What are the requirements for obtaining Government aid for paying mortgages?
The latest aid measures approved for mortgage payments are contained in Royal Decree 1975/2008:
"Article 5. Conditions for obtaining aid.
1. Mortgage debtors, as referred to in Article 3 of this Royal Decree, must have been in one of the following situations prior to 1 January 2010 in order to be able to benefit from the measures included in this chapter:
- Workers who are legally unemployed, and have been in this situation for at least three months immediately prior to the application being made, and have a right to contributory or non-contributory unemployment benefits.
- Self-employed workers who have been obliged to cease their economic activity over a period of at least three months.
- Self-employed workers with certified total income less than three times the monthly amount of the Public Multi-purpose Income Indicator (Indicador Público de Renta de Efectos Múltiples) over a period of at least three months.
- Pensioners widowed after the mortgage was agreed, and in all cases after 1 September 2008.
Article 3 of Chapter II, Moratoria on mortgage payments, states that: "The application of these measures will, in all circumstances, require the prior agreement of the claimant and the creditor institution".