Nearly every pre-2019 Spanish mortgage carried a clause making the borrower pay every setup cost: notary, registry, agency, valuation. The Supreme Court has repeatedly declared that clause abusive, and typical recoveries run €1,500–3,500. We work the phase BEFORE court — reading your deed, calculating your money, claiming to the bank — and if the bank digs in, we bring you litigation lawyers we trust, with your file ready. We speak from experience: we fought our own bank and won, with costs awarded.
Answer a few questions about your mortgage and type in your setup invoices (or estimates) — the guide applies the Supreme Court's split (50% notary, 100% registry, agency and valuation) and shows what's claimable and how the claim unfolds. Free, no sign-up, nothing leaves your browser. (Tool in Spanish.)
The settled case-law split (Supreme Court rulings 705/2015, 46-49/2019 and 35/2021): the bank returns 50% of the notary fees, 100% of the Land Registry fees, 100% of the agency (gestoría) and 100% of the property valuation — plus legal interest from the day you paid. The stamp-duty tax (IAJD) generally stays with the borrower for deeds before the 2018 rule change. On a typical mortgage the total runs €1,500–3,500. Nobody can honestly promise your number in advance — your deed and your invoices set it, and that reading is exactly step one.
The Supreme Court settled the prescription war in ruling 857/2024 (Plenary, 14 June 2024), following the EU Court: the clock for claiming your money back doesn't start until a judgment declaring your clause void becomes final — unless the bank proves you knew earlier. Translation: for most borrowers who never sued, the claim is alive today. If a claims company once told you it was expired, that answer deserves a second opinion.
Step one: read your deed and find the expenses clause (we know it when we see it — we've read our own in a courtroom). Step two: rebuild the invoices — notary, registry, agency, valuation; lost papers can usually be recovered from the notary and the agencies. Step three: a documented claim to your bank's customer-service department, signed by you, with the case-law and the exact figure. The bank must answer within the regulatory deadline; some pay here, and if yours does, you're done — no lawsuit, no percentage fees. Step four if they refuse: complaint to the Bank of España, which doesn't bind the bank but builds your record.
The lawsuit belongs to a practising lawyer and a procurador — always. Our difference: you arrive with the file complete (deed, invoices, claim, answers) and we connect you with litigation lawyers we know and trust, including the strategic choices we learned in our own case — like suing first for a declaration of nullity (specialised courts, costs awarded when you win) and reserving the money claim. If you win with costs, the bank pays your lawyers' taxed fees. Every case is its own case; what we promise is the quality of the file, not the outcome.
Updated daily from official sources (BOE, ministries and public bodies).
Settled doctrine (ruling 857/2024, Plenary, 14 June 2024, following the EU Court): the 5-year period to claim mortgage setup costs back does not start until a judgment declaring the clause void becomes FINAL — unless the bank proves the consumer knew earlier. Practical effect: those who never sued can normally still claim today. If you were told it was too late, get a second opinion.
The Supreme Court's settled split for mortgages carrying the abusive expenses clause: the bank returns half the notary bill and all of the Land Registry, agency (ruling 35/2021) and valuation fees — plus legal interest from each payment. On a typical mortgage, €1,500-3,500. The stamp-duty tax is generally not recoverable for deeds before the 2018 rule change.
