(English) March 14, 2013
The European Court of Justice ruled Thursday that harsh property repossession laws in Spain that have led to hundreds of thousands of evictions during the country’s deep recession violate EU laws on consumer protection, and activists said the decision could lead judges to halt thousands of bank foreclosure proceedings.
The watershed ruling said Spanish legislation infringes EU law as it does not allow courts to halt eviction orders on the basis of possible unfair terms in mortgage agreements.
The Luxembourg court ruling will almost certainly oblige Spain to amend its law and will also be taken into account by judges handling eviction cases.
More than 350,000 Spaniards have received eviction orders since 2008 because they were unable to make mortgage payments, though in most cases Spanish law required them to continue paying. At least five people have committed suicide in Spain since last fall because they had been evicted or were about to be forced from their repossessed homes.
Source: Seattle Pi
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