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The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) has cleared up some of the loopholes that remained regarding the limitation periods for unfair terms in mortgages. In a ruling issued on Thursday, the body endorsed the fact that a deadline can be set for claiming a refund, although there is no maximum period for claiming the nullity.
Already at the beginning of 2024, the CJEU ruled that the claim period begins when the affected party knows that a certain clause in the mortgage contract is abusive. The same regulation was adopted by the Supreme Court in Spain. However, following a new preliminary ruling, the door had been opened to the possibility that in some cases, even if the court recognises the abuse, the customer cannot be compensated because the statute of limitations has expired.
The ruling can be explained with the example of a case from 2009 that the CJEU has now ruled on. Back then, a Banco Santander client took out a mortgage loan that included a clause obliging her to cover transaction costs, taxes, registration and administrative costs, as well as those linked to a potential modification or cancellation of the contract.
She claimed the nullity of this clause as abusive in 2023, as well as the refund of part of the costs, but Banco Santander argued that the time limit for claiming compensation for this amount had expired. The court ruled in favour of the bank.
In its judgment, the court reminded consumers that their protection is not absolute and subsequently upheld the legality of setting maximum time limits for claiming compensation, as long as these limits are not stricter than those for similar domestic legal actions (principle of equivalence) and do not prevent or hinder the exercise of the rights conferred by the EU legal order.
The CJEU also stated that the principle of equivalence does not ban setting national rules and deadlines for claiming refunds, even if there is no deadline for the nullity of a contract as a whole.
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