Mortgage cancellation without the bank: the debtor can do it alone in 2026

Key data

Thousands of mortgages in Spain are economically cancelled—that is, the loan is paid—but still appear as charges in the Property Registry. This occurs because the registry cancellation process required, until now, the active intervention of the bank. The resolution published on July 1, 2026 consolidates a mechanism that eliminates that bottleneck: the bank can grant an irrevocable power of attorney to the debtor themselves so they can cancel the mortgage at the Registry without the financial entity having to intervene again.

The specific case resolved by the General Directorate of Legal Security and Public Faith arose because the property registrar of San Sebastián de los Reyes no. 1 denied the registration of a Banco Santander mortgage cancellation. The reason alleged: the identification and position of the members of the executive committee that had granted the irrevocable power to the debtor were not recorded. The resolution upholds the notary's appeal and makes clear that this level of detail is not required.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution applies and interprets Article 98 of Law 24/2001, which regulates the notarial judgment of sufficiency of representation. This article allows the notary to make a sufficient account of the representation without needing to detail the entire chain of internal appointments at the bank (who makes up the executive committee, when they were appointed, etc.).

The key criterion established by the resolution is as follows:

• The notary's judgment of sufficiency regarding representation is binding on the registrar.
• The registrar can only reject it if there is a manifest error, not due to mere disagreement or wanting more data than what the notary has recorded.
• The bank can grant an irrevocable power of attorney to the debtor so they can cancel the mortgage at the registry once paid, without the bank having to act again.
• This mechanism is valid and the cancellation must be registered if the notary has issued their judgment of sufficiency.

Economic and operational impact

The resolution has great practical relevance—the text expressly acknowledges this—for the thousands of economically cancelled mortgages that are still pending registry cancellation in Spain.

From an operational perspective, the impact translates to:

• Time savings for the debtor: No longer depends on the bank managing the cancellation internally, a process that can take months.
• Reduction of management costs for banks: Entities that already include irrevocable powers of attorney in their mortgage deeds eliminate the operational burden of processing mass cancellations.
• Legal certainty for notaries: Their judgment of sufficiency cannot be questioned by the registrar without justified cause, which speeds up the notary-registry circuit.
• Elimination of arbitrary registry blockages: Registrars cannot create formal obstacles that the law does not require.

Who does it affect?

• Mortgage debtors with loans already paid whose mortgage is still registered at the Property Registry.
• Banks and financial entities that grant mortgages and manage their subsequent registry cancellation.
• Notaries who formalize mortgage cancellations and issue judgments of sufficiency of representation.
• Property registrars who review cancellation deeds presented for registration.
• Real estate advisors and management firms that process mortgage cancellations on behalf of their clients.

Practical example

Imagine you finished paying your mortgage with Banco Santander two years ago. The debt is settled, but at the Property Registry your home still appears with a mortgage charge. You want to sell the apartment and the buyer demands that the mortgage be cancelled at the registry.

If at the time the bank included in the mortgage deed an irrevocable power of attorney in your favor, you can go directly to the notary, who drafts the cancellation deed and issues their judgment of sufficiency regarding representation. You present the deed at the Property Registry and the registrar cannot deny it claiming that the members of the bank's executive committee who signed the original power were not identified. If they do—as happened in the San Sebastián de los Reyes no. 1 case—the resolution from the General Directorate requires them to register it.

Result: registry cancellation completed without the bank having to move a single document at this second stage.

What should those affected do now?

1. Debtors with paid mortgage: Check if your original mortgage deed includes an irrevocable power of attorney in your favor. If so, you can start the registry cancellation directly with a notary, without waiting for the bank.
2. Debtors without irrevocable power: Contact your bank to request that they execute the cancellation deed. With this resolution, the subsequent notarial process should not encounter registry obstacles due to lack of identification of the bank's internal officers.
3. Banks and financial entities: Consider including irrevocable powers of attorney in new mortgage deeds to reduce the future operational burden of cancellations.
4. Notaries: When faced with a mortgage cancellation with irrevocable power from the bank, issue the judgment of sufficiency normally. This resolution expressly supports that this judgment is binding on the registrar.
5. Registrars: Do not demand the identification and position of members of the bank's internal bodies (executive committee, board of directors) if the notary has already issued their judgment of sufficiency. Doing so violates Article 98 of Law 24/2001 and can be successfully appealed, as this case demonstrates.
6. Management firms and real estate advisors: Inform your clients with paid mortgages of this route to speed up registry cancellation before sales transactions.

Official source

Consult complete regulation at official source

Notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-14305