In short. The French emergency repair exception covers expressly requested urgent home repairs and necessary replacement parts, while additional services or goods retain withdrawal rights.
Definition: The withdrawal right allows a consumer to cancel certain contracts during a cooling-off period. The French exception for urgent home repairs expressly requested by the consumer covers only the work and replacement parts strictly necessary to address the emergency.
Key facts
- As of October 2026, the DGCCRF's home-repair guidance defines an emergency as a danger to people's safety or the integrity of the premises that needs to be stopped.
- Article 16(h) of the Consumer Rights Directive preserves withdrawal rights for additional services and goods beyond necessary replacement parts supplied during an urgent repair visit.
- Service Public's home-repair guidance gives water leaks and electricity outages as examples of urgent interventions.
What makes a repair urgent?
The DGCCRF's guidance ties urgency to stopping a danger to people or the premises. Its exception requires the consumer's express request and limits the excluded work and replacement parts to what is strictly necessary to address that emergency.
Service Public's explanation contrasts urgent interventions following a water leak or electricity outage with a non-urgent television repair. For non-urgent work, the availability of a withdrawal right depends on how the contract is concluded. The same guidance gives a 14-day period from conclusion for service contracts made remotely or at the consumer's home.
Does the exception cover everything sold during the visit?
Article 16(h) of Directive 2011/83/EU describes a visit specifically requested for urgent repairs or maintenance. It expressly addresses the situation where the trader supplies services beyond those specifically requested or goods beyond replacement parts necessarily used for that maintenance or repair.
The provision applies the withdrawal right to those additional services or goods. The fact that the sale occurs during an emergency visit therefore does not extend the emergency exception to every item supplied. The relevant boundary is the requested urgent intervention and the parts needed to carry it out.
What information accompanies the repair?
The DGCCRF's home-repair guidance says the professional must inform the consumer when the emergency exception removes the withdrawal right.
Service Public's estimate requirements specify that an estimate prepared at the consumer's home includes the services to be performed, labour and replacement-part costs, travel charges, and a signature or written consent recording agreement before work begins. The professional provides a copy before starting the work.
Related terms
- Which prices must a French home-repair business publish online?
- What withdrawal information must an online shop provide?
- Can a locksmith's website imply an endorsement by a French municipality?
FAQ
Does requesting an urgent visit remove withdrawal rights for extra work?
Article 16(h) of the Consumer Rights Directive preserves your withdrawal right for additional services beyond those specifically requested and goods beyond necessary replacement parts.
Can the repairer omit the estimate because the work is urgent?
Service Public's guidance requires an estimate before a home repair. For an estimate prepared at your home, the repairer gives you a copy before starting the work and records your agreement by signature or written consent.
Sources
- DGCCRF, "Plomberie, serrurerie, chauffage… choisir le bon professionnel pour un dépannage à domicile", 1 July 2025
- EUR-Lex, "Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights", consolidated version of 28 May 2022, Article 16(h)
- Service Public, "Dépannage à domicile", verified 25 March 2025
Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer