Government measure might bend the law

The government decided to suspend evictions on people at risk of losing their homes and ending up in the streets, but the procedures to do so are a potential failure -- or flat out illegal. Yesterday Andalusia announced that this solution to the eviction problem is of questionable legality, and the Adviser of Judicial Power has made similar statements. It puts pressure on financial institutions that are facing their own debt payments and real estate issues.

While Spanish mortgage laws are inadequate and it is a good time to open the debate about them, it is still important to keep the real estate market intact. The difference between national and regional property laws is a direct threat to this cohesion, which is going beyond the legality of the law not to mention internal rules of financial firms. Fortunately, individual citizens have been excluded. The Andalusian government only agreed with the national government to exclude 19,170 euros per year for people behind on their mortgages -- an excessively high figure. The law in Andalusia will also establish an inspection plan for vacated homes, which seems more arbitrary than effective. The bureaucratic rigmarole will slow down the process. Are there enough inspectors to carry out the inspection process? IS the Andalusian government ready to expend human capital? Putting the law into effect could end up breaking other laws if the government makes water or power consumption information available without permission of residents.

In this case, financial and real estate firms or companies that manage shares in this asset class. The law will also affect Sareb, which is a special fund created to hold Spain's toxic real estate assets so that they do not appear on bank balance sheets. After a succession of real estate bankruptcies, this mechanism is facing new challenges. The government should engineer an effective solution for eviction proceedings and slow down measures that could be deemed illegal.