On December 17, 2025, the Government of Québec published the final version of a regulation providing clarity on the warranty of good working order first introduced in 2023 by Bill 29, An Act to protect consumers from planned obsolescence and to promote the durability, repairability and maintenance of goods. The regulation primarily clarifies the duration of the warranty of good working order and the disclosure obligations of merchants and manufacturers relating to it.
Note that the following requirements related to the warranty of good working order come into force on October 5, 2026 and are in addition the to requirements relating to the warranty of availability of replacement parts and repair services that came into effect on October 5, 2025 (see our blog posts from from October 2025 and July 2025 for more details).
The Scope of the Warranty of Good Working Order
As mentioned in our blog post from October 2023, Bill 29 introduced, at section 38.1 of the Québec Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”), a new legal warranty called the warranty of good working order. This warranty is separate and distinct from the existing legal warranties of quality, durability, normal use, and availability of replacement parts.
Unlike the other legal warranties provided by the CPA, the new warranty of good working order only applies to certain categories of goods, namely: ranges, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, televisions, computers, tablets, cellphones, video game consoles, air conditioners and heat pumps (the “Covered Goods”). This list may be expanded in the future by regulation.
The warranty of good working order applies to the Covered Goods regardless of whether they are the object of a sale or a long-term lease. Additionally, the merchant or manufacturer remains liable for the performance of the warranty to a consumer who is the subsequent purchaser of the goods.
The warranty of good working order covers both parts and labour, but it does not cover (i) normal maintenance service and the replacement of parts resulting from it; (ii) damage resulting from abuse by the consumer; or (iii) any accessory other than that determined by regulation.
The warranty of good working order takes effect upon the delivery of the goods.
In the case of repairs provided under the warranty of good working order, the merchant or the manufacturer is responsible for paying the reasonable transportation or shipping costs incurred in respect of the performance of the warranty. The merchant or the manufacturer is also required to carry out the necessary repairs to the goods and assume their cost or must permit the consumer to have the repairs carried out by a third person and must assume their cost.
The Duration of the Warranty of Good Working Order
The Regulation clarifies that the duration of the warranty of good working order is:
- six years for a range, a refrigerator, a freezer, an air conditioner and a heat pump;
- five years for a dishwasher, a washing machine and a dryer;
- four years for a television set; and
- three years for a desktop or laptop computer, a tablet, a cellphone and a video game console.
Pre-Sale Disclosure Obligations of Merchants and Manufacturers
Bill 29 specified that the merchant must indicate the duration of the warranty of good working order of the Covered Goods near their advertised price or, in the case of a long-term lease of the goods, near their retail value, in a prominent manner.
The Regulation clarifies that manufacturers for their part must disclose, online, the duration of the warranty of good working order covering the goods in a prominent and comprehensible manner.
Post-Sale Disclosure Obligations of Merchants
Following the conclusion of a contract of sale or a long-term lease of goods covered by the warranty of good working order, the merchant will be required to provide the customer with certain information regarding the warranty. Although the draft version of the regulation published on July 16, 2025 provided details on what information the merchant was required to provide, the timing and the manner of communication, this section was taken out of the final regulation and there thus remains uncertainty as to the conditions under which a merchant must provide this information
Disclosure Obligations Relating to the Sale of Additional Warranties
Pursuant to the regulation, the merchant must also, before proposing the purchase of additional warranties (often known as extended warranties), provide the consumer with a paper document containing only the compulsory notice set out in the regulation, which will vary depending on which of the following type of good is covered:
- Goods that carry the warranty of good working under section 38.1 of the CPA;
- Used automobiles covered by the warranty of good working order under section 159 of the CPA;
- Used motorcycles covered by the warranty of good working order under the second paragraph of section 164 of the CPA; and
- All other goods.
The compulsory notice describes the warranty of good working order, its duration, the consumer’s right to have the goods covered by the warranty repaired by the manufacturer or the merchant free of charge, and the fact that the CPA provides for other legal warranties free of charge. The notice must also include a clause stating: “For more information on the warranties, go to the website of the Office de la protection du consommateur at Québec.ca/garanties-consommateur”.
Lastly, an exception under the regulation provides that merchants are exempted from the obligation to provide a written notice before offering an additional warranty when the offer is made orally from a distance (i.e., over the telephone). In such cases, the notice must be sent to the buyer within 15 days following the conclusion of the contract. If the notice is instead sent electronically, it does not also have to be provided in paper format, but it must be provided in a form that is readable, easy to store, and printable.
Recommendations
Merchants and manufacturers should as soon as possible begin identifying which of their product offerings qualify as Covered Goods and subject to the legal warranty of good working order. If they do indeed offer Covered Goods as part of their product inventory, they should then begin updating consumer-facing information and revising documentation accompanying the Covered Goods to ensure they meet the disclosure requirements in Bill 29 and the Regulation.
[View source.]
