Social Security claims a debt generated by its own error with the IMV and leaves a disabled woman on the verge of eviction
The Social Security has deregistered a file from the Minimum Vital Income (IMV) and is now claiming a debt of 20,000 euros from its beneficiary for alleged undue payments. A case of special gravity affecting a woman from a municipality in Córdoba, a single mother with a 45% physical, psychological, and intellectual disability, whose situation could lead to the definitive seizure and eviction from her home.
According to the denunciation by the IMV Affected and Affected Collective, as it has been conveyed to Demócrata, the debt originates from an error by the Administration itself, which did not take into account a change in the cohabitation unit when processing the benefit ex officio in 2020. Years later, Social Security demands the full repayment of amounts that the affected person claims they cannot afford.
The State's eviction of a disabled woman
The woman, who currently lives with a sister with a 67% disability, resides in a home inherited from her deceased parents and intended precisely to guarantee the protection and stability of both. However, the economic claim has already led to an order of seizure of the property, currently in the execution phase and pending eviction, which would place the two sisters facing an imminent eviction.
The IMV was granted ex officio in June 2020. Subsequently, after a review of the file, Social Security detected an alleged undue collection derived from a modification in the cohabitation unit produced in December 2019. A circumstance that, according to those from the collective consulted by Demócrata, was never correctly assessed by the Administration at the time of recognizing the aid.
Despite it being, as they insist, an administrative error not attributable to the beneficiary, Social Security initiated a repayment procedure against her. The affected person lacks the economic resources to face the debt and the social reports included in the file prove a situation of extreme vulnerability.
What is an undue charge in the Minimum Vital Income?
⚖️Undue charges for the Minimum Vital Income (IMV) are amounts that Social Security claims when it understands that the benefit has been received without meeting all the requirements. They may be due to changes in family or economic situations, errors in documentation, or subsequent reviews, even years after the aid was granted.
🔄According to complaints from groups and experts, many of these cases originate from failures or delays in data matching between administrations, especially between the Tax Agency and Social Security, which causes information not to be updated correctly and ends up generating claims against the beneficiary.
🏠Although recipients must report any relevant changes, social organizations warn that many people in vulnerable situations do not fully understand these procedures. The combination of these difficulties with administrative errors can lead to debts, seizures, or even loss of housing.
Favorable medical and social reports
From the family environment, they also underline that, due to her cognitive and psychological limitations, it is very likely that the woman did not understand the scope of the IMV's ex officio concession nor the subsequent administrative communications related to the refund procedure.
The existing medical and social reports are favorable to the affected party and reflect a particularly delicate personal and family situation. Among other points, they document the withdrawal of parental authority over one of her children due to behavioral problems, a circumstance that —according to the group of affected parties— cannot be used to attribute responsibility to her for the change in the family unit.
For the IMV Collective of Affected Individuals, this case evidences the serious consequences that can arise from administrative errors when they impact individuals in situations of special vulnerability, as well as the need to adapt public procedures to the reality of those who present disability or comprehension difficulties.
Legal avenues
Currently, as they advance to this newspaper, all possible legal and administrative avenues are being explored to halt the seizure and prevent eviction. Likewise, they demand the urgent intervention of the competent administrations to guarantee the protection of the fundamental rights of both sisters and avoid a situation of irreversible helplessness.
From the collective they underline that it is not an isolated case, but the reflection of a structural problem that affects numerous recipients of the Minimum Vital Income. People who, in many cases, face complex administrative procedures alone and lack sufficient support to defend their rights. "Behind each file there is a person. And behind each uncorrected error, an injustice," they conclude.
Can a disabled and vulnerable person be evicted?
Demócrata has consulted legal sources on this specific case, and the answer is that, in effect, legally, in Spain it is possible for Social Security to seize a home —even the habitual residence— to settle a debt derived from undue payments of the Minimum Vital Income, even if the affected person has a recognized disability. Legislation allows the Administration to initiate collection and seizure procedures when there are amounts claimed and unpaid.
Now then -these same sources point out- that it is legally possible does not mean that the procedure cannot be appealed, suspended or even judicially halted in certain cases. In cases of special vulnerability —such as disability, lack of economic resources, risk of social exclusion, or the existence of favorable social and medical reports— there are legal mechanisms to request the precautionary suspension of the seizure or eviction. Furthermore, judges can assess principles of proportionality, effective judicial protection, and constitutional protection of vulnerable persons.