If your mortgage contains a floor clause, your bank has been charging you interest above what you are legally entitled to pay for years. The Supreme Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) have declared these clauses abusive due to lack of transparency. You have the right to recover all the money overpaid since the beginning of your mortgage, including statutory interest. At Orozco y Asociados we are specialists in banking law in Málaga and have spent years compelling financial institutions to return what is not rightfully theirs.
Your bank will not return your money voluntarily. You need an attorney to compel them.
Thousands of mortgages in Málaga contain floor clauses that were never explained to the consumer. If you signed the deed without understanding what you were agreeing to, that clause is absolutely null and void.
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What is a floor clause and why do courts declare it void
A floor clause is a condition included in thousands of mortgage contracts that sets a minimum interest rate applicable to the loan, regardless of how far the Euribor falls. In practice, if you took out a mortgage tied to the Euribor plus a spread, the floor clause prevented your monthly payment from dropping below a fixed percentage (typically between 2.5% and 4%), even when the Euribor reached negative values.
The Supreme Court Ruling of 9 May 2013 (STS 241/2013) was the first to declare these clauses void due to failure to meet the dual transparency test required by the General Contracting Conditions Act. Subsequently, the CJEU (Ruling of 21 December 2016, joined cases C-154/15, C-307/15 and C-308/15) mandated full retroactivity: the refund must cover all amounts overpaid from the date the mortgage was signed, not only from May 2013 onwards.
How to find out if your mortgage has a floor clause
- Review your mortgage deed: look for wording such as «minimum interest rate», «floor», «minimum variability limit» or «applicable minimum rate»
- Check whether your monthly payment remained unchanged during the years when the Euribor fell significantly (2009–2022)
- The lenders most affected in Málaga: Unicaja, CaixaBank (Bankia), BBVA, Banco Sabadell, Cajamar and former savings banks
- Even if you have already paid off your mortgage, you can still claim a refund of the amounts overcharged
- If your bank offered you an «agreement» or «novation» to remove the floor clause in exchange for waiving your right to claim, that agreement may be challengeable in court
Floor clause claims process, step by step
We have perfected an effective system to help you recover your money in the shortest possible time and with complete legal certainty:
Phase 1 — Technical audit of your mortgage deed
We analyse your mortgage loan deed to confirm the existence of the floor clause and verify that the dual transparency test was not met: you were neither adequately informed of its existence, nor given an explanation of its actual financial effects. We calculate the exact amount you have been overcharged.
Phase 2 — Pre-litigation claim to the bank (RDL 1/2017)
We file an out-of-court claim with the bank in accordance with the procedure established by Royal Decree-Law 1/2017. The bank has three months to respond. If it accepts, you recover your money without going to court. If it rejects or fails to respond, we proceed to litigation with legal costs borne by the bank.
Phase 3 — Lawsuit for nullity of the clause
We file an ordinary civil action before the Courts of First Instance of Málaga, seeking the nullity of the floor clause and the refund of all amounts unlawfully charged. We invoke Directive 93/13/EEC on unfair contractual terms and the established case law of the Supreme Court and the CJEU.
Phase 4 — Enforcement of judgment and recovery of funds
Once a favourable judgment is obtained, the bank must refund all amounts overpaid since the signing of the mortgage, together with statutory interest. If it does not comply voluntarily, we enforce the judgment. Legal costs are borne by the bank in the vast majority of cases.
We know exactly how much they owe you
Our banking law team performs an expert calculation of the amounts overcharged by applying historical Euribor tables to your specific loan. We do not work with estimates: we will give you the exact figure before initiating the claim.
How much money can you recover from your floor clause?
The amount depends on three variables: the minimum interest rate set by the floor clause, the movement of the Euribor over the life of your loan, and the outstanding capital to be repaid. As a rough guide:
Mortgages with a floor rate of 3%–4%
The most common in Málaga, particularly in mortgages taken out with Unicaja and former savings banks. In these cases, the difference between what was paid and what should have been paid can exceed €15,000–€25,000 on long-term loans, plus statutory interest.
Mortgages with a floor rate of 2%–2.5%
More common with BBVA, CaixaBank and Sabadell. Although the differential is smaller, on high-value or long-term mortgages the recoverable amounts range between €5,000 and €15,000. Each case requires an individual calculation based on the specific deed.
Already paid-off mortgages
You can still make a claim even if you have finished paying your mortgage. The nullity of the clause means it should never have taken effect, so the right to a refund remains. The limitation period for a nullity action is imprescriptible according to Supreme Court doctrine.
Novations and prior agreements
If your bank offered to remove the floor clause in exchange for signing a waiver, that agreement may be voidable if it was not negotiated on equal terms. Courts are declaring such novations void where the consumer did not have sufficient information or independent legal advice.
Floor clause attorneys in Málaga, Marbella and throughout the province
Orozco y Asociados represents consumers against banks across the entire province of Málaga: Marbella, Vélez-Málaga, Torremolinos, Fuengirola, Estepona, Benalmádena, Ronda and all municipalities along the Costa del Sol. Our experience before the Courts of First Instance of Málaga has allowed us to build a track record of favourable rulings that strengthens every new case we bring.
The floor clause is just one of the many irregularities your mortgage may contain. If we identify other abusive clauses during our audit — such as unlawful mortgage arrangement fees, the IRPH clause, abusive arrangement commissions or revolving credit cards — we claim them all jointly to maximise your financial recovery in a single action.