- The moratorium on evictions is extended three years, until 2020, a measure that has been in force since 2013
- Families with minor children, single parents, gender violence or disability are included as vulnerable
- The Code of Good Practice will consider the option of renting the home executed at a reduced price
The Council of Ministers has approved a Royal Decree Law that expands and deepens the protection measures for vulnerable groups due to the crisis before situations such as eviction from their homes. Specifically, the moratorium on foreclosures that affect these groups is extended to three years, until 2020, a measure that has been in force since 2013. It also includes new cases of special vulnerability, such as families with minor children or single parents with dependent children, unemployment (without having exhausted the benefit), disability, dependency or serious illness or gender violence. The rental of the executed house at a reduced price will also be facilitated in these cases. The standard has been developed with broad consensus.
These measures complete the set of actions that the Government launched in 2012 in the face of eviction problems and that together have benefited more than 78,600 families to date. Specifically, more than 24,000 launches have been suspended; More than 45,600 families have benefited from the Code of Good Practice (CBP, to which 93 financial entities are adhered) through 38,500 debt restructuring and 7,000 payments in payment, and 9,020 homes have been awarded through the Social Housing Fund.
The RDL approved by the Government extends the term for the suspension of mortgage launches by three more years, until 2020. The subjective criteria for complying with both the Code of Good Practices and the suspension of launches are mostly equated and are extended to the following cases :
– The family unit of which a minor is a part, instead of a minor of three years, as until now.
– The single-parent family unit with dependent children, instead of two dependent children, as until now.
– The family unit with which one or more people live who are united with the holder of the mortgage or their spouse by relationship of kinship up to the third degree of consanguinity or affinity, and who are in a personal situation of disability, dependency, illness serious that incapacitates them accredited temporarily or permanently to carry out a work activity. This requirement already applies to suspension of releases and extends to CBP.
– The family unit in which there is a victim of gender violence, a criterion that extends to CBP and is maintained in the suspension of launches.
– In the suspension of launches the assumption of unemployment situation is extended, by eliminating the requirement of having exhausted unemployment benefits.
In another block of measures, the option of renting the usual residence executed is introduced in the Code of Good Practice. During the term of the suspension of launches, the foreclosed mortgagee located at the foreclosure threshold may request and obtain from the performing creditor of the home, the rental of the home under favorable conditions. The rental request must be made within a specified period. It is established that the maximum annual rental price will be 3% of the value of the home at the time of the approval of the auction determined by appraisal. The lease will have a duration of five years, renewable another five by mutual agreement between the parties (between the executed and the successful bidder).
The Government, within eight months from the entry into force of the Royal Decree-Law, will propose measures aimed at facilitating the recovery of the property of the habitual residence by the mortgage debtors included in the scope of application of the law of suspension of launches, when that would have been the subject of a foreclosure procedure. These measures could take into account the application of discounts based on the amounts paid by the executed as well as other factors that guarantee an equitable price.
