The one month period that has been granted to consumers that allege the abusive nature of mortgage clauses has been deemed inadequate according to the Advocate General of the European Union.

Specifically, it has been the Court of First Instance No. 4 in Martorell that has raised this issue to the Court of Justice of the European Union, considering that there could be a contradiction between European Law and the Law on Measures to Strengthen the Protection of Mortgage Debtors, Debt Restructuring and Social Rent. The fourth transitional provision of the Act provides a period of one month for consumers to allege the unfair nature of a contractual clause in the mortgage enforcement proceedings in progress, this term being counted from the day following the publication of the Law in the Official State Gazette.

Unfair mortgage terms

Many questions have already been posed raised regarding the said Act, being work of the European Court of Justice to clarify its terms of application in relation to European Union law.

The Attorney General has recommended to the judge of the Court of Justice to consider the time limit of one month provided by Spanish law to be insufficient, on the grounds that such a short period makes it excessively difficult to exercise consumer rights.

It remains to be seen what the effect of the Court of Justice´s judgment will be and the impact it will have on Spanish mortgage enforcement processes.

Lexland Lawyers advises all those affected by unfair mortgage terms to contact us, in order for us to analyze your case and claim back undue payments. We offer a free, no commitment initial consultation.