What are the new European rules on foreclosure of money, houses and goods, which join the important changes now in force? The rules for procedures, limits and powers of foreclosure of both money and houses and other assets are changing, a procedure that leads to the forced levy on the debtor for the settlement of debts, in fact, contracts with creditors.
- What are the new European rules on foreclosure of money, houses and goods
- Important changes already in force for foreclosure of money, houses and goods
What are the new European rules on foreclosure of money, houses and goods
The new rules on the foreclosure of money, houses and assets derive from the recent ruling of the European Court of Justice which has recently expressed itself on the foreclosure procedures of both houses, money and other assets, stating that if the contract stipulated between the bank and the customer provides for unfair terms, the customer can appeal even if the attachment procedure has already been initiated.
According to the provisions of current European regulations, contractual clauses that do not comply with principles of good faith and fairness 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 due to an act or omission on the part of the credit institution itself;
- unilateral compensation for cancellation, which allows the bank to keep the advances if the consumer cancels the contract;
- unilateral changes to the contract, which allow the credit institution to make changes to a contract unilaterally without the obligation to provide any justifications;
- short notice cancellation, which allows the lender to terminate a contract without a fixed expiry date in a short time;
- hidden clauses, which represent a constraint for customers 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 customer must compulsorily communicate his intention to terminate the contract before its expiry to avoid automatic extensions.
Important changes already in force for foreclosure of money, houses and goods
The new European ruling which provides for changes in the methods of foreclosure adds to the other important changes already in force for the foreclosure of money, houses and other assets, starting with the new limits set for the foreclosure of money.
They have, in fact, been established new limits on the attachment of salaries and current accounts, which are updated every year because they vary and depend on the amount of the social allowance, which changes every year, because it is subject to revaluation.
For 2023, as a result of the new revaluation, the amount of the social allowance has increased to 503.27 euros per month for 13 months and the attachment of salary depends on the amount of the social allowance because, as established by the laws in force , you cannot attach the minimum subsistence allowance, equal to double the social allowance and it can never be less than a thousand euros.
Therefore, if the amount of the social allowance is 503.27 euros, the minimum subsistence allowance for 2023 is 1,006.54 euros and cannot be attached, while the attachment of salary can take place in different measures beyond this amount.
According to the laws in force, in fact, it is possible to attach the salary according to the limits established by the law both from the employer and on the current account where it is credited. In particular, it is possible to garnish the salary from the employer in 2023 only within the limit of one fifth, while if the creditor is the Revenue Collection Agency, the limits for the garnishment of the salary are:
- a fifth for salaries above 5,000 euros;
- a seventh for salaries up to €5,000;
- a tenth for salaries up to 2,500 euros
As regards the attachment limits on a current account, the laws provide, on the basis of the balance available on the account, the possibility of attaching only the part exceeding three times the social allowance, i.e. 1,404.30 euros (considering the amount of the social allowance of 503.27 euros).
Further innovations already approved relating to the attachment concern the attachment to third parties, mechanism that allows the creditor to proceed with the recovery of credits from the debtor but held by another person.
The attachment with third parties is notified to the initial debtor of the enforceable title and the writ of precept. Foreclosure with third parties involves, in fact, three subjects who are:
proceeding creditor, active party in a substantive and procedural sense;
enforced debtor, passive party in a substantive and procedural sense;
attached third party, party only in the procedural sense.
The attachment against third parties is notified to the initial debtor of the enforceable title and the writ of precept and the recent news on the attachment concern the jurisdictions. In fact, it is envisaged that for the seizure of movable property from third parties, the jurisdiction lies with the judge, therefore the court, of the place where the assets are located, while for the seizure of credits, the jurisdiction lies with the judge of the place where the debtor has the residence, domicile, abode or registered office.
If, on the other hand, the debtor is a public administration, the jurisdiction lies with the Court of the place where the third party has his residence, domicile, abode or registered office.
The innovations relating to the attachment also concern the procedures: the attachment to third parties must, in fact, be notified to the initial debtor of the enforceable title and the writ of precept and the notification can be made by the lawyer via Pec, certified e-mail, or via Bailiff.
Since last June 2022, in third-party attachment procedures, the new obligations are the responsibility of the defender of the creditor and it is always necessary to notify both the enforced debtor and the attached third party of the successful registration and proof of notification must be filed in the file of the enforcement procedure by the date of the appearance hearing indicated in the deed of attachment to third parties.