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Easier repair of household appliances and consumer electronics – new directive is coming soon

by Michał Majnusz

29 April 2024

The European Parliament adopted on 23 April 2024 a directive on common rules promoting the repair of goods also known as the R2R (right-to-repair) directive.

What is the R2R directive?

The aim of the directive is to entrench pro-environmental behaviour in consumers by encouraging them to repair faulty and broken equipment – within and beyond the legal (statutory) guarantee – instead of buying new stuff, thereby creating a circular economy in which appliances last longer and, therefore, have less impact on the environment.

Among other things, the new legislation:

provides for greater access for consumers to repairs and spare parts, tools and information needed for repairing the equipment,
obliges manufacturers to provide repair and access to spare parts at a reasonable price and within a reasonable time,
extends the equipment warranty period by one year whenever equipment requires repair during the statutory warranty period,
obliges manufacturers to ensure that equipment can also be repaired after the warranty period has expired.

Online repair platform

The directive additionally obliges Member States to set up at least one online platform enabling consumers to find equipment repairers with information about the scope of services they provide and the conditions of repair, such as:

the estimated time needed to repair the equipment,
options to collect and transport the equipment,
availability of substitute equipment for the duration of the repair.

In order to ensure as wide access to repairs as possible, the platform must also be easily accessible to people with disabilities.

What equipment will the right to repair at a reasonable price apply to?

The directive will apply to the most common and widely used household appliances and consumer electronics, such as:

washing machines,
washer-dryers,
dishwashers,
fridges,
freezers,
vacuum cleaners,
mobile phones,
tablets.

Effective date

The directive is yet to be approved by the Council of the European Union and published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Member States will have 24 months of the directive’s date of entry into force to transpose it into their national legislation.

If you have questions about the new obligations for consumer electronics and household appliances, you are welcome to contact us.

Contact

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Michał Majnusz

Attorney at law (Poland)

+48 882 786 777

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