Warranty period for a refrigeration installation: what does the law say?

A customer calls three years after a refrigeration installation was fitted with a fault and asks: "is this still under warranty?" The honest answer starts with a question back: which warranty do you mean? The statutory one, the manufacturer's warranty, or what's stated in the quote? Those are three different things, and in practice they often get mixed up. This article sets them side by side — with the statutory text alongside, not with a number that happens to sound good.

No fixed statutory warranty period — but a standard of proper performance

The Burgerlijk Wetboek does not set a fixed warranty period — of, say, one or two years — for the installation of a refrigeration installation. Rijksoverheid.nl also confirms this in general terms about warranty: there is no statutory warranty period in the Netherlands, because the lifespan differs per product and per situation.

What the law does regulate is an open standard: the contractor must carry out and deliver the work properly. For a contract for work — the legal category under which the installation of a refrigeration installation usually falls — that is set out in article 7:750 et seq. BW (opent in nieuw tabblad). Article 7:750 BW describes a contract for work as the agreement whereby the contractor undertakes, outside of employment, to bring about and deliver a work of a material nature, for a price to be paid by the client.

So there is no concrete period in the law — but there is the obligation that the delivered work must meet what the client may reasonably expect. A claim like "2 years' statutory warranty on installation work" is therefore incorrect when presented as a hard rule of law; at best it is a rule of thumb used by installers or trade associations, not a quotation from the law.

What happens after delivery (art. 7:758-760 BW)

Three articles are relevant here:

• Article 7:758 BW (delivery). After notification that the work is finished, the client must inspect it within a reasonable period. Defects that the client should reasonably have discovered during that inspection can no longer later be held against the contractor — hence the importance of a thorough delivery inspection and a signed work order.
• Article 7:759 BW (defects after delivery). If a defect only comes to light later, the client must first give the contractor the chance to repair it within a reasonable period — unless the circumstances make that unreasonable.
• Article 7:760 BW (consequences of improper performance). Defects caused by errors or unsuitable material on the part of the contractor are for the contractor's account.

None of these articles mentions a period in months or years. They describe a process (inspecting, giving a chance to repair, allocating liability), not a warranty period.

A limitation period is something different from a warranty period

What the law does fill in with a number is the limitation period for a legal claim — in other words, how long a client can still go to court about a defect. Article 7:761 BW provides that such a claim becomes time-barred two years after the client has protested, with an absolute outer limit of twenty years after delivery for buildings and ten years for other works.

Whether a refrigeration installation counts as a "building" or as "other work" for that twenty-versus-ten-year limit depends on how the installation is integrated into the building — that cannot be answered in general terms. If you're unsure about this in a specific dispute, check with a lawyer or via the disputes committee instead of assuming a period yourself.

Important: this limitation period says nothing about how long an installation must keep working properly — that remains the standard of proper performance from 7:750 et seq. The limitation period only determines until when a claim about it can still be brought.

Duty to complain: reporting on time is not optional

In addition, the general duty to complain of article 6:89 BW (opent in nieuw tabblad) applies: anyone who discovers a defect (or should reasonably have discovered it) and does not protest about it to the other party within a reasonable time can no longer rely on it later. What exactly counts as "reasonable time" depends on the circumstances — the law does not state a fixed number of weeks or months. For practice, this means: advise customers to report a fault or defect as soon as possible, and record reports and response dates — for example in the maintenance contract or on the work order.

Manufacturer's warranty and contractual warranty: definite periods after all

Alongside the statutory standard of proper performance, there are two forms of warranty that do have a hard period — but not because the law imposes it, rather because a party commits to it itself:

• Manufacturer's warranty. The manufacturer of, for example, a compressor or heat pump can give its own warranty period. That period and its conditions differ per manufacturer and per appliance — always check this in the specific manufacturer's warranty terms, not on the basis of a general assumption.
• Contractual warranty. Many installation companies include their own warranty clause in the quote or general terms and conditions, for example on labour or on specific parts. This is a company's own, voluntary commitment on top of the statutory standard of proper performance — not a legal obligation. Such a clause may not limit the statutory protection of 7:750 et seq. BW; it can only add something on top of it.

If you as a company give your own warranty period, make sure it is stated unambiguously in the quote, work order and maintenance contract — otherwise you get exactly the ambiguity this article opened with.

What this means for your record-keeping

Because the law works with open standards instead of a fixed period, record-keeping becomes the evidence that wins or loses you a dispute: when the work was delivered, what was found during the inspection, when a defect was reported and how it was responded to. A digital work order with a timestamp and signature is stronger evidence for that than a paper slip that can get lost.

Further reading

• Refrigeration installation maintenance contract: template and mandatory components
• What needs to be on a work order?
• Is a digital work order legally valid?

Disclaimer: this article explains the relevant statutory articles (7:750 et seq., 7:761 and 6:89 BW) in plain language, but is not legal advice. The qualification of a specific agreement (contract for work, sale, or a mix of both) and the question of whether an installation counts as a building for the limitation period depend on the specific situation. Consult a lawyer or the disputes committee in case of a dispute.