Not being able to face the mortgage payment does not necessarily mean having to wait to accumulate arrears or for the bank to initiate an execution. Households in a particularly vulnerable economic situation can apply for the Code of Good Practices for mortgage debtors without resources, as long as they meet the legally established requirements and their entity is adhered.
The mechanism is regulated in Royal Decree-Law 6/2012 and works in a staggered manner. The first option is to restructure the debt to reduce the monthly effort. If the new plan remains unviable, a write-off of the outstanding capital may come into play and, under more demanding conditions, the transfer of the property in payment.
Who can request a mortgage restructuring
The starting point is to be in what the regulation calls the “exclusion threshold”. To access the restructuring, several requirements must be met simultaneously.
First, the income of the household unit cannot exceed three times the annual IPREM of 14 payments. With the IPREM currently used as a reference, of 8,400 euros annually in 14 payments, the general limit amounts to 25,200 euros annually.
The threshold rises to 33,600 euros —four times the IPREM— when any member of the household unit has a disability greater than 33%, a situation of dependency, or an illness that permanently incapacitates them to work.
It can reach 42,000 euros —five times the IPREM— in certain cases of greater disability or serious illness provided for by the regulation, such as certain cases of cerebral palsy, mental illness, intellectual, physical, or sensory disability.
Additionally, as a general rule, the mortgage payment must exceed 50% of the net income of the household unit. That percentage drops to 40% in certain cases of disability, dependency, or illness contemplated by the regulation.
However, it is not enough to have low income and dedicate more than half to the mortgage. There must also have been an increase in the mortgage effort during the four years prior to the application or some of the family circumstances of special vulnerability provided for by law must have occurred.
Among these last ones are the large families, the single-parent units with dependent children, those in which there is a minor, certain cases of disability, dependency or serious illness, the family units in which there is a victim of gender violence, trafficking or sexual exploitation, and debtors over 60 years old.
The housing must also meet a limit
The other filter that can be decisive is the price at which the housing was purchased.
To access the restructuring or a possible write-off, the acquisition price cannot exceed by 20% the result of multiplying the constructed square meters by the average price per square meter of free housing corresponding to the year of purchase and the province. In any case, there is a maximum cap of 300,000 euros.
For the dation in payment, the requirement is stricter, eliminating that additional margin of 20% and the acquisition price cannot exceed, in any case, 250,000 euros.
What reduction can be achieved in the installment
The first measure does not consist of the bank directly forgiving a part of the debt. It consists of modifying the loan conditions to achieve a more manageable installment.
When the mortgage effort has multiplied at least by 1.5 compared to that of four years ago, or there is a family circumstance of special vulnerability, the restructuring includes a five-year capital repayment grace period. During that period, interest is paid, while the deferred capital is moved to the end of the loan, distributed among the subsequent installments or both options are combined.
The repayment term can also be extended to a maximum of 40 years from the granting of the loan. In variable mortgages, during the grace period, a rate of euribor minus 0.10 points is applied; in fixed-rate mortgages, the current fixed rate is maintained during that period.
If the mortgage effort has increased, but less than 1.5 times and there is no family circumstance of special vulnerability, the conditions are more limited and require two years of capital grace, an extension of the term of up to seven years, without exceeding 40 from the granting, and a reduction of the interest during the grace period calculated according to the rules established in the Code.
In either case, the eventual floor clauses cease to apply. Furthermore, the early repayment requested during the ten years following the approval of the plan does not incur compensation costs.
The bank has one month to present the plan
The debtor can submit their own proposal, but it is not mandatory. Once the application and all required documentation are submitted, the entity has one month to notify and offer a restructuring plan.
The Code can be requested even when a foreclosure procedure has already begun, as long as the auction has not yet been announced.
The restructuring includes all mortgage debt. This includes the overdue principal and, if applicable, late interest, default fees, expenses, and costs. Therefore, the bank cannot require the client to first bring overdue payments up to date as a condition to access the mechanism.
What happens if even the new payment is unaffordable
Once the restructuring is carried out, it must be checked how much the new payment represents in relation to family income.
If it is below 50% of the household income, the plan is considered viable. If it remains above 50%, it is considered unviable and the bank must inform the client of the following measures provided by the Code.
The first is to request a write-off of the outstanding principal, that is, to forgive part of the debt. Unlike restructuring, the entity is not obliged to grant it and may reject it.
The Code establishes different methods to calculate that possible reduction, including a 25% write-off, although it also considers other formulas linked to the amortized capital and the value of the property. The bank must communicate the result of the calculations to the debtor even if it ultimately decides not to grant the write-off.
The last option: hand over the property and cancel the debt
If the restructuring proves unviable and the write-off does not resolve the situation either, the Code provides for dation in payment.
Once all requirements are met, the debtor hands over the property and the entire mortgage debt and the personal liabilities linked to it are canceled. The request can be made within 24 months following the request for restructuring. There are also certain cases for those who already have a plan in place and later find that they cannot meet the payments.
The dation cannot be applied if the auction has already been announced or if there are subsequent charges on the property.
Furthermore, whoever requests the dation can ask to remain in the property as a tenant for two years, paying an annual rent equivalent to 3% of the total amount of the existing debt at the time of the dation.
What documents to bring to the bank
The application must be accompanied by the necessary documentation to demonstrate both the income and the composition of the family unit as well as the asset situation.
Among the documents that may be necessary are the income certificate from the last fiscal year and, where applicable, that of the Wealth Tax; the last three pay slips; certificates of unemployment benefits or subsidies; documents related to the minimum vital income, minimum rents or social aid; and, for certain self-employed individuals, the certificate of the benefit for cessation of activity.
The family book or proof of domestic partnership, certificate of registration, documentation on disability, dependency or incapacity when applicable, certificates from the Property Registry, the purchase deed and the mortgage deed must also be provided.
Finally, a responsible declaration regarding compliance with the requirements must be submitted. If the bank already has any of those documents, the client does not have to provide it again. They can also authorize the entity in writing to obtain certain information directly from the Tax Agency, Social Security, and the registries.
The bank can reject the application
If the requirements are not met, the bank may not accept the application. In that case, it must justify the denial and specify the calculations used to reach that conclusion.
There may also be grounds for a claim if the bank incorrectly considers that the client is not at the exclusion threshold, improperly applies the acquisition price limit, does not present the restructuring plan despite meeting the requirements, or proposes conditions different from those established by the Code.
The adherence of entities to the Code is voluntary, but once adhered, its application is mandatory for clients who prove that they meet the conditions. The list of adhering entities is officially published and was updated again in the BOE in July 2026.
How to claim if the bank says no
The first step is to file a formal complaint with the Customer Service or Customer Defender of the entity. It is advisable to keep a registered copy or any proof that allows demonstrating when it was filed.
If the mortgagor is a consumer and the entity rejects the complaint or does not respond within a month, they can forward it to the Bank of Spain, providing the prior complaint, the bank's response if there is one, and the documentation that supports their position.
The Bank of Spain expressly identifies as possible reasons for complaint that the entity does not justify the denial, does not detail the calculations used, does not offer restructuring when appropriate, or does not inform of the following measures provided by the Code.
The administrative route does not prevent, moreover, the affected party from going to the courts of justice.