Debtor (executado)
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The executado is the person or company against whom the enforcement proceedings run, that is, the debtor whose assets are seized and sold.
Enforcement is brought against whoever appears as debtor in the document on which the proceedings are based (CPC article 53). At auctions, the executado is almost always the owner of the property for sale.
Until the sale, the debtor remains the owner. When the seized property is the debtor's actual home, the debtor is the (CPC article 756), which means they go on living there and must show the property to anyone wishing to inspect it.
The law protects some interests of the debtor and the family. The spouse, descendants and ascendants can take the property at the price of the best bid through the . For tax debts, a home used exclusively as the debtor's own permanent residence is, as a rule, not sold (CPPT article 244).
Example
Illustrative example: someone stops paying a €50,000 loan. The bank (the ) starts enforcement against that person (the debtor) and the house is seized. If the debt is paid before the sale, the auction is cancelled.
In practice, at an auction
The debtor can pay the debt right up to the end, which is why an auction can be withdrawn at any time. If the property is the debtor's main home, handover to the buyer follows specific rules: the law provides for suspension in cases of acute illness, and for notice to the town council and welfare bodies where rehousing is seriously difficult (CPC article 861(6)). Behind every sale there is a person or a family; contact should be respectful and preferably made through whoever is running the sale.