How long does it take from the attachment to the auction?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The law does not set a time limit but a series of steps, so it depends above all on the court's workload and on how long each step takes. For an attached (seized) flat, the attachment has to be entered in the Land Registry (the “Registro de la Propiedad”), a certificate of the flat's charges requested, the flat valued and the auction called. The auction is held online on the “Portal de Subastas” (the auction portal of the “BOE”, Spain's Official State Gazette) and lasts twenty calendar days. In practice it usually takes quite a few months and, if complications arise, it can take more than a year. Until the sale is approved, the debtor can stop the auction by paying everything they owe. The steps If what has been attached is a flat or commercial premises, these steps have to be taken before the auction: Entering the attachment in the Land Registry, so that it also binds anyone who buys the flat afterwards. Requesting from the Land Registry the certificate of ownership and charges (“certificación de dominio y cargas”), which states who the owner is and what charges the flat has, such as a mortgage. The registrar makes a note of it in the property's register entry and notifies the court if any document that changes what has been certified is submitted later. Valuing the flat. If the parties do not agree on its value, it is valued by an expert appointed by the court and the parties can make submissions. The earlier charges that will remain with the flat, such as a prior mortgage, are deducted from that value. What is left is the auction value. Calling the auction. It is called by the court clerk (“letrado de la Administración de Justicia”), the official who manages the proceedings. Once the clerk's decision is final, the notice is published in the Official State Gazette. Holding it on the auction portal of the “Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado”, the state agency that publishes the Official State Gazette. It opens at least twenty-four hours after the notice and accepts bids for twenty calendar days. In enforcement proceedings begun on or after 3 April 2025 that period is not extended, but the auction cannot end on a Saturday, Sunday or national public holiday, in August or between 24 December and 6 January. The parties can also ask for the flat to be sold in another way, for example by agreement between them or through a specialist person or firm, which sometimes achieves a better price. What it depends on The law does not set the time between one step and the next. It is influenced above all by these circumstances: The workload of the court and of the Land Registry. How diligent the creditor is in applying for each step. The creditor usually tries first to recover the money from bank accounts or salary and only applies for the flat to be auctioned if that is not enough. Complications, such as a third party claiming that the flat belongs to them, a dispute over the valuation or the presence of occupants, who must be notified so that they can produce their documents of title within ten days. The debtor's insolvency proceedings, which cancel the auction even if it has already begun. If the auction is suspended for more than fifteen days, it has to be advertised again as if it were a new one. What the debtor can do In the meantime, the debtor has some options: Paying everything owed in principal, interest and costs before the sale is approved, which releases the flat and cancels the auction. Negotiating with the creditor a payment agreement or a sale of the flat by the debtor, with an undertaking to discharge the attachment, which usually raises more money than an auction. Making it easy for interested parties to view the flat during the auction. If the debtor lives in the flat and cooperates, they can ask the judge to reduce their debt by up to 2 % of the value at which the flat is awarded.