Bundestag Passes Right to Repair Law: A Win for German Consumers

Bundestag Passes Right to Repair Legislation

Consumers will soon have a right to repair devices such as smartphones, washing machines, and refrigerators. The Bundestag passed the government-introduced bill on Thursday evening, mandating that manufacturers must repair certain products at a "reasonable" price for a specified number of years.

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Beyond the Two-Year Warranty

Until now, consumers have only been entitled to repairs under the existing two-year statutory warranty. The new right to repair will apply to all products for which manufacturers are already legally required to keep spare parts in stock for a defined period, a category that includes mobile phones, tablets, refrigerators, and tumble dryers.

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Longer Warranty Period as an Incentive to Repair

The law is also designed to encourage consumers to choose repair over replacement. Anyone who has a defective product repaired within the existing two-year warranty window will see that period extended by twelve months, bringing the total to three years. This applies to all consumer goods, not just the specific devices listed in the legislation.

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Restrictions on Manufacturers Lifted

Under the new rules, manufacturers will no longer be permitted to prevent a device from being repaired at all, for instance, by embedding software that blocks repair. They will also be prohibited from stipulating that only original spare parts may be used.

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Industry and Consumer Groups Raise Concerns

The German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) had criticised the draft legislation when it was first presented, arguing that certain provisions were unclear and difficult to implement in practice. Among the issues raised was the absence of a definition for what constitutes a "reasonable price" for a repair.

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The Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv) raised the same concern and, in a statement published in early June, proposed a set of criteria for determining spare part prices and a maximum delivery time of five days for repairs. The vzbv cited survey data showing that repair costs exceeding 30 to 40 percent of the price of a new product, as well as lengthy repair times, deter consumers from choosing to have items repaired.

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