreement; or
(b)
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.
(7) An implied condition or warranty as to quality or fitness for a particular purpose may be annexed to a hire-purchase agreement by usage.
(8) 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.
(9) The terms implied by subsections (2) and (6) are conditions.
Samples
6C.—(1) Where under a hire-purchase agreement goods are bailed by reference to a sample, there is an implied term —(a)
that the bulk will correspond with the sample in quality;
(b)
that the hirer will have a reasonable opportunity of comparing the bulk with the sample; and
(c)
that the goods will be free from any defect, making their quality unsatisfactory, which would not be apparent on reasonable examination of the sample.
(2) The term implied by subsection (1) is a condition.
Modification of remedies for breach of statutory condition in non-consumer cases
6D.—(1) Where in the case of a hire‑purchase agreement —(a)
the hirer would, apart from this subsection, have the right to reject the goods by reason of a breach on the part of the owner of a term implied by section 6A, 6B or 6C(1)(a) or (c); but
(b)
the breach is so slight that it would be unreasonable for him to reject them,
then, if the hirer does not deal as consumer, the breach is not to be treated as a breach of condition but may be treated as a breach of warranty.
(2) This section applies unless a contrary intention appears in, or is to be implied from, the agreement.
(3) It is for the owner to show —(a)
that a breach fell within subsection (1)(b); and
(b)
that the hirer did not deal as consumer.
Exclusion of implied terms
6E. An express term does not negative a term implied by this Part unless inconsistent with it.
Special provisions as to conditional sale agreements
6F.—(1) Section 11(3) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (whereby in certain circumstances a breach of a condition in a contract of sale is treated only as a breach of warranty) shall not apply to a conditional sale agreement where the buyer deals as consumer.
(2) A breach of a condition (whether express or implied) to be fulfilled by the seller under any such agreement shall be treated as a breach of warranty, and not as grounds for rejecting the goods and treating the agreement as repudiated, if (but only if) it would have fallen to be so treated had the condition been contained or implied in a corresponding hire-purchase agreement as a condition to be fulfilled by the owner.
(3) In subsection (2), “corresponding hire-purchase agreement” means a hire‑purchase agreement relating to the same goods as the conditional sale agreement and made between the same parties and at the same time and in the same circumstances and, as nearly as may be, in the same terms as the conditional sale agreement.
Interpretation of this Part
6G. In this Part —(a)
“business” has the same meaning as in the Sale of Goods Act 1979;
(b)
references to dealing as consumer are to be construed in accordance with Part 1 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
