Claim Back Your Mortgage Expenses

Thanks to the Supreme Court ruling STS 705/2015 of 23 December, the clause that imposes to the consumer the payment of mortgage expenses has been declared as abusive.

This means that all fees associated with a mortgage, as with the floor clauses, can be legally claimed back by Spanish consumers.

What expenses can I claim?

As a consumer, you can claim any mortgage-related fees such as from the notary, the appraisal, the gestoria etc., which you paid at the time of formalising the mortgage.

More specifically, the mortgage expenses that can be claimed thanks to the STS 705/2015 are:

• Notary fees, for the formalisation and the cancellation.
• Opening commissions and commissions for the cancellation.
• Costs derived from valuing the property.
• Legal/admin fees, provided that the intervention has been imposed by the bank.
• Land Registry fees for the registration, when formalising or cancelling.

Additionally, consumers can recover cumulative interest from the day the mortgage was signed.

What about the recent judgment against consumers?

It has probably been brought to your attention through the media, that a recent judgment of the Supreme Court has ruled against consumers in the battle against banks, concerning the mortgage expenses reimbursement.

The truth is that this turn by the Supreme Court only affects the Stamp Duty (IAJD), but not the rest of your mortgage expenses, which can be claimed by the consumers under the most recent case law.

What if my mortgage is already cancelled?

If your mortgage is already cancelled you can still claim the incurred expenses. Therefore, not only can you claim the expenses of mortgages which are still in force, but also the mortgages of properties which you have already sold, or the ones in which you have made novations.

What is the process?

The first stage is to carry out a study of your case and check exactly which expenses you can claim on, to then submit an out-of-court claim to your Bank’s Customer Service Department.

It is rare that the Bank agrees to refund the expenses in subject, therefore and most likely, you will have to proceed to take the claim to court, for the nullity of the mortgage expenses clause.

This lawsuit is resolved by means of an Ordinary Judgment, under civil law, and the consumer can claim not only all the above-mentioned expenses, but also the accumulated interest.

What documents do I need?

There are three essential documents for this type of claim:

• Mortgage deed. If you can’t find your mortgage deed, you can ask for a “copia simple” at the bank or notary where it was signed.
• Invoices or proof of payment of the expenses to be claimed. In most cases, if you aren’t in receipt of them, they are attached to the deed itself, but should this not be the case, you can ask for a copy at the bank, the gestoria which processed the mortgage, and ultimately at the corresponding notary, registry office and surveyor.
• 600 Model. Should you not have this tax model, you can ask the bank, the gestoria, or in the latter case, the Provincial Tax Departments of the different Autonomous Communities.