Maria’s Note: The Right to Housing in Spain, not a Human Right
In Spain, since 2006, there have been more than 400.000 foreclosure proceedings, according to the Spanish Mortgage Association. This means a staggering daily average of 526 evictions. Exactly, 526 families become homeless every day in Spain. 526.
People, unemployed and with no savings, cannot afford to pay the mortgage. The banks, which once gave them a loan with questionable conditions, take the house away from them. In many cases, that is not enough to pay off the debt. Citizens lose everything, and they have a lifetime debt that their children may inherit.
The result is millions of empty houses, with their owners sleeping wherever they can; many families in the street, as there is no emergency shelter system for them.
The pressure for some is simply unbearable. Three people have committed suicide in the past three weeks at the news of their eviction. And it is only then when banks and politicians start to react.
A European dictum, released by the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice, Juliane Kokott, has resolved that the current Spanish legislation on eviction violates the EU guidelines on consumer protection against abusive clauses. Moreover, the EU supports the movement that a group 47 Spanish judges have started to halt evictions. Along with the General Council of the Judiciary, Spain’s Unified Police Union has also announced its refusal to evict those who cannot pay their mortgages.
The government has called an urgent meeting with the participation of the representatives of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of the Presidency to finalize a new proposal to extend grace periods to prevent evictions of the most vulnerable families. But, who are the most vulnerable? How will they measure it?
In addition to this, the Worker’s Union (CCOO) and the General Union of Workers (UGT) called on Friday for general strike in Spain on 14 November. The purpose of the strike is to demand a profound change in the economic policies from the EU, since, they say, after two and a half years of austerity measures all countries are in worse conditions than before.
In the US, being a landlord can be lucrative and good relationships are often maintained with their tenants. However, the occasion may arise when a tenant is becoming problematic and has outstayed their welcome. In which case, landlords might want to consider reaching out to someone like a Corona Eviction Lawyer.
