If something you bought in Cyprus turns out to be faulty, the seller is liable for two years from delivery. You have to tell the seller within two months of spotting the fault, and they then have a maximum of 25 days to repair or replace it before you can demand a price reduction or your money back. Buy online or at your door and you can also cancel within 14 days for any reason at all.
Those rights come from two statutes. The Consumer Protection Law of 2021, Law 112(I)/2021, gathered most of Cyprus's consumer legislation into one act: pre-contract information, unfair commercial practices, unfair contract terms, distance and doorstep sales, and the enforcement powers of the state. Faulty goods sit in a separate act, the Certain Aspects Concerning Contracts for the Sale of Goods Law of 2021, Law 154(I)/2021, which brought EU Directive 2019/771 into Cypriot law from 1 January 2022.
Faulty goods: the two-year legal guarantee
Under Law 154(I)/2021 goods must match the contract and be fit for their normal purpose. If they are not, the seller (the shop or website that took your money, not the manufacturer) is responsible for any lack of conformity that shows up within two years of delivery. Time the item spends being repaired, or that you and the seller spend negotiating over it, does not count towards those two years.
The two-month notification rule is the one people miss. Cyprus used an option in the directive to require consumers to report a defect within two months of becoming aware of it, so write to the seller as soon as the fault appears. An email is fine and gives you a dated record.
For at least the first year after delivery, the EU rules presume that a fault which appears was already there when you bought the item, so it is up to the seller to prove otherwise. After that, expect a fight over whether the problem is a manufacturing defect or wear and tear.
A manufacturer's warranty is a separate promise layered on top. A shop that tells you "that's the manufacturer's problem, call the service centre" is wrong for the first two years: your contract is with the seller.
Repair, replacement or your money back
The remedies come in a fixed order.
- 1Repair or replacement, free of charge. You choose which, unless your choice is impossible or would cost the seller disproportionately more than the alternative. Cyprus put a hard ceiling on "reasonable time": the seller has a maximum of 25 days from your notice to finish the job, and can only take longer with your express consent.
- 2Price reduction or termination. If the repair or replacement is refused, not done within the time limit, causes you significant inconvenience, or fails to fix the fault, you can either keep the item at a proportionately lower price or end the contract. Ending it means the seller collects the goods at its own expense and refunds the price.
The one exception is a minor defect. A seller who proves the fault is minor can resist termination, although you would still be entitled to a price reduction.
On top of these remedies, a consumer who has lost money because of the defect can claim compensation in the courts.
Online and doorstep purchases: the 14-day right to cancel
Distance contracts (websites, phone sales, social media shops) and off-premises contracts (a salesperson at your home, a sale at a hotel "presentation") come with a right of withdrawal under Law 112(I)/2021. You have 14 days to cancel without giving a reason and without paying a penalty. For goods the clock starts when you receive them; for services, when the contract is signed.
A few practical rules follow from the EU Consumer Rights Directive that the law implements:
- The trader must refund you, including the standard delivery charge, within 14 days of your cancellation, though it can hold the refund until it gets the goods back or you show proof of posting.
- You pay return postage only if the trader told you so before you bought.
- If the trader never told you about the right to cancel, the 14 days are extended by up to 12 months.
The right does not cover everything. Made-to-measure goods, perishable food, sealed hygiene products once unsealed, and services fully performed with your express agreement during the cooling-off period are the usual exclusions.
From 19 June 2026, the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Law, Law 30(I)/2026, added two things. Websites selling under distance contracts must offer an online "withdraw from contract" function, so cancelling should take as few clicks as buying. And financial services sold at a distance (loans, insurance, investment products) now carry the same 14-day withdrawal right, with the consumer paying only for services actually provided.
What you cannot demand
There is no legal right to return non-faulty goods bought in a shop because you changed your mind. Exchange and refund policies in Cypriot shops are goodwill, and the shop can set whatever conditions it likes, such as credit notes only, receipts, or seven days.
What a shop cannot do is take away your statutory rights. A "no refunds" sign, or a receipt stamped "goods not exchanged", does not stop you claiming for a faulty item. Under the unfair terms provisions of Law 112(I)/2021, a standard term that excludes or limits rights the law gives consumers does not bind you.
Complaining to the Consumer Protection Service
The Consumer Protection Service sits within the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry in Nicosia. It takes complaints through its 1429 helpline and the forms on consumer.gov.cy (check the site for current contact details), and it can also open investigations on its own initiative. It has real powers: test purchases, including undercover ones, inspection of goods, orders to stop a practice, and administrative fines.
Those fines have grown. In September 2025 the Service fined Bank of Cyprus €800,000 and Hellenic Bank €600,000 over terms in their loan contracts. In March 2026 Alpha Bank Cyprus received €160,000 for unfair housing loan clauses, and in June 2026 an online trader was fined €30,000 for signing consumers up to recurring subscriptions they had not knowingly agreed to.
Be clear about what the Service will not do for you. It is a regulator, not a court. It can fine a trader and order it to stop, but it does not award you compensation or order your refund. Cypriot consumer groups have complained in the past that investigations take many months. A complaint is worth filing, especially where a trader is treating many customers the same way, but run it alongside your own claim rather than instead of one.
If the trader is in another EU country, the European Consumer Centre Cyprus, in the same ministry building, helps free of charge with cross-border disputes such as online orders, car hire and flight problems.
Taking a trader to court
Section 63 of Law 112(I)/2021 lets a consumer sue for compensation, termination, price reduction or any other appropriate remedy. Cyprus has no separate small claims court. Claims go to the District Court, and under the Civil Procedure Rules in force since September 2023, claims under €10,000 follow a simplified procedure in Part 29 that is quicker and cheaper than a full action. Our guide to the Cyprus court system explains how the district courts fit together.
For cross-border claims within the EU, the European Small Claims Procedure under Regulation 861/2007 covers claims up to €5,000 on standard forms, usually without a hearing. UK-based buyers are outside it since Brexit; the position on suing from the UK and enforcing judgments is covered in our guide to debt collection in Cyprus.
Mind the deadline. Under the Limitation of Actions Law, Law 66(I)/2012, a contract claim must be issued within six years of the cause of action arising. For a faulty item that is rarely the problem; the two-month notice rule and the two-year liability window will bite long before limitation does.
Bigger disputes follow the same principles at higher stakes. Buyers of off-plan property are consumers too, and unfair terms in developer contracts are a common battleground, covered in our guide to suing a developer in Cyprus.
Need help with a consumer dispute? Browse litigation and dispute resolution lawyers in our directory, or find an advocate in Nicosia who can send a formal letter before action and advise whether your claim is worth pursuing.