A article in El Mundo has brought to light a worrying clause in mortgage contracts - if the value of the property falls more than 20%, the banks have the right to demand further security i.e. with other goods to cover the shortfall.

This nice little tidbit originally comes fom the Ley Hipotecaria of 1981, but worryingly, was restated in the state bulletin of 2 May. Those who purchased 2 or 3 years ago are very likely to have seen a 20% or more decrease in the value of their property.