What are the new European rules on foreclosure of money, homes and property, adding to the important changes already in place? The rules of the procedures, limits and powers of execution of both money and houses and other assets are modified, a procedure that leads to the forced seizure of the debtor for the liquidation of debts, in fact, of contracts with creditors.
- What are the new European rules on foreclosure of money, houses and goods
- Major Changes Now in Effect for Foreclosure of Money, Homes, and Assets
What are the new European rules on foreclosure of money, houses and goods
The new rules on foreclosure of money, homes and assets derive from the recent ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union who recently ruled on foreclosure proceedings for both houses, money and other assets, stating that if the contract stipulated between the bank and the client provides for abusive terms, the client can appeal even if the seizure procedure has already been started.
In accordance with the provisions of current European regulations, contractual clauses that do not comply with the principles of good faith and equity are considered unfair, such as:
- compensation for breach of contract by the bank;
- exclusion or limitation of the bank’s liability if the consumer dies or is injured by action or omission of the credit institution itself;
- unilateral compensation for cancellation, which allows the bank to keep the advances if the consumer cancels the contract;
- unilateral contract modifications, which allow the credit institution to unilaterally modify a contract without the obligation to justify it;
- short notice cancellation, which allows the credit institution to terminate a contract without a fixed term in a short period of time;
- hidden clauses, which represent a restriction for clients but are not clearly specified before signing the contract;
- unilateral cancellation of the contract by the bank in certain cases and conditions;
- automatic extensions of fixed-term contracts, for which each client must obligatorily communicate their intention to terminate the contract before its expiration to avoid automatic extensions.
Major Changes Now in Effect for Foreclosure of Money, Homes, and Assets
The new European regulations that provide for changes in the embargo methods are added to the other important changes already in force for the embargo of money, homes and other assets, starting with the new limits set for the embargo of money.
In fact, they have established new limits to the embargo of wages and checking accounts, which are updated each year because they vary and depend on the amount of the social allowance, which changes each year, because it is subject to revaluation.
By 2023, as a consequence of the new revaluation, the amount of the social subsidy has increased to 503.27 euros per month for 13 months and the fixing of the salary depends on the amount of the social subsidy because, as established by current legislation, it cannot be the minimum subsistence equal to twice the social subsidy may be seized and may never be less than a thousand euros.
Therefore, if the amount of the social subsidy is 503.27 euros, the minimum subsistence allowance for 2023 is 1,006.54 euros and cannot be attached, while wage attachment can take place in different measures beyond this amount.
In accordance with current laws, in fact, it is possible to garnish the salary according to the limits established by law, both from the employer and from the checking account where it is credited. In particular, it is possible to garnish the employer’s wages in 2023 only within the limit of one fifth, while if the creditor is Revenue Collection, the limits for wage garnishment are:
- a fifth for salaries over 5,000 euros;
- a seventh for salaries of up to €5,000;
- a tenth for salaries up to 2,500 euros
With regard to the seizure limits in a current account, the laws provide, depending on the available balance in the account, the possibility of seizing only the part that exceeds three times the social subsidy, that is, 1,404.30 euros (considering the amount of the social subsidy equal to 503.27 euros).
Other news already approved related to foreclosure refers to the attachment to third parties, Mechanism that allows the creditor to proceed to the recovery of credits from the debtor but in the power of another person.
The third-party embargo is notified to the initial debtor of the executive title and the precept order. The foreclosure with third parties involves, in fact, three subjects that are:
procedural creditor, active party in a substantive and procedural sense;
executed debtor, passive party in the substantive and procedural sense;
attached third party only in the procedural sense.
The embargo against third parties is notified to the initial debtor of the executive title and the precept order and the recent news about the embargo refer to the jurisdictions. In effect, it is established that for the seizure of movable assets to third parties, the jurisdiction corresponds to the judge, therefore, the court, of the place where the assets are located, while for the seizure of credits, the jurisdiction corresponds to the judge of the place where the debtor has the residence, domicile, residence or registered office.
If, on the contrary, the debtor is a public administration, it will be the jurisdiction of the court of the place where the third party has his residence, domicile, residence or registered office.
The novelties regarding the seizure also concern the procedures: the seizure with third parties must, in fact, be notified to the initial debtor of the executive title and the precept order and the notification can be made by the lawyer via Pec, certified e-mail, or via Judicial Officer.
Since last June 2022, in seizure procedures by third parties, the new obligations are the responsibility of the creditor’s defender and it is always necessary to notify both the executed debtor and the seized third party of the successful registration and proof of the notification. in the executive proceeding of the file on the date of the appearance hearing indicated in the third-party attachment document.
