Mason Jones (Reporter)
THE EU is set to release a new report to tackle Spain’s mass eviction crisis.
The report, which is not binding but carries ‘considerable political weight’, calls for several changes to the current mortgage laws.
Over 350,000 home-owners have been evicted in the last four years, a period in which unemployment has grown rapidly.
The EU’s report heavily recommends the ‘renegotiation of debt’ for struggling and bankrupt families.
The European Parliament has already awarded anti-eviction group, PAH, the 2013 European Citizen Award for their campaigns.
PAH demand that banks accept ownership of homes in return for cancelling debt rather than demanding full repayment even after repossession.
Campaigners across Spain have already collected over 1.5 million signatures calling for the government to make changes to the legislation following a string of eviction-related suicides.
In Andalucia, where unemployment is at its highest, a new motion has been passed to allow the expropriation of properties.
The scheme will allow the Junta to temporarily take the homes from lenders for up to three years.
Struggling families who can not afford make mortgage payments will be allowed to remain in the property by paying rent of 25% of their income.
Nice idea in theory but the reality is that all Spains’ banks would go bust. Those already thrown out on the street cannot pay and who are the banks going to sell the properties to – there are’nt any buyers around and won’t be for years.