Legal & Finance

Legal Matters

Spanish Mortgage Law Update

On March 14th 2013, the Luxembourg Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against the present Spanish mortgage laws and will force Spain to adapt the present legislation governing evictions and foreclosures to EU directives.

Blacklists & Consumer Protection, Spain

The current economic climate has led to an increase in people and companies getting into debt all over Europe. This has in turn fostered the emergence of “credit blacklists”, where people and companies that have defaulted on payments are recorded.

New Fiscal Fraud Laws

On October 29th 2012, the Spanish parliament approved Law 7/2012 with the object of fighting fiscal crime. It is a mixture of new and the modification of the previous law. It is hoped that it will curb several categories of fiscal crimes.

Communities of Owners – Rules & Regs

The Spanish constitution protects the rights of people with disabilities. (in particular section 49 of the Spanish constitution). Additionally Spain ratified in 2008 the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This international agreement was crystallized into law 26/2011 of the 1st August, modifying several previous laws that were not in complete compliance with this UN convention.

Travellers Rights (Part 1)

Rights of the passenger in cases of delay, cancellation, overbooking and lost luggage (part 1):
Every time we buy a ticket from a transport company e.g. plane, train, coach, etc we implicitly enter a contractual agreement with that transport firm. The contract is generally named “conditions of carriage”, “terms and conditions” or other similar names. It can be found on the company website and sometime in small print at the back of the ticket or in one of the receipts after the purchase. When we buy a ticket online we implicitly sign the contract by ticking the box stating that we accept the conditions of the transport company.

House Insurance

In Spain the relationship between the insurance company and the insured is regulated by Law 8/1980 of the 8th October on insurance contracts.
When purchasing house insurance, there are several concepts that the buyer needs to keep in mind before choosing the most appropriate policy.

Corporate Crime in Spain

Corporate crime (delito societario) is a specific type of crime under the larger heading of property crimes and crimes against socio-economic order (delitos contra el patrimonio y contra el orden socioeconómico).

Changes in Transfer Tax and Stamp Duty for 2012 in Andalucía

On 1st January 2012 the Junta de Andalucía introduced several changes on how taxes under the jurisdiction of the autonomous region will be calculated.
More specifically transfer tax and stamp duty (in Spanish “Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales y Actos Jurídicos Documentados”) have been overall increased. Transfer tax and Stamp duty are regulated by the Royal decree 1/1993 of the 24th of September and enforced with the Royal decree 828/1995 of the 29th of May.