MODIFICATION OF LEGAL AND COMMERCIAL GUARANTEE TERMS FOR CONSUMERS
On January 1st 2022, the reform of the Consumer Law entered into force by the Real Decreto-Ley 7/2021, of April 27th, which modifies the current regime in the matter of legal and commercial guarantees to consumers by adapting the Spanish legislation to the European Directive 2019/771, extending significantly the terms of legal guarantees.
Until now, the legal warranty that the manufacturer and distributor had to grant to the consumer was two (2) years for new products and one (1) year for second-hand products. In addition, it established a mandatory period of availability of spare parts of five (5) years once the product is no longer manufactured, a limitation period of three (3) years to claim possible defects or lack of conformity and a presumption favorable to the consumer in case of breakdown or defect six (6) months from purchase.
As of January, the warranty period granted by the distributor and manufacturer is three (3) years for new products, two (2) years for digital products and one (1) year for second-hand products. In addition, the period of availability of spare parts is extended to ten (10) years from the time the product is no longer manufactured.
| UNTIL JANUARY 1ST, 2022 | FROM JANUARY 1ST, 2022 | |
| MINIMUM LEGAL WARRANTY |
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| TERM OF PRESCRIPTIOON | 3 years from the delivery of the product. | 5 years from the delivery of the product. |
| SPARE PARTS | The consumer has the right to spare parts for a period of 5 years from the date the product was discontinued. | The consumer has the right to spare parts for a period of 10 years from the date the product was discontinued. |
| BURDEN OF PROOF | Nonconformities that arise within 6 months of delivery are presumed to have existed when the product was delivered. | Nonconformities that arise within 2 years of delivery are presumed to have existed when the product was delivered. |
Note that while Spain and Portugal have chosen to extend the warranty period to three (3) years, most of the European countries, for example Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland and Slovenia continue offering a minimum warranty of two (2) years.
The extension of warranty periods offers greater protection to the consumer. The other side of the coin are the manufacturers and distributors, who will have to review their contractual and commercial strategy.
