At White-Baos Lawyers we have helped countless clients to successfully claim the mortgage expenses. These cases have been judicial successes, enabling our clients to get their money back. In this week’s article, we analyse a recent ruling from the Spanish’s Supreme Court, that definitively settles the statute of limitations for claiming your mortgage expenses back.
What are the mortgage expenses? Abusive clauses in mortgage loans.
For many years, banks in Spain forced consumers to pay a series of expenses (Notary, Land Registry, Management agencies, etc.) when granting a mortgage loan. However, the Spanish Supreme Court ruled out that this practice was abusive. And that all clauses that forced consumers to pay these costs were null and void. Claiming the mortgage expenses refers to the possibility of recovering these expenses together with the legal interest increased by two points.
Types of expenses that can be claimed.
The main expenses that can be claimed are:
– Notary fees. That is to say, the fees of the notary before whom the mortgage deed was signed.
– Land Registry fees. This includes the costs of registering the mortgage in the Land Registry.
– Gestoría (or management agency) fees. This is the company who, on behalf of the bank, takes care of the different administrative procedures, etc.
– Tax on Stamp Duty Tax (AJD), Appraisal Expenses, Arrangement Fee, etc. In these cases, it will depend on the date on which the mortgage was signed, and the specific circumstances of each case.
The obligation for the bank to bear these costs is justified by its role as the creditor. These costs are necessary to secure its interests in case the consumer defaults on the loan. Thus, the bank must assume this responsibility because it benefits directly from the formalisation of the mortgage.
Until when can you file a claim? What is the deadline for claiming mortgage expenses?
The statute of limitations is a legal concept that establishes the time limit within which a claim can be initiated. If this period is exceeded, the right to claim is lost. Until 7 October 2015, personal actions were time-barred after 15 years. From that date onwards, the time limit is 5 years. The key questions, therefore, are: From what point does this period start to run? Am I still in time to claim mortgage expenses?
The Supreme Court settles the question. You can still claim.
Until now, some Provincial Courts defended that the time limit started at the moment when the costs were paid. This interpretation was very unfavourable to consumers. As it made it impossible to claim the mortgage expenses of very old mortgages. The Supreme Court (SC) has rejected this interpretation. Following the criteria of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the SC has confirmed that the period for claiming begins to run from the declaration of nullity of the clause, and not from when the expenses were paid.
What does this mean in practice? In short, that there is no time limit for claiming the refund of mortgage expenses. Why? Because the declaration of nullity is never time-barred. So, if the clauses of your mortgage have not yet been declared null and void by a court, you can start the claim at any time. Regardless of when the mortgage was signed, or when the expenses were paid.
Conclusions.
The recent ruling of the Spanish Supreme Court allows you to claim the mortgage expenses without time limit, if the clause has not been declared null and void. In White-Baos Lawyers we have a long experience in claiming the mortgage expenses of our clients. Do not hesitate to contact us and start the claim process now.
The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice but rather to convey information related to legal issues.
Carlos Baos (Lawyer)
White & Baos.
Tel: +34 966 426 185
E-mail: info@white-baos.com
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