LawTalk
Spanish court auctions of property
One of the many after effects of the recession has been the large number of court auctions of property . The picture varies greatly depending on the local courts . While some auctions take place within six to eight months , other courts can take a number of years to complete the procedure .
In Spain joint owners can request a forced sale of the property if they cannot come to an agreement about a sale or buyout of the other person ’ s half . The only procedure available to a Spanish court in such circumstances is to commence a court controlled auction .
This is now a digital proceeding with fixed time limits once the case is opened . The digital auction period is 20 days , though it can take some months to finalise the proceedings after the successful bid is made or the property adjudicated to the creditor .
The amount that must be lodged with the court as a deposit or bond before making a bid has been reduced in the introduction of these digital auctions . The returnable bond used to be 30 % of the court valuation but is now 5 %.
Another possible reason to request a court auction is to execute a debt against a private individual , for example for repayment of a private loan or to claim for unpaid maintenance for children .
In many other countries a Court can order a sale of property and bind the parties to certain conditions , such as obtaining independent valuations and how the sale proceeds are divided . In Spain a Judge can only order a sale by court controlled auctions .
In bank auctions there are now some restrictions on the rights of a bank when an auction arises over a property that is the permanent and sole residence of an occupant . This law was modified to give more protection to the many victims of the financial crisis who stood to lose their homes .
Spain also has different authorities including the Tax office – Hacienda – and the Social Security , who can auction a property to recover a debt . These authorities have different procedures when executing debts against property .
The legal entity of a Community of Owners , once they have a court order for a monetary sum in unpaid Community fees , can ask the Court to execute the debt against a property .
Whether you are a joint property owner wishing to force a sale or are affected by any of the above types of property auction , we can provide expert advice . Please contact us on info @ decottalaw . net or call on 95 252 7014 .
De Cotta Law ( De Cotta McKenna y Santafé ) Mijas-Costa / Calahonda – Coín – Nerja – Tenerife
Nerja Office : Calle Diputación 11 , 29780 Nerja
Tel : + 34 952 527 014 - Fax : + 34 952 523 428 www . decottalaw . com - E-mail : nerja @ decottalaw . net
2 8