The law on fees charged by the notary and the register has been reformed following a complaint from the Consumer Organisation concerning widespread, “scandalous” over charging.
In a study involving 83 transactions the consumer association reported that notaries and registrars had overcharged clients by 10,370 euros. In total they overcharged for cancelling mortgages by some 372,042 euros, a sum described as “scandalous.”
From today the maximum notaries may charge for cancelling a mortgage is 55.05 euros, which includes a fee of 30.5 euros and 5 euros per page printed with a maximum of five pages. The maximum fee for a registrar is 24.04 euros.
Neither may notaries charge for expenses such as faxes, issuing certificates, telephone calls, searches etc. for which they have habitually charged between 9 and 24 euros per item.
Any citizen who receives a bill for such charges or is overcharged for cancelling a mortgage or loan should send the bill to the Dirección General de Recursos y del Notariado or take it to the local consumer advice centre.
