Quebec's New Legal Warranty: Free Repairs for Up to 6 Years

Your fridge stops cooling in its third summer. Until now, getting it fixed for free meant arguing with the store, or a judge, about how long a fridge should reasonably last. From October 5, 2026, Quebec settles that argument in advance. A new legal warranty, the warranty of good working order, requires the store or the manufacturer to repair 14 kinds of new appliances and electronics for free, for 3 to 6 years depending on the item. It comes with the purchase, and it costs you nothing.

What is Quebec’s new legal warranty?

It’s a warranty of good working order written into Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act (opens in a new tab), sections 38.1 to 38.9, and it applies to covered items bought new, or leased new on a long-term lease, from a business on or after October 5, 2026. If one stops working properly, or at all, within its set period, the store or the manufacturer has to repair it for free. That includes parts, labour and reasonable shipping costs.

It applies whatever the brand, model or price, according to the Office de la protection du consommateur (in French) (opens in a new tab) (OPC), the province’s consumer protection agency. Neither the store nor the manufacturer can opt out of it. The period starts on the day the item is delivered, not the day you pay for it. The rule comes from Bill 29, the 2023 law against planned obsolescence, and a regulation adopted in December 2025 set how long each item is covered.

How it’s different from the warranty Quebec already had

Quebec has had a legal warranty since 1978. Goods have to last a reasonable time, given their price, the contract and how they’re used. The law never said how long that is, so claiming it meant proving your item fell short, sometimes with an expert’s opinion. The new warranty sets a floor in years instead. Inside that period, the only thing you have to show is that the item doesn’t work.

How many years is each item covered?

Between three and six years, counted from the day the item is delivered. The large kitchen and climate appliances get the most time, and phones and computers the least.

Stores have to show the length next to the price, on the shelf tag, on the website and in flyers and ads, and manufacturers have to publish it online. So from October 5 you’ll see the number before you buy. Keep the invoice and anything that shows the delivery date, like a delivery email or a signed delivery slip, because that date is where the count starts. The OPC’s consumer page on the warranty (in French) (opens in a new tab) suggests photographing paper receipts, since they can fade until they’re unreadable.

What isn’t covered?

Accidents, maintenance and anything bought before October 5, 2026. The warranty covers an item that breaks down on its own. Damage from misuse, parts you replace as routine upkeep and accessories are on you. A purchase between two businesses doesn’t count either, since the warranty only applies when a consumer buys from a merchant.

The OPC gives these examples of where the line falls, in its questions and answers on the warranty (in French) (opens in a new tab):

Items bought before October 5 still have the older reasonable-lifespan warranty, explained further down.

How do you get a free repair?

Contact the store that sold it or the manufacturer, whichever you prefer, and ask for a repair under the warranty of good working order. They either fix it at their own cost or let you have it fixed somewhere else and pay for that. Don’t pay a repair shop first and then send the bill to the store. The OPC says you have to ask the store or the manufacturer before any work is done.

1. Find the delivery date. It’s on the invoice, the delivery slip or the confirmation email.
2. Choose who to call. The choice is yours. A store can’t send you to the manufacturer, and a manufacturer can’t send you back to the store.
3. Ask for the warranty by name. In French it’s la garantie de bon fonctionnement. Alexandre Plourde, a lawyer at Option consommateurs, told Noovo (in French) (opens in a new tab) that stores often tell customers the manufacturer’s warranty has run out, or that they didn’t buy an extended one. Neither matters here. As with the price accuracy policy at the checkout, asking for it by name goes a long way.
4. Let the store or the manufacturer arrange the repair. Parts, labour and reasonable shipping are theirs to pay. If no repair is available within a reasonable time, they can offer you a replacement instead.
5. If the answer is no, escalate. If the store or the manufacturer takes part in Parle consommation (in French) (opens in a new tab), the OPC’s free online negotiation platform, start there. If it doesn’t, or if that fails, send a formal notice (opens in a new tab), then file with the Small Claims Division (opens in a new tab) of the Court of Québec, which hears claims up to $15,000 and where you represent yourself.

How long can a repair take?

The law doesn’t set a deadline, but the OPC says the repair still has to happen within a reasonable time. While the store or the manufacturer has your item, the warranty is extended by that long, so two weeks in the shop adds two weeks to your coverage. A repair doesn’t restart the clock, though. A washer repaired four years after delivery has one year left.

Do you still need an extended warranty?

Not for breakdowns during the legal period, because the law already covers parts and labour for free. A paid plan is only worth it for what the law leaves out, like accidental damage or years past the legal period. So before you buy one, ask what it covers that the warranty of good working order doesn’t.

From October 5, a store that offers you an extended warranty has to tell you out loud about the warranty of good working order and how long it lasts. That’s on top of the written notice about Quebec’s legal warranties that stores already have to give you (opens in a new tab) before they pitch a plan.

Some plans do add something. Accident coverage is the clearest case, since a phone that stops working after a fall is exactly the OPC’s example of what the warranty doesn’t cover. Length is the other. A five-year plan on a TV would run a year past the law’s four.

You can cancel a plan you already bought

Quebec lets you cancel an extended warranty within 10 days of buying it, with no fee or penalty. Send the store a written notice, and it has to refund you as soon as possible, the OPC explains (opens in a new tab). From October 5, 2026, those 10 days become a full year if the store didn’t show how long the warranty of good working order lasts next to the price, or skipped the notices it owes you before selling a plan. The right doesn’t apply to a plan underwritten by an insurer authorized under Quebec’s Insurers Act.

What if it breaks after the warranty ends?

You can still turn to the older legal warranty. Since 1978, the Consumer Protection Act has required goods to last a reasonable time, given their price, the contract and how they’re used. It has no fixed number of years, it covers everything bought before October 5, and you can use it instead of the new warranty, for example to ask for a refund rather than a repair.

The OPC’s example is a dryer that stops working after one year. Instead of a free repair under the new warranty, you could ask for your money back under the reasonable-lifespan one. The trade-off is proof, because you have to show the item didn’t last as long as it should have.

And a reasonable lifespan can run well past the new periods. Plourde told La Presse (in French) (opens in a new tab) it isn’t rare for a court to decide that an appliance should last 10 years, which is why Option consommateurs wanted the new periods to be longer.

A cushion for the repairs the law doesn’t cover

The new warranty covers some repair bills, but not all of them. You’ll still pay for a dropped phone or a routine filter change, and for a late breakdown unless you can show the item should have lasted longer. A small emergency fund is the usual answer, and our guide to building an emergency fund in Canada covers how much to aim for.

Lodavo is a free Canadian app that makes building that cushion more fun. Connect the savings or chequing account you already use, and your balance earns you free tickets for a weekly cash draw. Someone wins at least $100 every week, and the top prize is $10,000. So you’re building the repair fund and getting a chance at a cash prize at the same time.

Look for the warranty length next to the price

From October 5, every covered item sold in Quebec has to show its warranty length beside the price, in the store and online. It’s worth a look before you say yes to an extended plan, and worth remembering the day something stops working.

Download Lodavo free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) or Google Play Store (opens in a new tab) and start earning tickets for the weekly draw while your repair fund grows.

This article is general information, not legal advice. How the warranty applies depends on the item, how it broke and what your contract says, so check your own case with the Office de la protection du consommateur.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.