Useful Advice Archives | J. Escobedo Abogado - Tenerife Lawyer - Lawyer in Tenerife

FRAUDULENT EARNEST MONEY CONTRACTS

A recent Supreme Court ruling of 15 November 2021 has sent an estate agent to prison for fraud for having drawn up a fraudulent earnest money contract (arras) in order to obtain a deposit of €6000 from prospective purchasers.

Specifically, the High Court considered it proven that the agent signed a contract with the buyers for a property whose owners had rejected the purchaser’s offer and, moreover, had deposited the money into his account and used it for purposes other than those related to the prospective sale.

MICROCREDITS CAN BE DECLARED NULL AND VOID

In difficult circumstances brought about by the economic crisis, many families have been found themselves having to take out small loans with disproportionate and abusive interest rates. In such cases, it is possible to go to court (with their own or a Court appointed lawyer) and request the annulment of the loan on the basis of art. 1 of the Law of 23 July 1908 on the nullity of usurious loan contracts.

HOW TO AVOID INSURANCE REFUSALS FOR PAYOUTS ON LIFE OR DISABILITY POLICIES

When we take out life insurance policies with banks or insurance companies, we are presented with a health questionnaire which, in most cases, we sign without carefully reading the questions about our health status. There have even been cases where people have signed a blank proposal which is then completed by an employee of the insurance company. This is a major mistake since, when the event covered by the policy (death or illness) occurs, it can block a payout to the beneficiaries of the insurance.

ARE THERE OTHER WAYS TO ACQUIRE A PROPERTY WITHOUT DEED?

The purchase, the donation and the inheritance are the most common ways of acquiring a property. The people who become owners in this way have a valid title (public deed granted before a notary public) that makes them the legitimate owners of the property.

However, what happens when we occupy a property and we do not have a property title, nor have we leased it? Do we acquire any type of right over the property? For these cases, the Civil Code regulates the figure of usucapion. Usucaption is a way of acquiring rights to a thing by its continued possession for a time under the conditions provided by law, that is, by continued use, despite not being the owner, the property can be acquired (acquisitive prescription) . The goods that a person acquires by usucaption cancel the property title for the previous owner.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR TENANT DOES NOT PAY THE RENT

In case of non-payment of rent, the first question to resolve is: Can we file an eviction claim in court with a single month of non-payment.

In this regard, article 27.2 a) of the Urban Leasing Law (LAU) is clear; the landlord can in any case cancel the contract due to “non-payment of rent or, where appropriate, of any of the amounts whose payment has been assumed or corresponds to the lessee ”. This is so because payment of rent due is the main obligation of every tenant and, therefore, its non-payment represents an essential breach of the lease regardless of the amount of the debt.