184 Spaniards a day kicked out of their homes

The Local (ES)
March 28, 2014
Steve Tallantyre

A Spanish law leaves many homeowners liable for mortgage payments even after
losing their properties. Photo: Petro Armestre/AFP

The full scope of Spain's evictions epidemic has been revealed in figures from the General Council of the Judiciary, which show, that 67,189 people lost their homes in 2013.

An average of 184 Spanish people were evicted from their homes every day last year, after failing to keep up with their mortgage payments or falling foul of the Tenancies Act.

It is the first time, that eviction figures from the Statistics Section of the Judiciary have been published, according to Spanish daily El Pais.

Most evictions took place in Catalonia (23.8 percent), followed by Valencia (14.6 percent), Andalucia (13.8 percent) and Madrid (13 percent).

But the total number of open cases of home foreclosures was put at 82,650 – down 9.8 percent from 2012. This was explained as being the result of new legislation passed in 2013, which gave judges discretionary powers to stop evictions, if they believed, that any of the clauses in the mortgage contract are "abusive".

Despite this the Bank of Spain released figures in January, which showed, that the eviction rate had accelerated in the first half of 2013. Spain's high unemployment rate has left many people across the country unable to pay their mortgages. The repossession of homes by banks has become a huge social issue, resulting in mass protests and demonstrations. Many campaigners have demanded changes to the Spanish law, which leaves many homeowners liable for mortgage payments, even after losing their properties.