A fourth Invercargill company has been convicted over a misleading rent-to-buy property scheme.
CMA Property has been fined $40,000 and ordered to pay more than $42,000 in reparation to around 20 tenants.
The conviction is the latest in a string of cases where people found themselves locked-in to the scheme for 30 years before they could get the title of the property.
Stewart Wallace of the Commerce Commission says the four companies involved made a conscious decision to conceal the true nature of the deal.
"[We] would understand ownership as having the title to your property - that you own it. But you didn't get security of title until after the 30 year period."
The Commerce Commission alleges more than 100 Auckland renters have been caught up in similar schemes.
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