Right to Repair Directive — Directive (EU) 2024/1799
Directive (EU) 2024/1799 of 13 June 2024 on common rules promoting the repair of goods. Grants the consumer the right to request post-sale repair, complementing the ESPR and the ECGT.
Context
The Right to Repair Directive is the European instrument that establishes the consumer’s right to request repair from the producer of a good outside the period of the legal guarantee of conformity. It completes the triad of the circular regime for goods: the ESPR sets design requirements (supply), the ECGT regulates consumer information (pre-sale), and the right to repair operates in the post-sale phase.
Regulatory origin
Directive (EU) 2024/1799 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024, published in the OJEU OJ L of 10 July 2024. Canonical ELI `http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1799/oj`. Legal basis Art. 114 TFEU. Signed in Brussels by R. METSOLA (Parliament) and M. MICHEL (Council). It enters into force on the twentieth day following its publication (Art. 23).
Four operative elements
European repair information form (Annex I): a voluntary tool that the repairer may use to inform the consumer in a structured manner before the service is contracted. If provided correctly, it satisfies the pre-contractual information presumptions of Art. 5 CRD.
Obligation of the producer to repair goods for which reparability requirements exist in the Union legal acts listed in Annex II. It may be free of charge or at a reasonable price. The producer may subcontract the repair. If established outside the Union, the obligation falls on its authorised representative, importer or distributor down the chain.
Availability of spare parts and tools at a reasonable price that does not deter repair.
Amendment of Directive (EU) 2019/771 on the legal guarantee of conformity: where repair is the remedy under Art. 13(2), the liability period is extended by 12 months (Art. 10(2a)).
Timeline
Directive adopted
Signed in Brussels by R. METSOLA and M. MICHEL.
OJEU publication
OJEU OJ L 2024/1799.
Transposition deadline
Member States adopt the necessary national provisions (Art. 22(1)).
Effective application + notification of the penalty regime
Member States apply the measures and notify the Commission of the penalty regime (Arts. 22(1) and 15).
Commission report
Evaluation of the application of the Directive, in particular Arts. 5 and 16 (Art. 19(1)).
Applied case
A textile brand with a line of electronic accessories (smartwatches, earphones, sensor torches) audits its exposure to the right to repair regime.
Annex II audit: it identifies whether its accessories fall within any of the 10 listed categories. Smartwatches and wearables with a battery could become covered via Reg. (EU) 2023/1542 (batteries of light means of transport) if they have a rechargeable battery.
If they fall under Annex II: it prepares a network of authorised repairers (own or subcontracted), guarantees the availability of spare parts at a reasonable price that does not deter repair (Art. 6) and publishes indicative prices for typical repairs on a freely accessible website (Art. 5(5)).
Classic textile line (shirts, trousers): NOT covered at the close, it continues under the general regime of the legal guarantee of conformity under Dir. (EU) 2019/771 (amended by Art. 16 of Directive 2024/1799 itself).
Strategic decision: voluntarily anticipate a textile repair programme (mending, zips, buttons, hems) as a brand value proposition, aligned with the announcement of a European online repair platform in the 2030 Consumer Agenda (by 2028).
Common mistakes
The Directive does NOT require all goods to be repaired: only those listed in Annex II.
Art. 5(1) limits the obligation to repair to the goods for which reparability requirements are established in the Union legal acts listed in Annex II. At the close of this entry these are 10 categories (household appliances, electronics, smartphones, batteries of light transport). Classic textiles are not covered until an ESPR textile delegated act incorporates reparability requirements.
The right to repair is NOT the legal guarantee of conformity: it operates outside (and within) the guarantee period.
The legal guarantee of conformity (Dir. (EU) 2019/771) covers 2 years for pre-existing conformity defects and the seller is liable. The right to repair (Dir. (EU) 2024/1799 Art. 5) operates at any moment of the good’s life cycle and the producer is liable. They are complementary regimes. Directive 2024/1799 additionally amends Dir. (EU) 2019/771 in its Art. 16, extending the legal guarantee period by 12 months where repair is the chosen remedy (new Art. 10(2a)).
The European form is VOLUNTARY for the repairer, not mandatory.
Art. 4(1) provides that repairers
«may»
hand the European form to the consumer. It is not an obligation. Whoever provides it complete and accurate benefits from the presumption of Art. 4(6) of compliance with the pre-contractual obligations of Arts. 5(1) and 6(1) of Dir. 2011/83/EU. Whoever does not provide it remains bound by the standard pre-contractual information.The Art. 5 obligation falls on the PRODUCER, not on the seller or independent repairer.
Art. 5(1) states:
«the producer shall repair the goods»
. If the producer is established outside the Union, the obligation falls successively on its authorised representative, importer or distributor (Art. 5(3)). Independent repairers are not bound by Art. 5: they may voluntarily offer the service under general market rules.The Directive does NOT include a harmonised European penalty regime.
Art. 15 delegates to the Member States the setting of penalties applicable to infringements of Arts. 4, 5 and 6, requiring only that they be effective, proportionate and dissuasive. Each Member State will adopt its own penalty regime in the transposition (deadline 31 July 2026). In Spain, transposition will foreseeably be channelled via the General Law for the Defence of Consumers and Users.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Right to Repair Directive?
Directive (EU) 2024/1799 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on common rules promoting the repair of goods. It establishes the consumer’s right to request repair from the producer in the post-sale phase for goods with reparability requirements established in the Union legal acts listed in its Annex II.
Does the right to repair apply to classic textiles?
NO at the close of this entry (May 2026). Art. 5(1) limits the obligation to repair to the goods covered by Annex II, which at the close lists 10 categories (household appliances, electronics, smartphones, batteries of light transport). Classic textiles are not covered until an ESPR textile delegated act incorporates sectoral reparability requirements.
When does the regime become applicable?
From 31 July 2026, the date on which Member States apply the national transposition measures (Art. 22(1)). Member States notify the penalty regime to the Commission on the same date (Art. 15). Art. 21 establishes a transitional provision: Art. 16 (amendment of Dir. (EU) 2019/771) does not apply to sales contracts concluded before 31 July 2026.
Who is bound by Art. 5?
The producer of the good. It may subcontract the repair. If the producer is established outside the Union, the obligation falls successively on its authorised representative in the Union, importer or distributor (Art. 5(3)). Independent repairers are not bound by Art. 5 but may voluntarily use the European form of Art. 4.
What does the Directive extend in the legal guarantee of conformity?
Art. 16 amends Directive (EU) 2019/771 by introducing Art. 10(2a): where repair is the chosen remedy under Art. 13(2) to bring the good into conformity, the seller’s liability period is extended once by an additional 12 months. The new Art. 13(2a) requires the seller to inform the consumer of their right to choose between repair and replacement and of the extension of the liability period.
What is the European repair information form?
A voluntary tool of Annex I that the repairer may hand to the consumer before the service is contracted (Art. 4(1)). It contains the identity of the repairer, the nature of the defect, the type of repair suggested, the price or method of calculation and the maximum price, the time to completion, the availability of a temporary replacement good, the place of delivery and ancillary services. Minimum period of validity 30 calendar days (Art. 4(5)). If provided correctly, it presumes compliance with the pre-contractual information of Arts. 5(1) and 6(1) of Dir. 2011/83/EU (Art. 4(6)).
Fuentes oficiales
- European Parliament and Council · OJEU13 jun 2024Directive in force
- European Parliament and Council · OJEU20 may 2019Directive in force
- European Parliament and Council · OJEU13 jun 2024Regulation in force
- European Parliament and Council · OJEU OJ L of 6.3.202428 feb 2024Complementary standard
