How to get your floor clause money back without going to court

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1. This rule creates an out-of-court procedure so consumers can recover amounts overpaid due to floor clauses in their mortgages, without having to go to court.
2. The consumer files a claim with their bank, which must calculate the amount to be refunded and send a breakdown, including interest. The agreement and payment must happen within a maximum of three months from the claim.
3. The procedure is voluntary for the consumer, free of charge, and mandatory for banks to handle. While the claim is pending, neither party may take judicial or out-of-court action on the same matter.
4. If the consumer rejects the offer and later wins a trial with a more favorable result, the bank pays the court costs. If the consumer goes straight to court without claiming first, special cost rules apply when the bank accepts the claims.
5. Banks must set up a specialized department for these claims within one month, inform about it in all branches and on their websites, and resolve claims within three months.
6. Amounts refunded for the floor clause, plus compensatory interest, are not taxed under Spanish personal income taxincome tax The personal income tax (IRPF in Spain): what people pay on what they earn from work, business or savings.. If the consumer previously deducted them, they must adjust their returns, with no penalty or late-payment interest.

Who it affects

• Consumers with a variable-rate mortgage that includes a floor clause: They can ask the bank for a refund of overpaid amounts through a free procedure without going to court.
• Credit institutions: They must handle claims, calculate refunds, set up a specialized department, and pay court costs in certain cases.
• Notaries and land registrars: If the agreement is formalized in a public deed, they charge only reduced fees, as if it were a document with no monetary value.
• Personal income taxpayers: Refunded amounts are not taxed, but they must adjust deductions or expenses previously claimed.

Words worth knowing

Cláusula suelo (floor clause)

A condition in a variable-rate mortgage that sets a minimum interest rate, so your payment does not drop below it even if the reference rate falls.

Costas procesales (court costs)

The costs of a lawsuit, such as lawyer and court agent fees. Losing the case usually means paying them.

Allanamiento (acceptance of the claim)

When the defendant accepts in court what the plaintiff is asking for, without contesting the substance of the case.

IRPF (Spanish personal income tax)

Impuesto sobre la Renta de las Personas Físicas: the tax you pay on your income.

Cosa juzgada (res judicata)

A matter already decided by a court in a final way, which cannot be tried again.

income tax

The personal income tax (IRPF in Spain): what people pay on what they earn from work, business or savings.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries