The floor or mortgage floor clauses are one of the requirements established in the mortgage contracts, in which minimum limits are established for the interest that will be obtained, since these cannot be quoted under this figure. This measure, in addition to the so-called ceiling clause, was adopted in the banks of the European Union, because the interest rates on benefits are based on the reference figures published by Euribor every day and these, since 2009, have presented astronomical declines, resulting in little benefit for lenders. In Spain, a Madrid court advocated forbidding this practice, calling it "not very transparent" and "abusive".
The Court of Justice of the European Union, in 2016, decided, in an unappealable way, that all the money collected by the banks under the floor clause, should be returned to the clients, because it is an unfair practice. However, it is not completely prohibited, since banks can still include them in their contracts, with prior negotiation and clear knowledge, by the debtor, of the limitations and requirements that the clause brings with it. Fraudulently, it was often referred to under the name of: limits on the application of variable interest, limit of variability, variable interest rate. In this way, it was determined that the percentage could not fall to a number previously established by the lender.
In view of the drops that are evident in the Euribor, the banking entities have opted for other options that bring them certain benefits, such as incorporating the zero clauses, where, in view of the negative values, it is stipulated that the client waives right to mortgage payment by the lender. In this way, it is avoided to pay the clients the interests corresponding to the mortgage loan.
