Towards a new EU regulatory law on residential mortgage lending

Abstract

Purpose The measures enacted so far at European level to address the global financial crisis are likely to have limited effects as they are still market efficiency oriented. Accordingly, this study aims to explore how the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights may be useful to achieve a more human right dimension in EU regulatory law. Design/methodology/approach The work departs from the current commodification of housing worldwide and the limited capacity of EU to tackle new housing challenges. The work takes the link already established by the CJEU between EU consumer law and the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights one step further and addresses the potential implications concerning residential mortgage lending. Findings The main finding is the potential influence that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights may have on EU regulatory mortgage lending, as there are indicators of a bifurcation of mortgage law regimes at the EU level, separating home loans from other mortgages. Social implications The influence of the Charter of Fundamental Rights on EU regulatory law, mainly consumer law treated in a human rights dimension, could be a first step to treat housing as a social good and not as a commodity in the EU. This could lead to a completely new approach concerning the traditional rules governing residential mortgage loans. Originality/value The potential constitutionalisation of consumer law and the impact of the CJEU cases on national procedural rules have already been addressed by scholarship. The present work goes one step further as it addresses the potential implications of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights on EU regulatory law in terms of the potential bifurcation of EU rules on mortgage lending.