The effects of COVID-19 on real estate law: special reference to mortgage moratorium

Abstract

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 coronavirus will represent a turning point in many different aspects of the social, economic and legal life of the affected countries. The health crisis that it has entailed, followed by the tremendous economic crisis that is coming, has caused governments to adopt a series of measures that will change the traditional structures of many institutions. Such is the case of what is happening in the real estate sector that, like many others, has been affected by this crisis. This paper aims to analyse and highlight the main changes that have occurred with respect to real estate law, which affect both the ownership of houses and commercial premises, as well as the tenancy and, of course, the mortgage as an instrument of main territorial credit to access them, paying special attention to the later.