Article published at Catalan News Agency, 31st May 2016
Barcelona (CNA).- The Spanish Constitutional Court (TC) accepted this Tuesday the appeal presented by Spain’s executive in April which called for the suspension some articles of the Catalan law against energy poverty. In particular, the magistrates have cautionarily suspended 8 articles mainly oriented toward avoiding evictions and facilitating mediations when the families involved are at social risk. According to the TC, the suspension is automatic and therefore the magistrates “couldn’t do anything” but accept the Spanish government’s appeal. The suspension was “to be expected”, assured the Catalan Government’s Spokeswoman, Neus Munté. The TC’s decision comes two days after thousands of people rallied in Barcelona to protest over the Spanish court’s measures against numerous laws passed by the Catalan Parliament.
By accepting the appeal presented by the Spanish executive, the TC put on hold the decisive role that the Catalan law gave to mediation, especially in those cases in which the non-payment of rent or mortgage could lead to evictions. It also postpones the possibility that the Catalan Government could start specific judiciary procedures to resolve matters related to evictions.
The precepts 1,2,3,4 and 9 of Article 5 of Law 24/2015 have also been cautionarily suspended. This article foresees that those particulars or legal entities who acquired an apartment through foreclosure would have to offer alternatives based on social renting to those families who couldn’t afford to pay the rent before starting any judiciary procedure.
The Spanish executive also took before the court Article 7, which sets out that the administration would be able to proceed to obligatory cession of apartments which have been empty for more than three years and which belong to legal entities or in the case that there was at least one family at social risk in the local area.
A decision “to be expected”
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