Prescription of Mortgage Payment Reimbursements Between Ex-Spouses: The Spanish Supreme Court (STS 458/2025) Shifts the "Dies a Quo"
The Spanish Supreme Court judgment STS 458/2025 of 24 March (Civil Chamber, Justice Almenar Belenguer) sets a decisive rule: the 5-year limitation period under art. 1964.2 of the Spanish Civil Code to claim overpaid mortgage instalments between ex-spouses does not start running from each payment but from the end of cohabitation or divorce. We analyse the ruling, its practical impact on the separation-of-assets regime and what former spouses with pending claims should do.
Introduction: a ruling that reshapes prescription between ex-spouses
The Spanish Supreme Court, in its [Judgment No. 458/2025 of 24 March](https://bufetepadillatorrevieja.com/STS-458-2025-prescripcion-reembolso-cuotas-hipoteca-exconyuges.pdf) (Civil Chamber, Section 1, Justice Manuel Almenar Belenguer, cassation appeal 8772/2022, ECLI:ES:TS:2025:1292), has just set a rule with major practical impact on the winding-up of matrimonial property regimes, especially the separation-of-assets regime:
> The 5-year limitation period under [article 1964.2 of the Spanish Civil Code](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-1889-4763) to claim overpaid mortgage instalments between ex-spouses does not start running from each payment, but from the effective end of cohabitation or, where applicable, from divorce.
You can download the full judgment here: [STS 458/2025 of 24 March (PDF)](https://bufetepadillatorrevieja.com/STS-458-2025-prescripcion-reembolso-cuotas-hipoteca-exconyuges.pdf).
This is a jurisprudential exception to the previous line (Supreme Court judgments 307/2015, 580/2015 and 404/2020) which set the *dies a quo* at the date of each payment, now qualified where the co-debtors are married. We analyse why this ruling will reshape prescription defences in many post-divorce reimbursement claims, and what you should do if you are affected.
1. Facts: separation of assets and a shared home
The case is common on the Costa Blanca:
- Ms Esmeralda and Mr Simón bought a home in Valencia in equal undivided shares, financed by a mortgage loan where both were joint and several debtors.
- They subsequently married under the separation-of-assets regime.
- For much of the cohabitation, the wife paid 100 % of the mortgage instalments and municipal property tax (IBI).
- The marriage ceased cohabitation in July 2018 and was dissolved by judgment of 10 March 2020.
- In March 2021, the wife filed for inventory of the regime, claiming €22,797.56 for overpaid instalments and IBI.
The ex-husband raised prescription: if art. 1964.2 CC sets 5 years from each payment, most instalments (pre-March 2016) would be time-barred and the debt would shrink to €3,580.25.
2. Procedural path: two clashing views
| Court | Ruling | Approach |
|---|---|---|
| Court of First Instance no. 9, Valencia (536/2021) | Awards only €3,696.65 | Prescription runs instalment-by-instalment |
| Valencia Provincial Court, Section 10 (585/2022, 10-10-2022) | Awards full €22,797.56 | Marital cohabitation suspends prescription |
| Supreme Court (STS 458/2025, 24-03-2025) | Dismisses husband's cassation appeal and upholds the appeal ruling | *Dies a quo* is the end of cohabitation |