The floor clauses.

The floor clauses. It is estimated that 1.5 million mortgages are affected by these contractual provisions. How do I know if my mortgage has a floor clause? Just look at the mortgage loan deed. It may not appear highlighted in the contract, but in the fine print. Who has the right to be compensated economically? All mortgages that contain an interest rate limitation are in force or have been amortized. In this second case, the general limitation period is fifteen years, according to the Civil Code. When does the claim period begin and where should I go? On Monday, January 23, the mechanism designed by the Government will enter into force. However, the Royal Decree grants a grace period of one month for banks to create a specific department that manages this contingency. Those affected can claim at any branch. The entity will advertise on its network and on its website when the claims period begins and the steps to be taken. However, it is not obliged to give individual warnings to those affected. Who calculates how much is too much money? The financial entity is the one that must present to the client a figure, with the compensatory interest disaggregated (does not specify if the legal interest rate or interest of delay). The affected one has fifteen days to analyze the economic offer. If it does not convince you can reject it and initiate legal proceedings. Can I compare that figure with another source to know that you are not offering me less money than I deserve? The consumer organization Facua has posted on its website a tool that allows you to do the calculation for free. It is enough to enter thirteen very basic data of the mortgage contract. It also allows to calculate how much of the mortgage debt would have the affected already amortized if they had not activated the clause of this type. What happens if, instead of an amount of money, the entity offers me in substitution formulas such as a reduction of the debt pending amortization, a reduction of the differential or even a deposit of high profitability? The Royal Decree allows this, as long as the bank makes a calculation of its economic value so that the customer can compare this offer with the cash back. In addition, the client must accept it in writing in a separate document and handwritten. Is the bank required by law to reimburse me if my loan had a clause of that type? No. It is obliged to attend to anyone who makes a claim, but not to reach an agreement if it considers that its clauses were transparent and were highlighted in the contracts. What tax implications does it have for the client that the financial institution reimburse me the interests that he has been overcharging? This money is exempt from IRPF, because it is not considered taxable profit. This also applies to the default interest portion. However, those who benefited from the deduction of mortgage payments in their personal income tax, as allowed by the tax, will have to make a complementary one in the declaration of 2016. This circumstance only affects if the interests that are now returned are included In those deductions. According to the Minister of Economy has sought tax neutrality. Do you still prescribe the IRPF declaration at the age of four? No. The filing of a supplementary de facto nullifies the general criminal prescription of the tax. What happens if I decide to go to court? The judge must decide if, in his particular case, the clause was abusive and therefore void. If it was, you must quantify how much money you are entitled to for undue interest. How much money can I get in court? The casuistry is enormous, because the ceilings of the floor clauses were different. One of the last sentences, issued by a court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on 10 January, has given the reason to a couple and sets a refund of 2,000 euros. His mortgage loan amounted to 100,000 euros and the clause was 3%. Who pays the costs? It depends. If the amount that gets affected by the judicial process is greater than the amount offered by his entity, the bank will have to pay the costs. But if the figure is lower, they will be borne by the complainant. If an affected person goes directly to trial, skipping the extrajudicial channel, and the bank accepts to pay before the answer to the demand, the entity is exempted from the payment of costs. Each party will pay its own. These expenses can amount to 2,800-3,000 euros for a loan of 120,000 euros. After the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, does the affected person have all the right to win if he goes to court? Not necessarily, because the judge can understand that the bank was sufficiently transparent in the documentation that it handed to the client. In fact, the Provincial Court of Sevice. Lla has just ruled in favor of Unicaja, which appealed a conviction of the Commercial Court number 1 of Seville. The judgment declares the validity of the clause and orders the plaintiff to pay the costs. What happens to those affected who resigned in writing to take legal action in exchange for better mortgage conditions? They can sit with the bank, but they will end up in court, where they will have it complicated. It has only transpired a judgment of a court of first instance in Córdoba, which is actionable, which fails in favor of the bank because the complainants "have not established any type of coercion or deception at the time of signing the document, nor have they provided any evidence ". What about notaries or property registrars? There have been cases of professionals of this type who are asking their bank to return the money. No bank will be willing to pay a compensation, because they understand that they are customers who can not claim ignorance of what they sign. What happens if my mortgage has land, but I did not negotiate individually, but I joined a contract negotiated by my professional college or another collective? This extrajudicial channel is also thought for them, because we speak of natural persons. However, some banks have already warned that these situations must be solved by a judge, because these contracts are always signed with a representative of the collective that ensures legality. The customers of those entities that already had a judgment of the Supreme (BBVA, Cajamar and Abanca), can claim by this way? The Royal Decree affects all financial institutions. Therefore, all must attend the customers and acknowledge the claims. These three banks are waiting for the Plenum of the Supreme Court to consider the appeals that were paralyzed pending the European ruling to see what interpretation it makes of that ruling. Specifically, the application of the prescription. Sources close to BBVA believe that pronouncement will occur before the three-month deadline set by the government closes. The bank will delay the presentation of a firm economic proposal to the clients until it meets the criteria of the High Court. Expansion 01/21/2017