Stop Deshaucios

Spanish laws are too tough on homeowners who default on their mortgages, the European Court of Justice has ruled: The court found that Spanish legislation goes against EU law because it prevents judges declaring the terms of a loan agreement to be unfair.

Spanish rules make it hard for homeowners to contest an eviction by a bank.Several recent suicides have been blamed on evictions.

An estimated 350,000 families have been evicted from their homes since Spain's property market crashed five years ago, and Spanish banks suspended evictions for the most vulnerable people last November.

All what the Spanish families are paying is the corruption of their politics and the interests of the debts that some private firms arranged with and foreign banks that took their chances, before the crisis, lending money to Spain.

Spanish homeowners under threat of repossession cannot stop the eviction process while they fight contentious clauses in their mortgage contracts.If they win a court case, they may seek compensation but will not necessarily recover their homes.Some contracts contain clauses allowing for a sharp increase in interest if a borrower falls behind on payments and Spanish law also gives the lender the right to start accelerated proceedings to evict the borrower if a single payment is missed.Even after a home is repossessed by the lender, the borrower can still be held liable for the remainder of the loan.

There have been demonstrations against the eviction laws and several people who had been evicted from their homes have killed themselves.Campaigners against evictions welcomed the ruling: "We are very happy with the news because it's a clear show of support for what we have been demanding and denouncing for the past four years... that the procedure is illegal and violates fundamental rights," said Ada Colau from Stop Stop Deshaucios (Stop Evictions).

Hi Guillermo,

A very good story and documentary image.

Well shot.

Best Regards, Mike