If you have ever taken part, or are thinking of taking part, in an electronic judicial auction through the BOE (Spain's Official State Gazette), this is for you. From 3 April 2025, new rules come into force that will change the process quite a bit.
Organic Law 1/2025 (Ley Orgánica 1/2025) brings a good handful of new features with a clear goal: to make the process faster, more transparent and fairer. Note that these changes do not apply to auctions by the Tax Agency (Hacienda) or Social Security, only to electronic judicial auctions.
And although the law will be in force from April, in practice we won't see many auctions under these new rules until 2026. So now is the perfect time to understand what's changing and how it affects you if you want to take part as a bidder.
Key changes to judicial auctions from 2025
Here we explain the most important points in plain language, without technical jargon:
💰 Bidding deposits go up
- You will now have to put down more money to be able to bid.
- Movable assets: from 5% to 10%, minimum €1,000.
- Real estate: from 5% to 20%, also minimum €1,000.
🕐 The payment deadline changes
- The payment deadline now runs from when the auction ends, not from when you are notified.
- For properties, the deadline is shorter: from 40 down to 20 working days.
🤐 Bids are now sealed
- During the auction, you won't know who has bid or how much. Only the best price is published at the end.
📉 New limits on the minimum award price
- For the debtor's main residence (vivienda habitual), a minimum of 70% of the value (with exceptions).
- Other properties: minimum 70%, which can drop to 40% if the debt is covered.
- Movable assets: minimum 50%, but this can drop to 30% if the debt is covered.
❌ Goodbye to deferred payment
- You can no longer offer to pay in instalments.
💸 More control and less time wasted
- If the highest bidder doesn't pay, the next one is contacted and the other deposits are returned.
- If two bidders fail to pay, a new auction is called straight away.
📅 Clearer auction dates
- Auctions last 20 calendar days, full stop, with no extensions.
- They don't end at weekends, on public holidays, over Christmas or in August.
⚖️ Equality between bidders
- The enforcing creditor (ejecutante) also has to bid like everyone else.
- The debtor can improve on the bid if it doesn't reach the minimums, even by just one cent.
🧾 More registry information
- Up-to-date documentation on the properties being auctioned is added if the request was delayed.
👀 More oversight
- The court clerk (Letrado de la Administración de Justicia) and the BOE Portal can halt the auction if they spot anything suspicious.
Final summary: before vs. after
Here is an easy table showing what changes with the 2025 auctions:
| Aspect | Before | From 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit for movable assets | 5% (no minimum) | 10% (minimum €1,000) |
| Deposit for real estate | 5% | 20% (minimum €1,000) |
| Start of payment deadline | From notification of the decree | From the end of the auction |
| Payment deadline for properties | 40 working days | 20 working days |
| Bids visible during the auction | Yes | No (sealed until the end) |
| Minimum award for a home | 60% if the auction gets no bids | 70% (with exceptions: 60%) |
| Deferred payment | Allowed | Abolished |
| Auction length | 20 days + possible extension | 20 days, no extension |
| Debtor can improve on the bid | Yes, minimum 70% | Yes, minimum 60% or even 1 cent |
| Oversight of the process | Limited | Strengthened by the court clerk and the BOE Portal |