spain
The eviction process in Spain is deemed by European Union law to violate citizens’ rights
15.03.13 - 12:04 -
Protests against evictions are common in Spain. :: Ignacio Pérez
The European Union Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that the legal process of evicting people from their homes in Spain is “incomplete and insufficient” because it results in the “definitive and irreversible loss of homes” without first taking into account bad mortgage practice.
Spanish legislation, says the ruling, goes against the norms established by the EU, where those threatened with eviction should be able to halt proceedings while an appeal is heard.
In Spain evicted citizens are only able to appeal the decision in a separate hearing once they have been removed from their homes. Then, at best, they are awarded damages, but they have already lost their property.
The sentence delivered by the Luxembourg court comes in response to a question posed by a mercantile court in Barcelona after an individual, who was evicted in 2011, took action against his ban, claiming an abusive clause in the mortgage contract. If the court declared this clause null and void, that would also make the eviction null and void.
