If you bought your home before 2019 and had to pay all the expenses of the mortgage loan, you’re still in time to claim and recover the amounts. You can do this even if your mortgage is already paid off or you have sold the property, writes Erardo Ferrer of Lanzarote Abogados.
Before the Real Estate Credit Contracts Law came into force in Spain in 2019, it was standard practice for financial institutions to oblige their clients to pay all of the expenses derived when contracting a mortgage loan.
However, subsequent judgements by the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Spanish Supreme Court have been loud and clear: the clauses that require clients to pay these expenses are and were abusive, and void. Consequently, financial institutions must reimburse all mortgage expenses to their clients. These expenses include registration, management and appraisal fees, as well as half of the notary fee, paid at the time.
So mortgagees can reclaim:
• 50% of the Notary bill.
• The entire Registry invoice.
• The entire Gestoría invoice.
• The entire Appraisal invoice.
You can also claim the loan opening fee of more than 1.50%, plus legal interest from the date of each payment.
And you still have time to claim, despite rulings by Spanish judges who stated that a deadline for claiming mortgage expenses had expired. These arguments have recently been dismantled at the highest level by the European Court.
The CJEU has ruled that any consumer who was illegally charged for expenses can reclaim them, whether or not their mortgage has been paid, and that they may do so even if five years have passed since the 2019 Supreme Court ruling, provided that the consumer was previously unaware of the abusiveness of the clause.
If you suspect you may have paid unwarranted mortgage expenses, seeking professional legal advice is strongly recommended.
