Abusive Bank Clauses in Spain: Floor Clauses, Mortgage Costs and IRPH, Step-by-Step Claim
Updated guide on claiming abusive mortgage clauses: floor clauses, setup costs, IRPH and early termination after CJEU case law.
Floor clause and IRPH in Spain: Supreme Court and CJEU case law evolution 2015-2025
The floor clause (voidness for lack of transparency) and IRPH (mortgage reference rate) are the two major chapters of banking mortgage litigation in Spain. We analyse CJEU and TS case law evolution from the Aziz ruling (2013) to the latest decisions in 2024-2025.
Table of contents
Floor clause: ten years of litigation
The floor clause sets a minimum interest rate on variable-rate mortgages below which the rate cannot fall. Its voidness for lack of transparency (not intrinsic unfairness) was declared by STS 241/2013 (Supreme Court, Full Court), one of the most important Spanish judgments in recent history.
CJEU 21 December 2016 (Gutiérrez Naranjo): The retroactive effects limitation was contrary to Directive 93/13/CEE. Consumers can claim back ALL amounts paid under void floor clauses, without time limits.
Current state (2024-2025): The action for nullity is imprescriptible (STS 2831/2024). The restitution action may prescribe. Banks that fail to settle before trial bear costs even if they win, if the claim was reasonably founded.
IRPH
CJEU 3 March 2020 (Gómez del Moral): IRPH is subject to the Directive 93/13 transparency control despite being a regulated index. National courts must assess whether the consumer received sufficient information.
STS 456/2024: IRPH inclusión alone is not unfair, but failure to provide comparative information (historical evolution, euribor comparison) can generate voidness through lack of transparency, with restitution of the difference between IRPH applied and the euribor that would have applied.
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