{"id":13976,"date":"2025-06-04T10:26:45","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T08:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/el-requisito-de-procedibilidad-en-materia-de-vivienda\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T16:47:40","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T14:47:40","slug":"the-requirement-of-procedural-admissibility-in-housing-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/the-requirement-of-procedural-admissibility-in-housing-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Requirement of Procedural Admissibility in Housing Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Requirement of Procedural Admissibility in Housing Matters: Legal Keys and Reflections on Spanish Constitutional Court Judgments 25\/2025 and 26\/2025<\/h3>\n

On June 3, 2025, I had the opportunity to attend the conference organized by the ADR Center of the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB), titled \u201cThe Requirement of Procedural Admissibility in Housing Matters: Analysis and Effects of Spanish Constitutional Court Judgments No. 26\/2025 and 25\/2025.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The presentations by Isabel Viola Demestre, Vicente P\u00e9rez Daud\u00ed, and Eugeni Mart\u00ednez Caparr\u00f3s were particularly enlightening, offering a well-grounded and critical perspective on an issue that raises intense legal and social debate.<\/p>\n

A Structural Problem<\/h3>\n

Spain has been suffering from a severe structural deficit in social housing for decades. The 2008 financial crisis, far from becoming a turning point, was not used to put the vacant housing stock at the service of the social function of property, enshrined in Article 33.2 of the Spanish Constitution (CE)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Housing, recognized as a right under Article 47 CE<\/strong>, remains in practice subject to market dynamics, without sufficient corrective mechanisms.<\/p>\n

Fundamental Rights in Conflict<\/h3>\n

This context directly affects the balance between two fundamental rights:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • The right to effective judicial protection (Article 24 CE)<\/strong> for claimants (generally large landlords who bring the matter to court)<\/li>\n
  • And the right to housing and to a dignified life (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights \u2013 ECHR)<\/strong> for occupants<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    In particular, Article 6 of the ECHR<\/strong> also protects the right to a fair trial. From the international perspective, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)<\/strong> has repeatedly found that Spain fails to comply with Article 11.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)<\/strong>, as it does not effectively guarantee access to adequate housing.<\/p>\n

    Spanish Constitutional Court Judgments 25\/2025 and 26\/2025<\/h3>\n

    Both rulings analyze the constitutionality of Article 6.7 of Spain\u2019s Housing Act (Law 12\/2023)<\/strong>, which imposed certain procedural admissibility requirements in judicial proceedings involving primary residences.<\/p>\n

    Partial Unconstitutionality<\/h3>\n

    The Constitutional Court declared paragraph c)<\/strong> of Article 6.7 unconstitutional, which required large landlords to offer a social rental agreement before filing a claim. Although paragraphs a)<\/strong> and b)<\/strong> were not annulled, in practice they have become ineffective.<\/p>\n

    Key Takeaway from the Court<\/h3>\n

    The admissibility requirement is not unconstitutional per se,<\/strong> but the specific way in which it is imposed and the burden of proof it places on the claimant violate the right to effective judicial protection (Article 24 CE)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Definition of Large Holder: Legal Uncertainty<\/h3>\n

    One of the most contentious points is the definition of large property holder<\/em>:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Under national law: Article 3.k of Law 12\/2023<\/strong> defines a large holder as a natural or legal person owning more than 10 urban properties or a built area exceeding 1,500 m\u00b2.<\/li>\n
    • Under Catalan law: Article 5 of Law 24\/2015<\/strong>, as amended by Decree-Law 17\/2019<\/strong>, establishes a different criterion, leading to conflicting interpretations, especially since Article 3.k of the national law does not apply in Catalonia<\/strong> (as affirmed by the Constitutional Court and regional case law).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      This divergence, coupled with poor legislative drafting,<\/strong> results in legal uncertainty and unnecessary litigation.<\/p>\n

      What Counts as a Primary Residence? And Who Is Considered Vulnerable?<\/h3>\n

      The concepts of \u201cprimary residence\u201d and \u201cvulnerable person\u201d are essential for applying protective measures or procedural admissibility requirements.<\/p>\n

      However:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Being registered (empadronado) does not necessarily mean that the person resides in the dwelling.<\/li>\n
      • The condition of vulnerability is not always clearly defined or documented.<\/li>\n
      • Large property holders lack access to social data, yet they are expected to meet an unreasonable burden of proof<\/strong>, which also calls into question the effectiveness of the requirement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        The Role of ADR and Mediation<\/h3>\n

        The procedural admissibility requirement<\/strong> could be more effectively addressed through the existence of a specialized ADR mechanism for housing<\/strong>, tailored to the legal and social circumstances of each case.<\/p>\n

        Current deadlines<\/strong> (under Law 1\/2025 on ADR procedures):<\/p>\n

          \n
        • 1 month to initiate the procedure<\/li>\n
        • 3 months to complete mediation (extendable by agreement)<\/li>\n
        • Total: 4 months, which does not amount to an excessive delay.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Choosing the most suitable ADR method (mediation, conciliation, negotiation, etc.) should be part of a comprehensive public policy on access to justice.<\/p>\n

          Lawyers\u2019 Duties and the Role of Ofideute<\/h3>\n

          The Spanish Code of Legal Ethics<\/strong> obliges lawyers to:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Inform their clients about the possibility of using ADR mechanisms.<\/li>\n
          • Attempt negotiation before going to court (Article 21).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            In Catalonia, the Ofideute<\/strong> service (managed by the Catalan Housing Agency) acts as an intermediary in disputes over rent or mortgage defaults, offering advice, referrals, and promoting out-of-court agreements before litigation.<\/p>\n

            Final Reflection<\/h3>\n

            Judgments 25\/2025 and 26\/2025 clarify the boundaries for legislators when imposing procedural requirements before filing legal claims. Social rent itself is not unconstitutional, but its imposition as a procedural requirement is, when applied without safeguards or proportionality<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

            These decisions open the door to constructive dialogue among public authorities, legal experts, and ADR operators on how to design effective and appropriate pre-litigation mechanisms<\/strong> for resolving housing disputes without infringing on fundamental rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            The Requirement of Procedural Admissibility in Housing Matters: Legal Keys and Reflections on Spanish Constitutional Court Judgments 25\/2025 and 26\/2025 On June 3, 2025, I had the opportunity to attend the conference organized by the ADR Center of the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB), titled \u201cThe…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mediation-and-conciliation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13976"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15826,"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13976\/revisions\/15826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediadorconflictos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}