Sènakpon Gbassi - Avocat aux barreaux de Paris et d'Alicante (Espagne)
You have inherited a property in Spain subject to an expired mortgage, without knowing whether the bank still exists or whether the debt has been settled.
How can you obtain a discharge of this mortgage?
The legal framework is set out in both the Mortgage Act and the Civil Code.
Article 1,964 of the Spanish Civil Code stipulates that the mortgage claim becomes time-barred after twenty years.
Article 82 of the Mortgage Act provides that, upon the expiry of a period of 20 years from the due date agreed in the notarial deed, the mortgage is automatically discharged.
However, it should be noted that an action for cancellation may only be brought one year later (Article 128 of the Mortgage Act; see, in this regard, the General Directorate of Land Registries and Notaries’ decisions of 8 January 2002, 9 May 2003, 8 January 2004, 8 March 2005, 20 July 2006 and 19 July 2007).
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These procedures are carried out before a notary and without delay
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The deceased was resident in France and held financial assets in Spain, or vice versa
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