Thousands of Greeks who are unable to meet their mortgage payments could be faced with prospect of having their homes auctioned off in 2015, as a law banning foreclosures expires at the end of 2014.
The law protecting primary residence was enacted to protect struggling households hard hit by the country’s enduring financial crisis and a dizzying unemployment rate, but the ruling coalition, under increasing pressure from its international lenders, has no plans to extend it.
Main opposition and anti-bailout party Syriza has pledged to shield homes valued at less than €300 thousand by extending the ban and to pass laws to stop banks from selling ban mortgages to third parties.
But the government has sought to calm homeowners saying that those valued less than €300 thousand will not be at risk as long as they cite certain clauses of the so-called Katselis law enacted in 2010. This law stipulates that debtors, experiencing difficulties in meeting their mortgage payments on their primary residence, have the right to come to a settlement with banks, which factors in their income and extends the period to pay off their loans. According to Iefimerida (link in Greek) news site , over 100, 000 households have applied for protection under the Katselis law.