To repay a debt, the over-indebtedness commission and the judge can force a household to sell real estate, including their family home, ruled the Court of Cassation in a judgment delivered on June 9*.
An indebted couple appealed to the Court of Cassation after the Toulouse Court of Appeal rejected their request for partial cancellation of their debt, rescheduling of debts over a period of two years, and, above all, not to proceed with the amicable sale of their family home within this 24-month period, which was imposed on them by the over-indebtedness commission to honor their debts.
The household argued that this forced sale was a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to respect for private and family life as well as Article 1 of its first additional protocol*.
But the Court of Cassation rejected these reasons. The consumer code allows the commission of over-indebtedness as well as the judge to impose on a debtor ” acts to facilitate or secure the payment of the debt “, recall the judges.
The value of the home was well above the debtors slate
In this case, the Court considered that this resale was justified because it was the “the only measure capable of facilitating debt reduction [des requérants] and the disinterestedness of creditors “.
With a total debt of €135,129, a maximum repayment capacity estimated at €1,608 per month by the couple, and real estate whose value was also much higher than the claimants’ slate (€250,000), “the spouses are not entitled to refuse the sale of this property, the price of which will allow them to quickly reimburse all of their creditors and which, given the high value of the property and the amount of the debts, it will substitute a balance due to the debtors that will allow them to relocate “.
*Court of Cassation, Appeal n°19-26.230, 2nd civ.
**« Any natural or legal person has the right to the respect of his property. No one may be deprived of his property except in the public interest and under the conditions provided for by law and the general principles of international law.. »