New protection measures mortgage debtors Spain Royal Decree-Law 19/2022

Royal Decree-Law 19/2022 of November 22, 2022 (“RDL 19/2022”) came into force on November 24, 2022.

This regulation includes, among others, a set of measures to reinforce the protection of vulnerable mortgage debtors, anticipating the situations of financial difficulty that may result from the rise in interest rates, also considering the generalized increase in the cost of basic goods and services. 

The regulation adopts, among others, the following measures:

• It proposes a new Code of Good Practice on a transitional basis for the restructuring of the mortgage debt of middle-class mortgagors at risk of vulnerability due to rising interest rates.

• It amends the existing Code of Good Practice under Royal Decree-Law 6/2012 (“RDL 6/2012”).
• It adopts other measures to make subrogation easier for any consumer, or to convert variable rate loans to fixed rate, as well as to encourage competition in the mortgage loan market and promote financial education in this context.