In a new law now in effect in the Manitoba Province of Canada, vehicle dealers are required to disclose if a vehicle had at any point been used in rental. Bill 120, Motor Vehicle Information Disclosure Regulation as part of the Business Practices Act, makes it an unfair business practice to not disclose if a vehicle had been used as a rental vehicle, emergency vehicle such as in a police fleet, or a taxi or limousine service.

Other regulations in the bill include disclosing if a vehicle had ever sustained flood or fire damage, or if it is “materially different from the original or advertised production specifications.”

The legislation was passed in July 2011, and requires that a dealer includes this information in a contract as well as giving the information verbally to a consumer.

The Ontario province of Canada has similar legislation called the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act of Ontario, and is enforced by the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council.

This article was updated Jan. 17, as it previously did not correctly identify Manitoba as the area in which the law is in place. We apologize for this oversight.