Those mortgages arranged with a clause that set a minimum, or floor, for the interest rate applicable have meant that the holder has been overpaying in recent years. A ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union dated 21 December 2016 requires banks and mortgage lenders to return the money overpaid since the mortgage’s date of arrangement.

Those people that have not been able to take advantage of the fall in interest rates in recent times may demand the repayment of these amounts, both if the loan is still in effect and if the contract has already expired, or even in those cases in which the financial institution has removed this floor clause, or cláusula suelo, but without repaying the amount overpaid before May 2013, as there have been cases in which the banks have removed this cláusula suelo following a Supreme Court ruling, recalculated the capital pending, and only reimbursed the amount overpaid since May 2013, and not since the mortgage’s date of arrangement.

Mortgage agreements that have expired are still entitled to a reimbursement.

Those people that arranged their mortgage between 2001 and 2012, and whose monthly quota in recent years did not fall in step with the Euribor index, are likely to have these minimum rate clauses, the cláusulas suelo, in their mortgage agreements. If this is your case, you should know that banks are obliged to reimburse you, although you must seek professional advice to recover the amount you have overpaid, as the calculation of the exact amount to be reimbursed is a complex matter, and filing the claim needs to include the following:

  • A request for the removal of the cláusula suelo
  • A calculation of the amounts overpaid since the mortgage’s arrangement
  • A new calculation of the repayment table, and a review of the amounts pending since the subscription of the mortgage deeds.

At Bufete Megías, we have considerable experience in these cláusulas suelo, after successfully ensuring that hundreds of our clients have recouped the amounts they were unfairly and unlawfully charged. We provide advice without any commitment on your part, and then we support you throughout the process for recovering the money. For further information, please contact us through this link.