Legal approach to mortgages linked to the IRPH index: quo vadis?

Abstract

The main concern of anyone who signs a mortgage is exactly how much they have to pay back every month. However, experience reveals that, in everyday practice, the aspects that define the economic obligations taken on by consumers are not fully understood by consumers. The signing of mortgages with variable interest linked to the IRPH index is paradigmatic of this reality. The fact that it is difficult to determine and that it does not operate like other variable interest rates are two questions that have been discussed by jurists. Their responses, however, have been diverse, particularly in terms of how to determine the regular payments that consumers have to make. The legal approach to IRPH has by no means been uniform and the discrepancies between resolutions have forced pronouncements from the higher legal authorities in both Spain (Supreme Court) and the European Union (European Court of Justice). The present article analyses the legal chronology in terms of the interpretation and application of the IRPH and focuses in particular on the Judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (3 March 2020), which was to lead to a proliferation of legal claims.