EU citizens officially have the right to repair. So what next?
The five-year-old washing machine is broken, and statutory warranty and commercial guarantees have long since expired – but perhaps it can be repaired? Since the end of July, manufacturers have been obliged to offer at least the possibility of repair for certain products.
Domestic washing machines are among these products: so in the event of a repairable defect, you could demand that it be brought back into working order. But how quickly and at what cost? An overview of what consumers need to know.
What is new? Manufacturers are legally obliged to repair certain products during their usual lifespan and to provide spare parts. According to consumer advice centres, this applies, for example, to dishwashers, washing machines, tumble dryers, fridges, freezers, televisions, smartphones, tablets and cordless phones.
Other products, such as vacuum cleaners or certain batteries, are now subject to the right to repair, but according to experts there is not yet an explicit obligation to keep spare parts in stock for them.
The right to repair applies to all products in these categories purchased since 31 July this year – and often to earlier purchases as well.
This is because manufacturers have already been obliged to keep spare parts in stock for certain appliances for some time: for washing machines, this ‘spare parts obligation’ has applied since March 2021, according to consumer advocates, and the same applies to refrigeration appliances, televisions and dishwashers. For smartphones, it has applied since 20 June 2025.
From these cut-off dates, manufacturers must stock spare parts and also repair defective appliances where possible for seven years (e.g. for smartphones) or even 10 years (e.g. for washing machines), depending on the product group. The consumer advice centres explain that the period begins at the point in time when the last unit of the respective model was placed on the market. It is product-related and independent of the purchase date.
Example: if a washing machine purchased after 1 March 2021 was last available to buy in January 2023, the manufacturer must have spare parts available until January 2033.
What does the rule achieve?
Because while it is true that many people are placing increasing value on sustainability, finances ultimately matter most: anyone having their device repaired will likely only do so if it saves money compared with buying a new one. Experts see this as one of the weaknesses of the regulation.
The right to repair does not mean the right to free repair. Manufacturers are allowed to charge money for it. If the repair is too expensive, many will continue to opt to buy a new product.
How much is the repair allowed to cost? The law provides that manufacturers may charge a reasonable fee. What qualifies as reasonable remains open. Manufacturers are also permitted to make a profit from the repair. At the same time, the law clearly states that the manufacturer must offer spare parts and tools for repairing its goods at a reasonable price ‘that does not deter from repair’.
According to the Consumer Advice Centre Hamburg, manufacturers must publish typical repair costs on their websites. Consumers can then weigh up their options.
If the repair price cannot be fixed as a flat rate and the device must first be examined, for instance to carry out a diagnosis, this may cost extra money. However, the consumer must be informed of this beforehand.
Timelines
The law does not specify concrete deadlines in days or weeks. Instead, it states that the manufacturer must carry out the repair within a reasonable period once it has received the goods. What is considered reasonable depends on the type and complexity of the defect, the availability of spare parts, the product, the urgency for the consumer, and the actual repair effort.
Nevertheless, months of inactivity simply on the grounds that a spare part has not yet arrived is unlikely to be readily permissible. If a manufacturer fails to respond for a long time following a repair request, consumers should set a specific deadline – to document that prompt processing is being demanded.
This could be phrased as follows: ‘Please let me know within 14 days/by [date] whether the repair can be carried out, which spare parts are required, what costs will be incurred, and within what timeframe the repair will be completed’.
You can also request only spare parts and tools from the manufacturer and carry out the repair yourself, in a repair shop or at a repair café.
Statutory warranties when purchasing new goods will be valid for two years. If problems occur with the device during this period, you contact the seller or retailer to assert supplementary performance – which can take the form of a repair or a replacement, free of charge.
There is only one hurdle with the statutory warranty: while during the first year the so-called reversal of the burden of proof applies and defects are presumed to have already existed at the time of purchase (placing the obligation on the manufacturer/seller), in the second year consumers must prove that the defect lay within the device. This is often where claims fail.
A commercial guarantee, on the other hand, is a voluntary service whose scope and duration can be freely structured. It supplements the statutory warranty but does not replace it.
And the new right to repair? That is directed straight at the manufacturer. It exists alongside statutory warranty rights.
In the assessment of the Consumer Advice Centre Hamburg, the right to repair is particularly interesting for devices whose statutory warranty period has already expired or which have been damaged through one’s own fault.
And another thing
Anyone who opts for a repair instead of a replacement when a defect occurs within the statutory warranty period extends the warranty for the product by an additional year – so from two to three years in total. The rule applies to all new devices purchased from the cut-off date of 31 July 2026.
Furthermore, it can be deemed a defect if a product cannot be repaired where this ‘can reasonably be expected’. What may still sound vague is clarified by an example from the consumer advice centres: if a smartphone battery is fully glued into the housing and can only be removed using specialist tools with a substantial risk of damage, this constitutes a lack of repairability because the battery, as a typical wear-and-tear part, is not designed to be accessible or replaceable.
In such cases if a defect is now considered to exist, even if a breakdown has not yet occurred. Those affected can, according to consumer advocates, withdraw from the purchase contract or reduce the purchase price.
DPA
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