U.S. Representative Maxwell Frost, D-Florida, is calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to investigate the rapidly growing “rent now, pay later” industry, warning that consumers may not fully understand the fees and cost structures associated with these services.
Frost sent a letter to CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought urging the bureau to investigate rent-now-pay-later companies and hold them accountable for potential violations of federal consumer financial protection laws. In the letter, obtained by the Associated Press and reported by Local 10 News, Frost also asked the bureau to explain what it is doing to protect renters and whether landlords are steering tenants toward rent-financing products.
“Rent now, pay later” companies allow renters to split their monthly rent into smaller payments over the course of a month. A renter with a $1,000 monthly rent bill might pay in four weekly payments of $250 or two payments of $500. Companies such as Flex and Livble say this approach helps renters manage cash flow, but some payment plans come with fees and finance charges.
Frost, who was first elected to Congress in 2022 at age 25, said he frequently used buy-now-pay-later services to furnish his first apartment in Washington, which put him heavily into debt. He said it was only because of his congressional salary that he was recently able to pay those debts off, and he believes his experience is similar to that of other young Americans.
“Americans should know they have rights when using these buy now, pay later products,” Frost said. “This is why the CFPB was created in the first place.”
The congressman’s concerns reflect broader worries about the proliferation of alternative financial products in Florida’s rental market, where housing costs have risen significantly. In February, the AP reported that users of these services were paying as much as $50 a month to split their rent, a finding corroborated by Local 10 News coverage of Frost’s letter. Frost argues that some rent-now-pay-later products more closely resemble “repackaged payday loans” than innovative financial tools.
A February report by Protect Borrowers and Toward Justice argued that some rent-now-pay-later companies should comply with Truth in Lending Act requirements based on how they structure their products. The industry strongly disagreed with the groups’ findings at the time.
The CFPB has sharply curtailed its work under the second Trump administration. Under Vought, the bureau has rolled back regulations and guidance, dropped enforcement actions, and moved to rescind previous agency activity. Frost said that if the bureau does not act, he hopes to use information gathered from this letter to propose legislation next year if Democrats take control of Congress.
“I’m not holding my breath for the Trump administration to do the right thing, but this is the first step of many we can take to make sure these products are used correctly and Americans are protected,” Frost said.
